Re: Log Book entries
Bose,
I think that your argument lies with the club rules/owners/operators and not the instructor.
If you are current on C152s (be it with only 1400 hours) and a club still requires a checkout to fly their C152 then the argument is about the club accepting that you are a very experienced pilot and have nothing to learn.
The position of pilot in command and other duties on the flight are decided pre-flight. I am the pilot in command you are operating the aircraft under my instruction - I say to fly it then you fly it, I say stop you stop! I am pilot in command. If that is clear then I am sure you would not spoil it by making a false logbook entry after the flight claiming that you were pilot in command now would you?
The pilot in command is the person responsible for the safety of the aircraft during flight time. It has no direct link to flying the aircraft. It is a responsibility issue. If you are in need of a checkout for any reason then by definition there is a reason (club/insurance/currency/airmanship) why you are not qualified to (or would not want to) take responsibility for thesafety of the aircraft.
If you and I agreed that you were in a position to take responsibility then I would not waste my and your time doing a checkout.
I often do not charge for giving my time to people who need a checkout and I am most definitely not in need of any more hours. However, I have yet to come across a pilot who had nothing to learn.
There is the other argument about what the checkout requires- a few circuits only, some upper air work, a PFL or 2. I can see where people have problems with having to spend over 1 hour "checking out" on a type that they actually flew last week. That is often down to money making (instructor and club), hour building (instructor) and ass covering/ unwilling to use discretion/experience (instructor). Those are the areas where the arguments about checkouts lie. Not in the log book entries.
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Englishal,
If the club required you to do a checkout before being pilot in command on a flight to France then how did you carry passengers (one of whom was an instructor) on a flight to France before being signed off?
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I can see a wording change soon in many club rules.
Replace words like "check out" with "Training Flight".
eg
Old version:
No pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft they have not flown in the previous 28 days unless they complete a checkout with a club instructor.
New version:
No pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft thay have not flown in the previous 28 days unless they complete a training flight with a club instructor.
After all, training flights are clearly defined. "Checkouts" are not defined at all.
Regards,
DFC