When I used to do mentoring I was always in the LHS and always PIC the whole time.
Otherwise one has to be awfully choosy about who one flies with as a passenger 
The drawback is that most GA planes have very limited stuff in the RHS.
The scenario that DP is describing is how I've always done it, but it does leave room for a massive problem if there is then a disagreement in the air about whether command should actually be transferred or not.
In theory, if RHS requests to take over command because the agreed circumstances have happened, but LHS has a change of heart and refuses, then there is nothing RHS can do and (under single crew ops) they are just a passenger and will have to hope/pray.
Otherwise one has to be awfully choosy about who one flies with as a passenger
Is one not anyway? It's a fairly confined space and I don't take anyone flying who I don't mind spending an hour or two alone with.
In Germany in a single engine propeller aircraft: - only the pilot sitting in the LEFT seat can be PIC - there is no possibility for both pilots to log the time - exception: if the pilot in the right seat is a FI/CRI both pilots can log the time
In Germany in a single engine propeller aircraft: - only the pilot sitting in the LEFT seat can be PIC - there is no possibility for both pilots to log the time - exception: if the pilot in the right seat is a FI/CRI both pilots can log the time
Are you sure? Would be a Germany-specific rule.
The drawback is that most GA planes have very limited stuff in the RHS.
Unusually, although I'm not a CFI, I have flown quite a few hours from the RHS. In normal day VFR it makes little difference, we are not talking about 777 cockpit size here, after all. Where it gets tricky is if you need to fly on instruments. I recall one Channel crossing which was perfect VFR, in reality however so hazy that there was no horizon. It took a lot of concentration to fly the damn thing to the Belgian shore!
In Germany in a single engine propeller aircraft: - only the pilot sitting in the LEFT seat can be PIC
Negative, Sir. See paragraph 2 LuftVO (http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/luftvo/__2.html). Pic is the person who has been nominated as such by the operator ("Halter") of the aircraft. Only if this is not the case, then the person occupying the left hand seat is in command.
exception: if the pilot in the right seat is a FI/CRI both pilots can log the time
Only if the flight is a training or check flight with the aim to obtain or revalidate a license or rating. If I (instructor) fly with an aircraft owner who has a valid license as his "safety pilot" I can not log anything. Only if I fly with a student (no license yet) I can log the time as PIC, the student can log "student" or "dual" or "PUT" or whatever the maker of his logbook printed on top of the relative column.
NCYankee: In my logbook there is no column for who is "Acting as PIC" or as you call it Aircraft Commander.
In JAR/EASA-land we do have two such categories, named "SPIC" (supervised pilot in command) and "PICUS" (pilot in command under supervision). They are not the same (!) and refer to different occasions where someone is "Acting as PIC" as you write. But AFAIK, "SPIC" also exists under FAA rules. Anyway, none of these things has anything to do with the "safety pilot" role that we are discussing here.
What are people's views on this?
I fly my aircraft only with other pilots I know, like and trust. Typically they have more experience than me. No problems arise in the air. I log the time after the flight however I see fit, which typically means PIC for when I was flying the aircraft, and the number of landings I actually did. They don't log anything for themselves.
Both my planes can be flown from either seat. I enjoyed seeing a contemporary magazine article showing one being flown solo from the right, presumably because the pilot liked the stick in his right hand.
what next, negative, this does not apply to single engine aircraft flown by one pilot, believe me. As a CRI I am leading this discussion for ten years now - and it is clear that you cannot be PIC in the right seat if you are not an FI or CRI
Sorry, i think we have a misunderstanding here, my fault! Yes, the PIC can sit i the right seat if the operator declared him PIC - but only ONE pilot on board can log the time.
I should think before I type :-)
Sometimes if I do a 2 hour round trip with another pilot we change command in the air. But we have 2 rules 1) we use the 'you have / I have command' notion 2) the person in the right hand seat doesn't fly by hand in IMC.
