Once you move from a single-pilot light aircraft to a flight deck with two or more pilots, the logbook gets more interesting. Two people fly the same aircraft for the same block time, yet they log it in different role columns, and EASA adds categories, pilot-in-command under supervision and cruise relief, that have no exact FAA twin. This guide focuses on that multi-pilot environment; the general roles are covered in our guide to pilot function and logging roles.
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.
Two pilots, two role columns
In a multi-pilot aircraft, one requiring more than one pilot to operate, both pilots are crew for the whole flight, and both log the same block time. What differs is the function each logs.
Under EASA, the commander logs P1 (pilot-in-command) and the other pilot logs P2 (co-pilot). Under the FAA, the pilot in command logs PIC and the qualified other pilot logs second-in-command (SIC) under 14 CFR 61.51, with the roles themselves defined in 14 CFR 1.1. It is entirely normal for two logbooks to show the same flight, the same hours, in different columns; that is what multi-pilot logging looks like. The international basis for the commander and co-pilot roles sits in ICAO Annex 1.
PICUS: building command time under supervision
The most important EASA-specific category is PICUS, pilot-in-command under supervision. FCL.010 defines it as a co-pilot performing, under the supervision of the pilot-in-command, the duties and functions of a pilot-in-command. The commander remains legally in command, but the co-pilot is actually doing the commander's job, and being supervised in it.
Why it exists is the interesting part. A first officer building toward a command needs command experience, but they are not yet the legal commander. PICUS bridges the gap: within the rules, PICUS time can be credited toward pilot-in-command requirements, so the co-pilot accumulates command-creditable hours while a captain supervises. That credit is conditional, though: under AMC1 FCL.050 it counts only when the commander countersigns the entry, certifying that the co-pilot carried out the commander's duties and the commander did not have to intervene. It is logged as PICUS, distinct from ordinary P2 co-pilot time, because it represents something more than sitting in the right seat.
The FAA has no PICUS column, but it reaches a comparable end by a different route. As our logbook guide notes, 61.51(e) lets an appropriately rated pilot log pilot-in-command time whenever they are the sole manipulator of the controls, even when not the legal pilot in command. So an FAA first officer flying the sector can log PIC as sole manipulator, where an EASA first officer doing the commander's duties under supervision logs PICUS. Different mechanisms, similar purpose, and not interchangeable: do not carry the FAA sole-manipulator convention into an EASA logbook, or PICUS into an FAA one.
Cruise relief on long flights
Long-haul flying brings a different need: pilots have to rest in turn across a flight that outlasts a single duty at the controls, so the crew is augmented. EASA names the extra pilot precisely. FCL.010 defines a cruise relief co-pilot as a pilot who relieves the co-pilot of the duties at the controls during the cruise phase of a flight in multi-pilot operations above FL 200. The relief pilot takes the seat while the rostered co-pilot rests, and the rostered pilots cycle through their rest periods.
The cruise-relief pilot logs the time appropriately as co-pilot or cruise-relief time, within the operator's approved scheme, reflecting that they were a functioning crew member at the controls during the cruise. The FAA manages augmented long-haul crews under its own operating and flight-time rules and logs the relief pilots' time in the PIC or SIC categories rather than a dedicated cruise-relief column. Again the operational reality is the same, two or three pilots sharing a long flight, but the logging vocabulary differs.
Why the distinctions are worth the care
It would be easy to dismiss all this as bookkeeping, but the role columns feed directly into what you can do next. Command-creditable time, whether PICUS under EASA or sole-manipulator PIC under the FAA, is exactly the experience an airline or an authority looks at when assessing a pilot for a command upgrade or a higher licence. Log a sector you flew under supervision as plain co-pilot time and you understate your command experience; log it as PICUS without the supervision actually meeting the definition and the entry will not stand up. Accuracy here is not pedantry; it is the difference between a logbook that supports your next step and one that does not.
When does a second pilot actually count?
Before any of these columns apply, there is a gate to pass: the second pilot has to be a required crew member, not just a passenger in the other seat. EASA's FCL.010 distinguishes a multi-pilot aircraft, one certificated to be operated with a minimum crew of at least two pilots, from a multi-pilot operation, a flight that requires two pilots. The FAA draws the same line for logging: under 14 CFR 61.51 you may log second-in-command time only when the aircraft is type certificated for more than one pilot, or the operation being conducted requires a second-in-command.
The practical consequence is sharp. Sitting in the right seat of a single-pilot aircraft that needs only one pilot does not generally let you log co-pilot or SIC time, however useful the experience: the second pilot is not required, so there is nothing to log as a crew function. The columns in this guide, P2, PICUS, SIC, cruise relief, come alive only when the aircraft or the operation genuinely needs more than one pilot. That is also why these categories belong to the airline and corporate world of multi-pilot types, and why a private pilot flying a light single will rarely meet them. Check first whether the second seat was a required crew position; if it was not, the multi-pilot logging does not apply.
A worked example
A two-pilot jet flies a four-sector day. It is a multi-pilot aircraft, so on every sector both pilots log the block time.
On the first two sectors the captain is pilot-in-command and flies, so the captain logs P1 and the first officer logs P2 co-pilot time. On the third sector the captain, satisfied the first officer is ready, has the first officer perform the commander's duties under supervision: the first officer plans, commands and flies the sector while the captain supervises but remains legally in command. The first officer logs that sector as PICUS, which counts toward command experience; the captain still logs P1.
Run the same third sector under the FAA. The first officer, appropriately rated, is the sole manipulator of the controls, so under 61.51(e) the first officer may log it as PIC, while the captain logs PIC as the acting pilot in command. The route to command-creditable time differs, PICUS under EASA, sole-manipulator PIC under the FAA, but in both the first officer banks experience that ordinary co-pilot time would not show.
Finally, picture a long night sector with an augmented crew. During the cruise above FL 200, a cruise-relief co-pilot takes the seat so the rostered co-pilot can rest. Under EASA that pilot logs cruise-relief or co-pilot time within the operator's scheme; under the FAA the relief pilot's time is logged in the SIC or PIC categories. The flight is one long block; the logbooks divide it by who was doing what, and when.
Common pitfalls
- Expecting only one pilot to log the time. In a multi-pilot aircraft both pilots log the same block time, in different role columns.
- Confusing PICUS with co-pilot time. PICUS requires the co-pilot to perform the commander's duties under supervision; ordinary right-seat time is P2.
- Carrying conventions across authorities. PICUS is EASA-only; the FAA uses sole-manipulator PIC and SIC. Do not mix them.
- Logging cruise relief as command time. Cruise relief is co-pilot or relief time during the cruise, not pilot-in-command time.
- Overstating supervised command. If the supervision and duties do not actually meet the PICUS or sole-manipulator definition, the entry will not stand at review.
In Pilot EFB
Pilot EFB keeps the pilot-function columns in its electronic logbook, so P1, P2, PICUS and the rest stay separated as you record them, and completing a flight can generate an entry for you to review and confirm. It is a convenient personal record, not a compliance system: you confirm the function against the rule for your licence and operation, and reconcile it with the crew records and any logbook your operator treats as the official source. Saved entries stay available offline. Pilot EFB is offline-first and is not a certified or authority-approved electronic logbook.