[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":452},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-instrument-time":3,"learn-nav-\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-instrument-time":421},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":363,"description":364,"draft":365,"extension":366,"faqs":367,"howTo":377,"keyTakeaways":377,"meta":378,"navigation":379,"path":380,"quiz":381,"seo":408,"series":377,"seriesOrder":377,"sources":409,"stem":418,"topic":419,"__hash__":420},"learn\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-instrument-time.md","Logging instrument time",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":350},"minimark",[9,25,31,36,60,63,79,82,86,113,124,128,141,145,170,174,177,197,200,204,211,236,252,268,273,277,280,291,298,304,307,311,343,347],[10,11,12,19,20,24],"p",{},[13,14,18],"a",{"href":15,"className":16},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-instrument-time",[17],"glossary-link","Instrument time"," is one of the most misunderstood columns in a logbook. The rule is precise and narrow: it is the time you spend flying the aircraft purely on the instruments, and nothing else qualifies. This builds on our guide to ",[13,21,23],{"href":22},"\u002Flearn\u002Fkeeping-a-digital-logbook","keeping a digital logbook",".",[26,27,28],"blockquote",{},[10,29,30],{},"This is general educational information, not operational, legal, or regulatory advice. Rules differ by authority and change over time. Always verify against current official sources and follow your operator's approved procedures.",[32,33,35],"h2",{"id":34},"what-instrument-time-actually-is","What instrument time actually is",[10,37,38,39,43,44,50,51,54,55,24],{},"Instrument time is time spent ",[40,41,42],"strong",{},"controlling the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments",", with no useful outside visual reference. That phrase is the whole test. It does not matter what flight plan you filed or what clearance you hold; it matters whether you are flying the aircraft on the instruments. The FAA captures this in ",[13,45,49],{"href":46,"rel":47},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ecfr.gov\u002Fcurrent\u002Ftitle-14\u002Fchapter-I\u002Fsubchapter-D\u002Fpart-61\u002Fsubpart-A\u002Fsection-61.51",[48],"nofollow","14 CFR 61.51(g)",", and EASA uses the same underlying idea of ",[40,52,53],{},"instrument flight time"," in ",[13,56,59],{"href":57,"rel":58},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.easa.europa.eu\u002Fen\u002Fdocument-library\u002Feasy-access-rules\u002Feasy-access-rules-aircrew-regulation-eu-no-11782011",[48],"Part-FCL",[10,61,62],{},"There are two ways to be flying solely by reference to instruments:",[64,65,66,73],"ul",{},[67,68,69,72],"li",{},[40,70,71],{},"Actual instrument conditions",", where the weather itself, cloud or low visibility, removes the outside reference.",[67,74,75,78],{},[40,76,77],{},"Simulated instrument conditions",", where a view-limiting device, often called a hood or foggles, blocks your view of the world while the weather outside is fine.",[10,80,81],{},"Both count as instrument time. The difference is recorded, because one is the real environment and the other is training.",[32,83,85],{"id":84},"why-an-ifr-flight-plan-is-not-enough","Why an IFR flight plan is not enough",[10,87,88,89,97,98,101,102,107,108,112],{},"This is the trap. Being on an ",[40,90,91,96],{},[13,92,95],{"href":93,"className":94},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-ifr",[17],"IFR"," flight plan"," tells you which rules and clearances apply; it says nothing about whether you can see out. On a clear day you can fly an entire IFR route in bright visual conditions, looking out of the window the whole way, and log ",[40,99,100],{},"zero"," instrument time, because you were never flying solely by reference to the instruments. Conversely, a ",[13,103,106],{"href":104,"className":105},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-vfr",[17],"VFR"," pilot under a hood with a safety pilot, in perfect weather, ",[109,110,111],"em",{},"is"," logging simulated instrument time.",[10,114,115,116,119,120,123],{},"So keep the two ideas apart: the ",[40,117,118],{},"flight plan"," is about the legal framework of the flight, and ",[40,121,122],{},"instrument time"," is about how you were actually flying the aircraft.",[32,125,127],{"id":126},"the-safety-pilot-for-simulated-conditions","The safety pilot for simulated conditions",[10,129,130,131,136,137,140],{},"You cannot wear a hood and fly alone, because you cannot see other traffic. The FAA requires, in ",[13,132,135],{"href":133,"rel":134},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ecfr.gov\u002Fcurrent\u002Ftitle-14\u002Fchapter-I\u002Fsubchapter-F\u002Fpart-91\u002Fsubpart-B\u002Fsection-91.109",[48],"14 CFR 91.109",", that simulated instrument flight in an aircraft is conducted with a ",[40,138,139],{},"safety