[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":447},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-simulator-and-fstd-time":3,"learn-nav-\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-simulator-and-fstd-time":415},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":352,"dateModified":353,"description":354,"draft":355,"extension":356,"faqs":357,"howTo":353,"keyTakeaways":367,"meta":372,"metaDescription":373,"navigation":374,"path":375,"quiz":376,"seo":402,"series":353,"seriesOrder":353,"sources":403,"stem":412,"topic":413,"__hash__":414},"learn\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-simulator-and-fstd-time.md","Logging simulator and FSTD time",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":339},"minimark",[9,21,27,32,40,55,59,73,102,111,115,124,150,153,157,164,180,183,187,194,205,209,234,238,257,271,286,290,322,326],[10,11,12,13,20],"p",{},"A flight simulator can teach a great deal without ever leaving the ground, and the rules let some of that time count toward your licences and your ",[14,15,19],"a",{"href":16,"className":17},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-recency",[18],"glossary-link","recency",". But simulator time is logged its own way, in its own column, and only within limits, so it pays to understand what the different devices are and where their time does and does not count.",[22,23,24],"blockquote",{},[10,25,26],{},"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.",[28,29,31],"h2",{"id":30},"synthetic-time-is-not-flight-time","Synthetic time is not flight time",[10,33,34,35,39],{},"Start with the rule that prevents the biggest mistake: time in a simulator is ",[36,37,38],"strong",{},"synthetic training time",", not flight time, and the two are never added together. Your logbook keeps them in separate columns precisely because they are different things. Flight time is time the aircraft is moving for flight; synthetic time is time spent training in an approved ground device. Both are valuable, and both can be banked toward your qualifications, but a total that lumped them together would misrepresent your actual flying experience.",[10,41,42,43,46,47,50,51,54],{},"Three conditions decide whether synthetic time can be logged at all: the device has to be ",[36,44,45],{},"qualified"," for the purpose, the training usually has to be given by an ",[36,48,49],{},"authorised instructor",", and the credit toward a licence, rating or recency is ",[36,52,53],{},"capped"," by the rules. Meet all three and the time counts within its limit; miss any one and it does not.",[28,56,58],{"id":57},"the-easa-device-categories","The EASA device categories",[10,60,61,62,65,66,72],{},"EASA groups synthetic devices under the umbrella term ",[36,63,64],{},"flight simulation training device (FSTD)",", and the ",[14,67,71],{"href":68,"rel":69},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.easa.europa.eu\u002Fen\u002Fdocument-library\u002Feasy-access-rules\u002Feasy-access-rules-aircrew-regulation-eu-no-11782011",[70],"nofollow","Part-FCL definitions"," list four, in roughly descending order of fidelity:",[74,75,76,84,90,96],"ul",{},[77,78,79,80,83],"li",{},"a ",[36,81,82],{},"full flight simulator (FFS)",", the highest, a full-motion replica of a specific aircraft type, faithful enough that large parts of type training and checking can be done in it;",[77,85,79,86,89],{},[36,87,88],{},"flight training device (FTD)",", a fixed (non-motion) replica of a specific cockpit;",[77,91,79,92,95],{},[36,93,94],{},"flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT)",", representing a more generic cockpit and the flight and navigation environment, used heavily for instrument and procedure training;",[77,97,79,98,101],{},[36,99,100],{},"basic instrument training device (BITD)",", a simpler ground-based device that represents a student's station and may use screen-based instrument panels and spring-loaded controls, providing a platform for the procedural side of instrument flight.",[10,103,104,105,110],{},"The international yardstick for how these are qualified is ",[14,106,109],{"href":107,"rel":108},"https:\u002F\u002Fstore.icao.int\u002Fen\u002Fmanual-of-criteria-for-the-qualification-of-flight-simulation-training-devices-doc-9625-volume-i-aeroplanes",[70],"ICAO Doc 9625",", the manual of criteria for FSTD qualification, which sets the standards an authority applies before a device may be used for training and checking.",[28,112,114],{"id":113},"the-faa-device-categories","The FAA device categories",[10,116,117,118,123],{},"The United States uses a parallel set, governed by ",[14,119,122],{"href":120,"rel":121},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ecfr.gov\u002Fcurrent\u002Ftitle-14\u002Fchapter-I\u002Fsubchapter-G\u002Fpart-60",[70],"14 CFR Part 60"," for the higher-fidelity devices and by advisory material for the lighter ones:",[74,125,126,131,136],{},[77,127,79,128,130],{},[36,129,82],{},", qualified