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Changing commander in the air (can a non-FI PIC sit in the RHS)

Not a legal eagle but typically the PIC signs the tech log, which suggests you can’t change roles mid flight.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

mh wrote:

Both latter regulations are still waiting to be updated or revoked completely as they contradict NCO in some substantial issues.

Why on earth do they feel the urge to adapt this legislation to EASA? Don’t EASA regulations apply directly in Germany?

LFPT, LFPN

They do apply directly and many people hope that the FSAV and LuftBO will be deleted, but they regulate the national microlights, too, and mainly refer to EASA rules for the most parts.

mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

Not a legal eagle but typically the PIC signs the tech log,

What’s a tech log? We have a journey log as everywhere in France, where you also put “RAS” in the remarks column (“rien à signaler” – nothing to report). There you can surely just enter two lines, one for each PIC’s part of the flight. Agreed, a flight to nowhere would look strange if you changed in the air and never landed away. But long-haul pilots frequently do just the takeoff or just the landing as well… ok they would enter one line and not change commander, except in case of pilot incapacitation.

Last Edited by Rwy20 at 18 Dec 22:06

Is a normal EASA PPL in an EASA registered plane allowed to be PIC from the right hand seat when flying alone? What if there is another PPL holder in the left hand seat?

If it is allowed in principle, are there any gotchas? Like an operators agreement or something that prevents this?

This might come in handy if for example you fly with a PPL friend and you are in the right hand seat and he is not instrument rated but you are. Then you can fly departures and approaches in case of non-vfr weather.

Last Edited by HBadger at 07 Nov 19:21
Switzerland

Nothing in the European regs to ban flying from the righthand seat. There may be limitations to that effect in the AFM of some airplanes, but in most cases, there aren‘t.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Exactly. So, regarding the OP question, even if the left seat occupant is a pax, PIC may be on the RHS

Private field, Mallorca, Spain

@HBadger posts moved to existing thread on same topic.

This is interesting to me because my younger son is doing his PPL and then if he gets checked out in a “complex” (say a PA28R) he can log time from the RHS in my TB20.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Nothing legally prevents it: PIC in RHS is ok, but then you may have some inconvenience from non-dual breaks, no electric trim, fuel selector, limited visibility in left hand circuits…although some pilots/instructors tend to exaggerate the difficulty of landings or flying IMC from RHS, maybe LHS/RHS matters with 50kts xwinds?

Some aircrafts do explicitly prohibit PIC in RHS for GPS/AP operations in AFM manual/supplement

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Mainly flying a sr22, so I guess (have to still check afm) it should be fine. Fuel selector in middle, dual breaks etc. the circuit breakers are a bit awkwardly positioned though.

I guess my biggest concern is wrong muscle memory in stressful situations as well as sight picture/feeling for landings. The few times when I was passenger in the rhs, I could have sworn the plane’s axis was not parallel to rwy axis, but the landings were fine.

So the ones among us who fly from rhs, how did you transition into it?

Switzerland
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