pilot"," who occupies the other control seat, where the aircraft has fully functioning dual controls. The safety pilot must hold at least a private pilot certificate with the appropriate category and class ratings, and must have adequate vision forward and to each side, or a competent observer in the aircraft to supplement that vision if not. When you log simulated instrument time, you record the safety pilot.",[32,142,144],{"id":143},"what-to-record","What to record",[10,146,147,148,151,152,155,156,158,159,164,165,169],{},"Under 61.51(g), an instrument time entry records the ",[40,149,150],{},"conditions"," (actual or simulated), the ",[40,153,154],{},"location and type of each instrument approach"," flown, and, for simulated conditions, the ",[40,157,139],{},". So a training flight might log: 1.1 hours simulated instrument with a named safety pilot; two approaches, an ILS and an RNAV, at a named airport. The detail matters because instrument time and instrument approaches are what you draw on to show training, to qualify for the instrument rating, and to keep instrument currency. (",[13,160,163],{"href":161,"className":162},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-recency",[17],"Recency"," is covered in our guide to ",[13,166,168],{"href":167},"\u002Flearn\u002Frecency-and-currency","recency and currency",".)",[32,171,173],{"id":172},"a-worked-example","A worked example",[10,175,176],{},"You fly a two-hour flight. The first 30 minutes are below cloud in good visibility on an IFR clearance; the middle hour is in solid cloud; the last 30 minutes are a visual approach in clear air.",[64,178,179,186,192],{},[67,180,181,182,185],{},"The first 30 minutes: on an IFR plan, but visual, so ",[40,183,184],{},"no"," instrument time.",[67,187,188,189,24],{},"The middle hour: in cloud, flying on the instruments, so ",[40,190,191],{},"1.0 hour actual instrument",[67,193,194,195,185],{},"The last 30 minutes: visual, so ",[40,196,184],{},[10,198,199],{},"You log 1.0 hour of actual instrument time for a two-hour flight, plus any instrument approach you flew, with its type and location. The IFR flight plan covered all two hours; the instrument time covered one.",[32,201,203],{"id":202},"instrument-approaches-holds-and-the-currency-link","Instrument approaches, holds, and the currency link",[10,205,206,207,210],{},"The reason instrument time and approaches are logged so carefully is that they feed ",[40,208,209],{},"instrument currency",", the recent experience that lets you keep exercising instrument privileges. The logging and the currency are two sides of the same record.",[10,212,213,214,219,220,223,224,227,228,231,232,235],{},"Under the FAA, ",[13,215,218],{"href":216,"rel":217},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ecfr.gov\u002Fcurrent\u002Ftitle-14\u002Fchapter-I\u002Fsubchapter-D\u002Fpart-61\u002Fsubpart-A\u002Fsection-61.57",[48],"14 CFR 61.57(c)"," sets out what you must have done in the ",[40,221,222],{},"preceding 6 calendar months"," to act as pilot in command under IFR or in instrument conditions: at least ",[40,225,226],{},"six instrument approaches",", ",[40,229,230],{},"holding procedures and tasks",", and ",[40,233,234],{},"intercepting and tracking courses"," through navigation systems, in the appropriate category of aircraft (or in a suitable flight simulator or training device). This is precisely why the logbook entry records the type and location of each approach: those entries are the evidence that you are current.",[10,237,238,239,242,243,247,248,251],{},"If that currency lapses, there is a grace structure. You have a further period in which you can regain currency by flying the required approaches and tasks with a safety pilot, but once more than ",[40,240,241],{},"6 calendar months"," have passed beyond that 6-month currency window (so 12 calendar months in total since you were last current), ",[13,244,246],{"href":216,"rel":245},[48],"61.57(d)"," requires you to complete an ",[40,249,250],{},"instrument proficiency check (IPC)"," with an authorised instructor or examiner before you can use the rating again.",[10,253,254,255,258,259,263,264,267],{},"EASA handles the equivalent through revalidation of the ",[40,256,257],{},"instrument rating (IR)",". Under ",[13,260,262],{"href":57,"rel":261},[48],"Part-FCL (FCL.625)",", the instrument rating is revalidated by a ",[40,265,266],{},"proficiency check"," within the three months before its expiry date, and if it has lapsed it is restored through assessment and, where needed, refresher training. The detail differs from the FAA approach, but the principle is shared: instrument privileges are kept alive by recent, logged instrument practice, and the logbook is the proof.",[10,269,270,271,169],{},"So the columns in your logbook are not bookkeeping for its own sake. The instrument time, and especially the approaches you record with their type and location, are what you point to when