at Levels A to D, with D the highest;",[77,132,79,133,135],{},[36,134,88],{},", qualified at Levels 4 to 7;",[77,137,138,141,142,145,146,149],{},[36,139,140],{},"aviation training devices (ATDs)",", split into a ",[36,143,144],{},"basic aviation training device (BATD)"," and an ",[36,147,148],{},"advanced aviation training device (AATD)",", approved for training and certain credits under a letter of authorisation.",[10,151,152],{},"The names differ from EASA's, but the ladder is the same idea: a small number of high-fidelity, type-specific simulators at the top, and simpler, more generic procedure trainers below.",[28,154,156],{"id":155},"where-the-time-counts","Where the time counts",[10,158,159,160,163],{},"The reason the categories matter is that the ",[36,161,162],{},"credit"," a device earns depends on its fidelity and on what you are training for. The rules set limits, and they are specific to each licence, rating and course.",[10,165,166,167,170,171,173,174,179],{},"For an ",[36,168,169],{},"instrument rating",", a defined portion of the training may be completed in an FSTD or ATD rather than the aircraft, and instrument ",[36,172,19],{}," can be maintained in a qualified device. The FAA captures the logging side in ",[14,175,178],{"href":176,"rel":177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ecfr.gov\u002Fcurrent\u002Ftitle-14\u002Fchapter-I\u002Fsubchapter-D\u002Fpart-61\u002Fsubpart-A\u002Fsection-61.51",[70],"14 CFR 61.51",", which lets you log training in an FFS, FTD or ATD when it is received from an authorised instructor, and it lets some instrument tasks be done in a device for currency under 61.57(c). EASA likewise credits a portion of training and certain checks in an FSTD up to the limits in Part-FCL. The exact hours and proportions vary by course and change over time, so the figure to log against is the one in the current rule for what you are doing, not a remembered number.",[10,181,182],{},"The thread through all of it: higher-fidelity devices earn more credit, lower-fidelity ones earn less, and none of it counts unless the device is qualified and the instructor authorised.",[28,184,186],{"id":185},"what-synthetic-time-is-good-for-and-what-it-is-not","What synthetic time is good for, and what it is not",[10,188,189,190,193],{},"The reason the rules credit synthetic time at all is that a good simulator does some things ",[36,191,192],{},"better"," than the aircraft. Emergencies you would never deliberately fly, engine failures after take-off, system fires, instrument failures in cloud, can be practised to the point of fluency in a device, paused, reset and flown again, with no risk and no weather to wait for. Procedures, instrument approaches, flows and checklists drill efficiently on the ground, and the cost and the carbon are a fraction of the aircraft's. That is genuine training value, not a poor substitute.",[10,195,196,197,200,201,204],{},"What synthetic time ",[36,198,199],{},"cannot"," fully replace is the real environment: the actual feel and consequences of handling the aircraft, the real weather, the workload of a live radio and real traffic, and the honest pressure of decisions that count. That is exactly why the rules ",[36,202,203],{},"cap"," the credit, allowing only a portion of a course to be synthetic and requiring the rest in the aircraft. The simulator builds the procedural and emergency-handling foundation; the aircraft proves you can fly it for real.",[28,206,208],{"id":207},"recording-the-session-properly","Recording the session properly",[10,210,211,212,215,216,219,220,223,224,226,227,65,230,233],{},"Because synthetic time is conditional, the ",[36,213,214],{},"record"," has to capture the conditions, or the entry is hard to defend later. A sound synthetic entry notes the ",[36,217,218],{},"device"," and its ",[36,221,222],{},"qualification level"," (the FFS level, the FTD level, the FNPT or BITD designation, or the BATD or AATD approval), the ",[36,225,49],{}," who gave the training, the ",[36,228,229],{},"date and duration",[36,231,232],{},"exercises"," flown, such as the approaches and emergencies covered. Those details are what let an examiner confirm that the time was loggable: the right device, the right instructor, within the credit the rule allows. A bare line that said only \"2 hours simulator\" would leave all the questions that matter unanswered.",[28,235,237],{"id":236},"a-worked-example","A worked example",[10,239,240,241,244,245,248,249,252,253,256],{},"You spend ",[36,242,243],{},"two hours"," in an ",[36,246,247],{},"FNPT II"," during your instrument-rating course, flying approaches and holds with an instructor. You log it as ",[36,250,251],{},"synthetic instrument training time",", in its own column, recording the device and its qualification and the instructor. It counts toward the instrument-rating training ",[36,254,255],{},"up to the limit"," Part-FCL sets for synthetic training on that