Solo vs Dual Time Building: What Actually Counts
FAA definitions for solo, PIC, and dual time — and how to log each correctly for commercial pilot requirements.
Logging time wrong is one of the most common DPE complaints. Here is the clean version.
The FAA's definitions (§61.51)
Pilot in Command (PIC) time: When you are the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which you are rated, OR when you are the sole occupant, OR when acting as PIC of an operation requiring more than one pilot.
Solo time: Time during which you are the sole occupant of the aircraft. This is a subset of PIC.
Dual instruction: Time during which you receive flight training from an authorized instructor.
What you can log as PIC
If you hold a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land:
- Every minute you are sole manipulator in a single-engine land airplane = PIC
- Every minute with a passenger and you are sole manipulator = PIC
- Every minute solo = PIC (and solo)
- Time with a CFI when you are sole manipulator = PIC AND dual received (yes, both)
What you cannot log as PIC
- Time when the CFI is flying the airplane
- Time as a passenger
- Sim time (logged separately, with category)
Commercial pilot specifics (§61.129)
The commercial certificate requires:
- 250 hours total
- 100 hours PIC, of which 50 must be cross-country
- 10 hours of dual instrument
- 10 hours in a complex, TAA, or turbine
- 20 hours of training on specific tasks
- 10 hours of solo (or with an instructor while performing the duties of PIC if in a multi-pilot operation)
The DPE will go through your logbook line by line. If your hours don't add up because you logged a dual-received flight only as dual and not as PIC, you'll come up short.
Common mistakes
- Logging dual but not PIC when you were the sole manipulator
- Logging XC where the landing wasn't more than 50 NM (commercial XC requirement)
- Not totaling category/class on every page
- Skipping the route and remarks columns
Recommendation
Use a digital logbook (ForeFlight, MyFlightbook, Logbook Pro) and reconcile after every flight. Audit your totals monthly. A clean logbook is a faster checkride.