you need to show you are current, and what an examiner reviews at a proficiency check. (For the broader picture of recency, see our guide to ",[13,272,168],{"href":167},[32,274,276],{"id":275},"actual-and-simulated-a-worked-split","Actual and simulated: a worked split",[10,278,279],{},"A training flight often mixes the two kinds of instrument time, and the logbook has to separate them. Take a two-hour instrument lesson in good weather with patches of cloud.",[10,281,282,283,286,287,290],{},"For the first hour you fly under a view-limiting device with an instructor acting as safety pilot in clear air. That is ",[40,284,285],{},"simulated"," instrument time, logged with the conditions noted as simulated and the safety pilot recorded, as ",[13,288,135],{"href":133,"rel":289},[48]," requires.",[10,292,293,294,297],{},"For the second hour you climb into a layer of cloud and fly the rest of the lesson on the instruments in real instrument conditions. That is ",[40,295,296],{},"actual"," instrument time, logged separately, with no view-limiting device needed because the cloud removes the outside reference.",[10,299,300,301,24],{},"During the flight you fly two instrument approaches, an ILS and an RNAV, at a named airport. You record each approach with its type and location under ",[13,302,49],{"href":46,"rel":303},[48],[10,305,306],{},"So the single lesson produces: 1.0 hour simulated instrument with a named safety pilot, 1.0 hour actual instrument, and two logged approaches. The split matters because actual and simulated are different conditions, recorded in different columns, and the approaches you logged are what feed your instrument currency. A sloppy entry that lumped it all together as two hours of instrument time would lose the distinction the rule asks for and weaken the record you rely on at a proficiency check. The habit to build is to ask, for each block of a flight, the single question the rule turns on: was I flying solely by reference to the instruments, and if so, was the outside reference removed by weather or by a view-limiting device? Answer that honestly, block by block, and the columns and their totals take care of themselves.",[32,308,310],{"id":309},"common-pitfalls","Common pitfalls",[64,312,313,319,325,331,337],{},[67,314,315,318],{},[40,316,317],{},"Logging IFR flight plan time as instrument time."," Only time flown solely on the instruments counts.",[67,320,321,324],{},[40,322,323],{},"Forgetting the safety pilot."," Simulated instrument time needs one, recorded in the entry.",[67,326,327,330],{},[40,328,329],{},"Not recording approaches."," The type and location of each instrument approach is part of the entry.",[67,332,333,336],{},[40,334,335],{},"Mixing actual and simulated."," They are logged separately because they are different conditions.",[67,338,339,342],{},[40,340,341],{},"Assuming the systems match exactly."," The FAA and EASA share the principle but differ in detail; log to the one your licence belongs to.",[32,344,346],{"id":345},"in-pilot-efb","In Pilot EFB",[10,348,349],{},"Pilot EFB keeps instrument time in its own column in the electronic logbook, alongside your other totals, so your instrument experience adds up as you record it. It is a convenient personal record: you enter the conditions, approaches, and any safety pilot yourself, and you should confirm your entries against the rule that applies to your licence and reconcile them with any logbook your training organisation or operator treats as official. Entries you have saved stay available offline. Pilot EFB is offline-first and is not a certified or authority-approved electronic logbook.",{"title":351,"searchDepth":352,"depth":352,"links":353},"",2,[354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362],{"id":34,"depth":352,"text":35},{"id":84,"depth":352,"text":85},{"id":126,"depth":352,"text":127},{"id":143,"depth":352,"text":144},{"id":172,"depth":352,"text":173},{"id":202,"depth":352,"text":203},{"id":275,"depth":352,"text":276},{"id":309,"depth":352,"text":310},{"id":345,"depth":352,"text":346},"2026-05-22","What actually counts as instrument time, the difference between actual and simulated conditions, why being on an IFR flight plan is not enough, and what the FAA and EASA require you to record.",false,"md",[368,371,374],{"q":369,"a":370},"What counts as instrument flight time?","Time spent controlling the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments, in actual or simulated instrument conditions. Under FAA 14 CFR 61.51(g) you may log instrument time only for that period, and you record the conditions, the place, and the type of each instrument approach, plus the safety pilot when the conditions are simulated. Merely being airborne on an IFR flight plan in clear air is not instrument time.",{"q":372,"a":373},"Is flying on an IFR flight plan the same as logging instrument time?","No, and this is the most common mistake. You can be on an IFR clearance