A student's logbook tells the story of learning to fly, and it has its own vocabulary: dual, solo, and, under EASA, student pilot-in-command. Each describes a different relationship between the student, the instructor and the aircraft, and each is logged differently. Getting the columns right from the first lesson builds a record that holds up when you apply for the licence.
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.
Dual: flying with an instructor
The earliest entries are dual: flying while receiving instruction. EASA's FCL.010 defines dual instruction time as flight time, or instrument ground time, during which a person is receiving flight instruction from a properly authorised instructor. The FAA logs the same thing as training time, or dual received, given by an authorised instructor under 14 CFR 61.51.
The defining feature of dual is the instructor's role: they are there to teach and, if necessary, to take control. That is what separates dual from the time that comes later. The instructor certifies the training given, and in practice signs the student's logbook for each lesson, because those entries are the evidence that the required instruction was actually received.
Solo: alone in the aircraft
Solo time is the milestone. Both systems define it the same way, by who is in the aircraft. EASA's FCL.010 calls solo flight time the flight time during which a student pilot is the sole occupant of an aircraft. The FAA, in 61.51, lets a pilot log as solo only the flight time when they are the sole occupant. The common thread is being alone: no instructor, no passenger, just the student.
Crucially, solo is supervised solo. A student does not simply decide to fly alone; the instructor authorises it first, having judged the student ready. Under the FAA this authorisation is concrete and written: a student must hold a logbook endorsement from an authorised instructor for solo flight under 14 CFR 61.87, and a further endorsement for solo cross-country under 61.93, recorded both in the logbook and on the student pilot certificate, often with limitations on conditions and aerodromes. Under EASA the instructor authorises the solo flights and the training organisation records confirm it. Either way, the student flies alone, but only because someone qualified signed it off in advance.
Student pilot-in-command: an EASA idea
Here the two systems part company. EASA adds a category with no exact FAA equivalent: student pilot-in-command (SPIC). FCL.010 defines it as a student pilot acting as pilot-in-command on a flight where the instructor only observes the student and does not influence or control the flight. The student is genuinely commanding the aircraft; the instructor is a safety presence, watching, not flying.
The point of SPIC is that it lets a student build genuine command experience under supervision, and that time can be credited toward pilot-in-command experience for certain licence purposes, within the rules and provided the instructor countersigns the entry (AMC1 FCL.050) to certify the student genuinely commanded the flight. It sits between dual, where the instructor teaches and may take over, and solo, where the student is alone: in SPIC the instructor is present but deliberately hands-off.
Under the FAA, a student flying with an instructor aboard is normally logging dual received, not command time, so there is no direct SPIC column. This is a genuine difference to keep straight: do not carry SPIC into an FAA logbook, and do not assume an FAA student's with-instructor time maps onto EASA's SPIC.
What the instructor actually signs
The student's logbook is a shared document in these early stages, and it matters who signs what.
- For dual, the instructor certifies the training given, lesson by lesson.
- For solo, the instructor provides the authorisation or endorsement that permits the flight, and under the FAA the specific 61.87 and 61.93 endorsements, with their conditions.
- For SPIC under EASA, the flight is conducted under the instructor's supervision, and the records reflect that the instructor observed rather than instructed.
These signatures are not bureaucracy for its own sake. When you apply for the licence, the examiner and the authority rely on them as proof that the solo and training requirements were met properly, by a student who was authorised to do what the logbook says they did.
Solo cross-country and its endorsements
Solo flying does not stop at the circuit. Once a student is ready to navigate alone, solo cross-country brings its own layer of authorisation, because flying away from the home field alone is a bigger step than circuits. Under the FAA, 14 CFR 61.93 requires a separate instructor endorsement for solo cross-country, on top of the basic solo endorsement, and the instructor reviews the student's planning for each flight and may endorse specific routes. Under EASA the instructor authorises the solo navigation flights within the training syllabus. The endorsements and authorisations typically carry conditions, on the aerodromes that may be used, on weather minima, and sometimes on specific routes, and flying outside those conditions breaks the authorisation. Solo cross-country, in other words, is still supervised solo: the student is alone in the aircraft, but flying a flight the instructor has approved.
From student records to the licence
All of this record-keeping has a destination: the licence application. When you apply, the authority and the examiner check that the experience requirements were met, that the dual instruction was given, that the solo and solo cross-country flights were properly authorised, and that the qualifying flights happened as the rule requires. The student logbook, with the instructor's certifications and the solo endorsements, is the evidence for all of it. The FAA also records key solo privileges as endorsements on the student pilot certificate itself. A meticulous student logbook is therefore not just a diary of learning to fly; it is the documentary proof that turns hours flown into a licence issued, which is why getting the dual, solo and SPIC columns right from the first lesson pays off at the very end.
A worked example
Take a typical training day at an EASA school.
In the morning you fly a dual lesson, circuits with your instructor in the right-hand seat. That is dual instruction time, and your instructor certifies the lesson in your logbook. The instructor is teaching, and would take control if needed.
In the afternoon, judged ready, you fly three solo circuits. Your instructor authorises the flights first, and you are now the sole occupant, so the time is solo flight time. Under the FAA the identical sequence would require a 61.87 solo endorsement in your logbook before you flew, but the logging, solo time as sole occupant, is the same.
Weeks later you fly a navigation exercise where your instructor comes along but, by agreement, only observes: you plan it, command it, and make the decisions, while the instructor sits on their hands unless safety demands otherwise. Under EASA that is SPIC, credited toward your pilot-in-command experience. Under the FAA, the same flight with an instructor aboard would simply be dual received, because there is no SPIC column to put it in. One flight, logged in two genuinely different ways depending on the system.
Common pitfalls
- Logging time with an instructor aboard as solo. Solo means sole occupant; with an instructor present it is dual, or SPIC under EASA.
- Flying solo without the authorisation. Supervised solo needs the instructor's prior endorsement, and under the FAA the specific 61.87 and 61.93 endorsements.
- Carrying SPIC into an FAA logbook. SPIC is an EASA category with no exact FAA equivalent; FAA with-instructor time is dual received.
- Missing the instructor's signatures. Dual lessons and solo authorisations are evidence the licence application relies on, so the entries must be properly certified.
- Treating endorsement limitations as optional. Solo and solo cross-country endorsements carry conditions on aerodromes and weather; flying outside them undoes the authorisation.
In Pilot EFB
Pilot EFB keeps dual, solo and command time in their own columns in the electronic logbook, and completing a flight can generate an entry for you to review and confirm. It is a convenient personal record, not a compliance system, and it does not replace the instructor's authorisations and signatures, which live with your training organisation and your formal records. Confirm each entry against the rule for your licence, reconcile it with the logbook your school treats as official, and keep it backed up. Saved entries stay available offline. Pilot EFB is offline-first and is not a certified or authority-approved electronic logbook.