What does P1 actually mean?

In May 2018 I contacted a broker to get insurance for a newly forming Group.
I was surprised that only total hours was asked. Anyone with over 100 was acceptable. So a PPL with 99 hours to pass and 2 since would be O.K, but someone who got their PPL in the minimum time, then flew solo to 99 hours total in a year would be too inexperienced.

My understanding is CDB = PIC and DOUBLE = PUT at least that is how I convert some hours in France to UK

The only place where I saw P1/P2 are gliding and military (I have some logbooks on those as well), but they are more fuzzy definitions tbh (like who sits in front/back vs left/right, it seems there are “no licences to fly” )

Given how hours logging is confusing, I always keept one logbook for each country I flew in, then I can do the maths latter

My logbook has only two options, Commandant de bord and Double (not counting, on the virgin expanse under ‘multi moteurs’, Co-pilote). Are these different types of pilot a UK thing, or does it exist elsewhere? Everything else above seems to originally refer to military and/or multi-pilot aircraft.

Tumbleweed - negative; it's a role designation, not a seat designation. It is as my 1972 era logbook quaintly but helpfully puts it, the "Pilot in Charge". The Captain in other words. They are responsible for everything that goes right or wrong - wherever they're sat.

So back to fattony's question - flying with an instructor as your passenger, you're still in charge - he just happens to be an instructor. Flying with an instructor for purposes of learning stuff, he's in charge, you're PUT, he's P1.

G

Now you can go back to the insurer and tell that officially there is no such thing so it can't be a risk!

As I said earlier P1 is a seat designation, the left hand seat in a multi pilot aeroplane. Who sits in it depends upon a variety of factors. As it is often the PIC then the two terms are frequently but incorrectly interchanged.

Is it important? Yes, because some controls may only be reachable from that seat and its important that whoever sits there knows how to operate them. I recall a serious incident where the person sitting in the P1 seat did not know how to change the seat height and after asking the P2, where it was on the opposite side of the seat, managed to select the wrong handle and fired the canopy jettison at 35,000 over the North Sea!

I expect this will change under EASA, but the details have not yet been published, AFAIK.

Yes they have, I listed them in post 24.

I assumed LASORS would actaully contain the definitive current rule ??

LASORS is dead and buried and has been replaced with CAP804, now in its 4th re-print, but still full of errors! Section 1 Part E

Not necessarily quite the definitions I use myself, but my quarter-century-old Airtour, CAA approved logbook marked as being "in accordance with the requirements of the Air Navigation Order 1972", has 2 pages of definitions. Much of it is fairly irrelevant to the conversation, however, three points are relevant:-

(7) The alternative columns provided in the divisions Day and Night and headed In Charge, Second and Dual are designed to facilitate the separate totalling of the flying hours during which the holder acted in a particular operating capacity independently and those during which the duties were performed under a superior member acting in that particular capacity. When an aircraft carries two or more pilots as members of the operating crew one of them shall, before the flight commences, be designed by the operator of the aircraft as Captain. His name shall be entered in the column headed "Captain". If the holder of the log book is the Captain the word "Self" may be entered in that column. A pilot's flying time shall be entered as "in charge" if it is performed when the pilot is flying as Captain of the aircraft; he is entitled to enter the full duration of the flight. A pilot flying as "pilot in charge under supervision" shall enter flying time acquired in this manner in the "in charge" column annotated with the remark "P.1(U/S)" and countersigned in each instance by the Captain of the aircraft concerned. The flying time entered as "Second" will be in all cases be the precise period of duty, as determined by the Captain of the aircraft, during which the holder acted in the course of the flight in the capacity shown.

(10) The following system of notation shall be used for entries in the column headed "Holder's Operating Capacity":-

P.1 Pilot in Charge

P.1 (U/S) Pilot in Charge under supervision (each entry is to be countersigned by the Captain of the aircraft concerned)

P.2 Second pilot exercising the privileges of his licence as a required member of the operating crew

P.3 Pupil pilot; pilot under training

N.1 Navigator responsible for the navigation of the aircraft

N.2 Navigator acting under supervision

R.1 Radio telegraphy operator responsible for all communication so made

R.2 Radio telegraphy operator acting under supervision or gaining practical experience for a superior licence

E.1 Flight Engineer responsible for the operation of the aircraft's power units and auxiliary systems

E.2 Flight Engineer acting under supervision

(11) When the holder is a pupil pilot receiving flying training instruction under the direction of a duly authorised flying instructor, the words "Pupil pilot under training" should be inserted in the "Remarks" column against the entry and if practice landings are made in the course of the flight, the number of such practice landings should be shown in the "Remarks" column. Similarly, in any other case, if any pilot for the purposes of securing qualifications for a licence makes a series of flights covered by a single entry, the number of landings made during the course of such series of flights should be entered in the "Remarks" column.

Helpful-ish, but somewhat confused about how exactly it wants flight under instruction to be logged - as I think I can see about 4 different ways there.

Regarding logging - proper, punctilious pilots, in my opinion, keep proper records. The 10,000th flight should be as important as the 10th.

G

.....and to answer the original poster's question, P1 to all intents and purposes is the same as PIC. It doesn't help that various logbook publishers choose one or the other. As another poster suggests, check which regime you are under (eg EASA, JAA, FAA, etc.) and see what they use. You are highly unlikely to have any Authority challenge your use of PIC when their preferred description is P1, and vice versa.