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Was My PPL Long Cross Country Invalid?

Asked by: 1613 views FAA Regulations, Private Pilot

Hi there! I received my private pilot’s certificate in 2012. I’ve been on a long hiatus from flying for quite some time and am gearing up to get back into it. I was reviewing my logbook and looking back at my training recently. It struck me that my long cross country flight may not have been valid. The route I practiced and that I used for my solo long cross country never took me more than 50nm from the original airport. I flew 12nm east to one airport, then 59nm west to another, then 69nm to a third, then 22nm back to my original airport. The farthest I flew from the original airport was 47nm. At the time I didn’t question the route since it was suggested by my CFI who I put a lot of trust in, and thought that the 59 and 69nm legs would cover the requirement. Technically this flight was not cross country. The DPE took no exceptions when he inspected my logbook. I know legally the flight could have been logged separately, with the 12nm leg appearing on a different line and not logged as cross country, then the second airport would be considered the origin for the 3 remaining legs, but that’s now how it’s logged in my book. What do I do? It would feel wrong to change the entry in an ex-post facto way. Is my PPL invalid? Can the FAA do anything about it if it were discovered? It’s been 10 years now. 

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2 Answers



  1. LTCTerry on May 31, 2022

    Several years ago that was a pretty common approach for CFIs who didn’t read the regulations carefully. It’s not a valid “long cross country” for your private ticket.

    I doubt the FAA is going to come and take it away, ha ha. (But don’t go telling the world about it.)

    Have you taken any checkrides since then? IFR? Commercial?

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  2. Russ Roslewski on May 31, 2022

    Fly long enough, and almost every pilot has SOMETHING not right in their logbook, even if completely unintentional. Lapsed currency, misreported times, forgetting to log night time, or logging too much, etc. But if it was completely unintentional, you can’t let it keep you up at night or anything.

    Just let it be. The chances anyone is going to notice is so minuscule that it doesn’t even bear consideration. Think of what would have to happen:

    – they’d have to first want to review your logbook all the way to the beginning of your flying for some reason.
    – they’d have to either be local and know those airports, OR be so meticulous that they’re checking the airport IDs and distances of ALL your XC flights.
    – they’d have to be in a position to do something about it (like the FAA or a potential employer)
    – and really, for any real consequences, they’d probably have to believe it was intentional.

    I’ve been flying for 29 years and not once has someone looked at my logbooks that closely. The closest was for my ATP, but even then the Private pilot training pages were just briefly flipped through.

    Don’t worry about it, move on.

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