Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Cross-Country hrs during Instrument Training

Asked by: 3942 views Instrument Rating

I am currently doing my IFR training under part 61 and am questioning whether or not flying to a destination greater than 50nm and performing a missed approach would qualify as X-Country time, for the purpose of meeting the IFR aeronautical experience of 50hrs.  It seems that my CFII believes this is X-Country time eventhough no landing was made at the destination.  Is this correct, or does the approach need to terminate in a landing?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. Wes Beard on Jul 18, 2012

    The answer is found in 61.1 – definition of cross country.  It is important to note that the definition changes depending on the rule you are trying to satisfy.  In your situation, working on your instrument rating you must land at an airport greater than 50NM from the original point of departure.  You should make a landing at every airport.  If he doesn’t like it, tell him you are the customer.  He should know the regulations by now.
     
    In your CFII’s case, he is working on his ATP certificate and is only required to travel beyond 50NM and does not need to make a landing. 

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Matthew Waugh on Jul 19, 2012

    As Wes says – one of your approaches at the airport 50NM away should end up in a touch and go (at least), which is a GOOD IDEA anyway – we spend a lot of time in instrument training conducting missed approaches (which is good, always primed for a misses approach etc.), but going visual at 200 ft and landing is a skill in itself and should be practiced.
     
    I am very disappointed in your CFI-I – and you should be to. They may be ignorant or they may be selfishly focused on their own needs, but either way it’s not a pretty picture.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.