Originally Posted by
LeadSled
ASquared,
See the above for the FAA formal interpretation of the rules, re.14 CFR 61.51 - Pilot logbooks.
It is markedly different to Australia, but subject to wide legitimate interpretation. In my experience, it is not a thing FAA gets hung up about.
Tootle pip!!
Yes, I'm quite familiar with that interpretation. Yes, there are times when it is legal to log instrument time when you're not actually inside a cloud. 84-29 names a couple of scenarios. My point was not that you must be inside clouds to log instrument time. Rather, that it is not legal in the US to log instrument time in good visual conditions ( CAVOK specifically was the term used) merely because you were on an IFR flight plan, you actually have to be in conditions which require flight by reference to instruments. That my be legal in Oz, I don't pretend to know. But for an absolute fact it is not legal to log instrument time on a clear sunny day in the US, merely because you're on an IFR flight plan. Neither the applicable regulation nor the 84-29 legal interpretation can be interpreted to allow that.