in clear visual conditions, looking out of the window, and none of that is instrument time, because you are not flying solely by reference to instruments. Instrument time is about how you are flying the aircraft, not about the type of flight plan you filed.",{"q":375,"a":376},"Do I need a safety pilot to log simulated instrument time?","Yes. To fly in simulated instrument conditions, typically under a view-limiting device, the FAA requires a safety pilot in 14 CFR 91.109, with the aircraft having dual controls and the safety pilot having at least a private certificate and the appropriate category and class ratings, and an adequate way to see ahead and to the sides. You log the safety pilot's name with the simulated instrument time.",null,{},true,"\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-instrument-time",[382,391,400],{"q":383,"options":384,"answer":389,"explanation":390},"What is the single test for whether time counts as instrument time?",[385,386,387,388],"Whether you filed an IFR flight plan for the flight","Whether you were controlling the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments","Whether you held an IFR clearance from air traffic control","Whether the destination required an instrument approach",1,"Instrument time is time spent controlling the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments, with no useful outside visual reference. The flight plan or clearance you hold does not matter.",{"q":392,"options":393,"answer":398,"explanation":399},"Under the FAA, what must you record for a block of simulated instrument time?",[394,395,396,397],"The safety pilot","The forecast cloud base","The IFR clearance limit","The aircraft's registration only",0,"Under 14 CFR 61.51(g) you record the conditions, the location and type of each instrument approach, and, for simulated conditions, the safety pilot.",{"q":401,"options":402,"answer":352,"explanation":407},"In the worked two-hour flight, 30 minutes below cloud on an IFR clearance, an hour in solid cloud, then a 30-minute visual approach, how much instrument time is logged?",[403,404,405,406],"2.0 hours, matching the IFR flight plan","1.5 hours","1.0 hour of actual instrument time","Zero, because it was an IFR flight","Only the middle hour in solid cloud is flown solely by reference to the instruments, so you log 1.0 hour of actual instrument time for the two-hour flight.",{"title":5,"description":364},[410,412,414,416],{"label":411,"url":46},"FAA 14 CFR 61.51 (Pilot logbooks)",{"label":413,"url":133},"FAA 14 CFR 91.109 (Flight instruction; simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests)",{"label":415,"url":216},"FAA 14 CFR 61.57 (Recent flight experience, including instrument)",{"label":417,"url":57},"EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Part-FCL)","learn\u002Flogging-instrument-time","Logbook","YE3gnP5U2tO5zs_-ufvDp2j7S797lA3zNQMw_jUGL6Q",{"related":422,"newer":438,"older":447,"series":377},[423,428,432],{"path":22,"title":424,"description":425,"date":426,"topic":419,"draft":365,"minutes":427,"series":377,"seriesOrder":377},"Keeping a digital logbook","What a pilot logbook has to record and why, plus the EASA\u002FUK and FAA differences in logging pilot-in-command time, night, and recency that catch people out.","2026-06-12",4,{"path":167,"title":429,"description":430,"date":431,"topic":419,"draft":365,"minutes":427,"series":377,"seriesOrder":377},"Recency and currency","The difference between being legally current and being proficient, with the EASA and FAA recent-experience rules for carrying passengers, night flight and instrument flight, each attributed to its authority.","2026-05-28",{"path":433,"title":434,"description":435,"date":436,"topic":419,"draft":365,"minutes":437,"series":377,"seriesOrder":377},"\u002Flearn\u002Fpilot-function-and-logging-roles","Pilot function and logging roles","What P1, PICUS, P2 and dual mean under EASA, how the FAA categories differ, and the crucial difference between logging pilot-in-command time and being the pilot in command.","2026-05-26",7,{"path":439,"title":440,"description":441,"date":442,"topic":443,"draft":365,"minutes":444,"series":445,"seriesOrder":446},"\u002Flearn\u002Fstandby-and-reserve-duty","Standby and reserve duty","What standby and reserve mean, how airport standby differs from standby at home, how the FAA handles long-call and short-call reserve, and how standby converts into duty and the flight duty period.","2026-05-24","Regulations",8,"duty-rest-and-flight-time-limits",5,{"path":448,"title":449,"description":450,"date":451,"topic":443,"draft":365,"minutes":437,"series":445,"seriesOrder":427},"\u002Flearn\u002Fcumulative-duty-and-flight-time-limits","Cumulative duty and flying-hour limits","How the rolling 28-day, annual and weekly limits on flight time and duty actually work, why a rolling window is not a calendar month, with the EASA and FAA figures attributed.","2026-05-20",1781989192009]