Logging again

"Ron Rosenfeld" wrote in message ...
On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:07:21 -0400, "Ron Natalie" wrote:

If you have any pilot certificate, you can log PIC time when solo.

Yes but if you have a private certificate without a seaplane rating, can an
instructor sign you off to solo the aircraft?

Yes. You can solo the seaplane before the rating.

I seem to recall this being a contradiction in the rules, in that an
instructor can sign off a student pilot to fly solo in an aircraft in which
he is not rated; but was not able to do a solo authorization for a
certificated pilot.

When the 61 rewrite came in, they seem to have forgotten about
people soloing when adding ratings. The "solo pic logging" clause
had been deleted from 61.51, etc... This has been fixed for a while
now. Howevewr, the provision for actually flying solo is here

61.31 (c) Aircraft category, class, and type ratings: Limitations on the carriage
of persons, or operating for compensation or hire. Unless a person holds a
category, class, and type rating (if a class and type rating is required) that
applies to the aircraft, that person may not act as pilot in command of an
aircraft that is carrying another person, or is operated for compensation or hire.
That person also may not act as pilot in command of that aircraft for compensation or hire.

61.31 (d) Aircraft category, class, and type ratings: Limitations on operating an aircraft
as the pilot in command. To serve as the pilot in command of an aircraft, a person must -
(1) Hold the appropriate category, class, and type rating (if a class rating and type
rating are required) for the aircraft to be flown;
(2) Be receiving training for the purpose of obtaining an additional pilot certificate
and rating that are appropriate to that aircraft, and be under the supervision of an
authorized instructor; or
(3) Have received training required by this part that is appropriate to the aircraft category,
class, and type rating (if a class or type rating is required) for the aircraft to be flown,
and have received the required endorsements from an instructor who is authorized to
provide the required endorsements for solo flight in that aircraft.

and as long as you are VFR (61.3 requires at least category and class ratints in addition
to the instrument rating).