Private pilot hours: totaling your logbook for 61.109

What the rule asks for

For a private pilot certificate, airplane single-engine, under Part 61 (14 CFR 61.109(a)):

• 40 hours of flight time in total.
• 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor, including 3 hours cross-country, 3 hours at night (with one cross-country over 100 nm total distance and 10 takeoffs and 10 full-stop landings, each with a pattern), 3 hours on instruments, and 3 hours preparing for the test in the 2 calendar months before it.
• 10 hours of solo flight time, including 5 hours solo cross-country, one solo cross-country of 150 nm total with full-stop landings at three points and one leg of at least 50 nm, and 3 takeoffs and 3 full-stop landings at an airport with an operating control tower.

This is a summary. The rule itself is what counts, and Part 141 schools have their own minimums.

How to total it from your logbook

1. Add up your dual received, solo, cross-country, night and simulated instrument columns, page by page.
2. Mark the flights that meet the special items: the night cross-country, the long solo cross-country, the towered landings and the test-prep flights.
3. Write your numbers on our free private pilot hours tracker and go over it with your instructor.

Common snags

• Test-prep hours flown more than 2 calendar months before the checkride.
• A long solo cross-country without one leg of at least 50 nm between takeoff and landing.
• Night landings that were touch-and-goes instead of full stops.
• Totals on your application that don't match your logbook.

For instructors

Years of instruction given in paper logbooks are hard to total for a job application or insurance. A digital logbook keeps every lesson and its totals in one place.

More: Import steps for ForeFlight, LogTen and MyFlightbook · LogClimb for Student & instructor