course; beyond the limit, the remaining training has to be in the aircraft. None of those two hours is added to your actual flight time.",[10,258,259,260,244,263,266,267,270],{},"Run the same session under the ",[36,261,262],{},"FAA",[36,264,265],{},"AATD",". You log it as ",[36,268,269],{},"training-device time",", again separately, with the authorised instructor recorded, and it credits toward the instrument rating up to the cap in the rule, and can help maintain instrument currency under 61.57(c).",[10,272,273,274,277,278,281,282,285],{},"Now picture a third session: an hour on ",[36,275,276],{},"consumer flight-sim software"," on your home computer, flying the same approaches beautifully. It is genuinely useful practice, but it is ",[36,279,280],{},"not"," a qualified device, so ",[36,283,284],{},"none of it is loggable"," toward a licence, rating or recency. The difference between the second and third sessions is not how realistic they felt; it is whether the device was qualified and the instruction authorised.",[28,287,289],{"id":288},"common-pitfalls","Common pitfalls",[74,291,292,298,304,310,316],{},[77,293,294,297],{},[36,295,296],{},"Adding synthetic time to flight time."," They live in separate columns and are never combined.",[77,299,300,303],{},[36,301,302],{},"Logging an unqualified device."," Home flight-sim software and uncertified rigs are not loggable, however good the practice.",[77,305,306,309],{},[36,307,308],{},"Forgetting the instructor and the device details."," Loggable synthetic time records the device, its qualification and the authorised instructor.",[77,311,312,315],{},[36,313,314],{},"Assuming all the credit you want is available."," The credit toward a licence or rating is capped; only part of a course may be synthetic.",[77,317,318,321],{},[36,319,320],{},"Carrying one system's device names across."," EASA's FNPT and BITD do not map one-to-one onto the FAA's BATD and AATD; log to the system your qualification belongs to.",[28,323,325],{"id":324},"in-pilot-efb","In Pilot EFB",[10,327,328,329,333,334,338],{},"Pilot EFB can keep synthetic training time in its own column in the electronic logbook, alongside your ",[14,330,332],{"href":331},"\u002Flearn\u002Fkeeping-a-digital-logbook","flight time"," and ",[14,335,337],{"href":336},"\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-instrument-time","instrument time",", so the two never get muddled. It is a convenient personal record: you enter the device, its qualification and the instructor yourself, and you confirm the credit against the current rule for your licence and reconcile it with any logbook your training organisation treats as official. Saved entries stay available offline. Pilot EFB is offline-first and is not a certified or authority-approved electronic logbook.",{"title":340,"searchDepth":341,"depth":341,"links":342},"",2,[343,344,345,346,347,348,349,350,351],{"id":30,"depth":341,"text":31},{"id":57,"depth":341,"text":58},{"id":113,"depth":341,"text":114},{"id":155,"depth":341,"text":156},{"id":185,"depth":341,"text":186},{"id":207,"depth":341,"text":208},{"id":236,"depth":341,"text":237},{"id":288,"depth":341,"text":289},{"id":324,"depth":341,"text":325},"2026-04-10",null,"How synthetic training time is logged, the FFS, FTD, FNPT, BITD and ATD device categories, and where simulator time does and does not count.",false,"md",[358,361,364],{"q":359,"a":360},"Is simulator time the same as flight time?","No. Time in a flight simulation training device is synthetic training time, logged in its own column, and it is never added to actual flight time. It counts toward licences, ratings and recency only within the limits set in the rules, only in a properly qualified device, and usually only when the training is given by an authorised instructor. A neat way to remember it: flight time is time the aircraft is moving; synthetic time is time you spend training on the ground in an approved device.",{"q":362,"a":363},"What do FFS, FTD, FNPT and BITD mean?","They are EASA's flight simulation training device categories, in roughly descending order of fidelity. A full flight simulator (FFS) is the highest, a full-motion replica of a specific type. A flight training device (FTD) is a fixed replica of a cockpit. A flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT) represents a generic cockpit and environment for procedure training, and a basic instrument training device (BITD) is a simpler ground device, which may use screen-based panels, for the procedural side of instrument flight. The FAA uses FFS and FTD too, plus basic and advanced aviation training devices (BATD and AATD).",{"q":365,"a":366},"Does time on home flight-sim software count?","No. Logging synthetic time requires a device that is qualified and approved for the purpose, and consumer flight-sim software on a personal computer is not. It can be excellent practice, but it is not a qualified flight simulation training device, so