Definition
Flight time during which a person serves as a required pilot, receives training from an authorized instructor, or acts as pilot in command on a flight where more than one pilot is required by aircraft type or the operation being conducted. Pilot time, when properly logged, can be used to meet the requirements for a certificate, rating, or recent flight experience under 14 CFR Part 61.
Plain English
Time you can legally write in your logbook because you were either flying the aircraft, being trained in it, or filling a required pilot seat. It's the kind of flight time that counts toward your licenses, ratings, and currency.
Context Anchor
You will see this term when logging training, checking experience requirements, or applying for a certificate, rating, or endorsement.
Derivation
Pilot comes from an older seafaring word for a person who guides or steers a vessel. In aviation, it keeps that idea of the person guiding the aircraft; pilot time is the time connected to that recognized pilot role.
Why Pilots Care
It determines whether a pilot meets the minimum experience thresholds for certificates, ratings, and certain privileges.
Intuition Check
Pilot time does not mean any time spent around airplanes or studying aviation. It means time the FAA allows you to count because you were serving, learning, or instructing in an approved pilot role.
Example Sentence 1
She logged 1.5 hours of pilot time during her dual cross-country with the instructor.
Example Sentence 2
An applicant needs at least forty hours of pilot time to qualify for the private pilot certificate.