Definition
The time from the moment an aircraft first moves under its own power for the purpose of flight until it comes to rest at the next point of landing. Defined in 14 CFR 1.1, this is the official period that counts toward pilot logbook totals, certificate and rating requirements, and many regulatory limits.
Plain English
The clock starts when the aircraft begins moving on its own to go fly, and stops when it parks after landing. Everything in between is flight time — including taxi out and taxi in.
Context Anchor
Seen in logbooks, training records, certificate requirements, and discussions of how much flying experience a pilot has.
Why Pilots Care
It is the official measure used to meet FAA requirements for pilot certificates, ratings, and recent flight experience.
Intuition Check
Flight time does not mean only the minutes when the aircraft is in the air. In normal powered-aircraft logging, it includes the movement for the flight before takeoff and after landing until the aircraft stops.
Example Sentence 1
After the lesson, the student logged 1.2 hours of flight time, which included taxi out, the airwork, and taxi back to parking.
Example Sentence 2
To renew a flight review the pilot needed to show three hours of flight time within the preceding 24 months.