it cannot be logged toward a licence, rating or recency. The qualification of the device, and the authorisation of the instructor, are what make synthetic time loggable.",[368,369,370,371],"Synthetic time is logged in its own column and never added to actual flight time.","EASA's devices are the FFS, FTD, FNPT and BITD; the FAA uses the FFS, FTD and the BATD and AATD aviation training devices.","Synthetic time counts toward licences, ratings and recency only within the limits in the rules, in a qualified device, usually with an authorised instructor.","Consumer flight-sim software on a home computer is not a qualified device and cannot be logged.",{},"How synthetic training time is logged, the FFS, FTD, FNPT, BITD and ATD device categories, and where it counts toward licences and recency.",true,"\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-simulator-and-fstd-time",[377,386,394],{"q":378,"options":379,"answer":384,"explanation":385},"How is time in a flight simulation training device logged?",[380,381,382,383],"Added straight into actual flight time","In its own synthetic-time column, never added to flight time","Only if the device has motion","As instrument time only",1,"Synthetic training time is logged separately and never added to actual flight time. It counts toward licences, ratings and recency only within defined limits and in a qualified device.",{"q":387,"options":388,"answer":341,"explanation":393},"Which is the highest-fidelity EASA device category?",[389,390,391,392],"Basic instrument training device (BITD)","Flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT)","Full flight simulator (FFS)","Flight training device (FTD)","The full flight simulator (FFS) is the highest-fidelity category, a full-motion replica of a specific type. The FTD, FNPT and BITD descend from there in fidelity.",{"q":395,"options":396,"answer":384,"explanation":401},"Why can consumer flight-sim software on a home computer not be logged?",[397,398,399,400],"Because it has no motion platform","Because it is not a qualified and approved flight simulation training device","Because it is too realistic","Because it cannot show instruments","Logging synthetic time needs a device that is qualified and approved for the purpose. Home flight-sim software is not, so it cannot be logged toward a licence, rating or recency, however useful it is as practice.",{"title":5,"description":354},[404,406,408,410],{"label":405,"url":176},"FAA 14 CFR 61.51 (Pilot logbooks, including simulator and training device time)",{"label":407,"url":120},"FAA 14 CFR Part 60 (Flight simulation training device initial and continuing qualification)",{"label":409,"url":68},"EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Part-FCL, FSTD definitions and credits)",{"label":411,"url":107},"ICAO Doc 9625: Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices","learn\u002Flogging-simulator-and-fstd-time","Logbook","ebFTW1VvxFdiO3MrKOTuEM-gdAsEnABFTaf50WkNqhM",{"related":416,"newer":434,"older":441,"series":353},[417,423,429],{"path":418,"title":419,"description":420,"date":421,"topic":413,"draft":355,"minutes":422,"series":353,"seriesOrder":353},"\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-multi-crew-and-cruise-time","Logging multi-crew and cruise-relief time","How pilots log time in a multi-pilot aircraft: P1 and P2, pilot-in-command under supervision, cruise relief, and how EASA roles map onto FAA PIC and SIC.","2026-05-25",7,{"path":424,"title":425,"description":426,"date":427,"topic":413,"draft":355,"minutes":428,"series":353,"seriesOrder":353},"\u002Flearn\u002Frecency-and-currency","Recency and currency","The difference between being legally current and proficient, with the EASA and FAA recent-experience rules for passengers, night and instrument flight.","2026-05-13",4,{"path":430,"title":431,"description":432,"date":433,"topic":413,"draft":355,"minutes":422,"series":353,"seriesOrder":353},"\u002Flearn\u002Flogging-solo-and-student-time","Logging solo and student time","How a student pilot logs dual and solo flying, what supervised solo and student pilot-in-command mean, and what an instructor signs under EASA and the FAA.","2026-05-09",{"path":435,"title":436,"description":437,"date":352,"topic":438,"draft":355,"minutes":422,"series":439,"seriesOrder":440},"\u002Flearn\u002Fhow-to-read-an-atis","How to read an ATIS","What the ATIS broadcast contains, how the information letter and runway-in-use work, how it differs from a METAR, and the EASA\u002FUK and FAA conventions.","Weather","decode-the-weather",3,{"path":442,"title":443,"description":444,"date":445,"topic":446,"draft":355,"minutes":428,"series":353,"seriesOrder":353},"\u002Flearn\u002Fholding-patterns-explained","Holding patterns explained","The standard holding pattern, how the legs are timed, the three entry procedures, and the maximum holding speeds, with ICAO and FAA figures attributed.","2026-04-09","Operations",1782839405696]