"Bob" wrote in message
...
1) I keep my plane in a hangar at an airport more than 50
nm from the airport nearest my home. I decide to fly it
home for a week (1 hr), and tie it down. I fly locally for
that week (5 hrs), then back to my hangar airport (1 hr).
How much of that can I log as XC time usable for a rating?

2) I decide to take a long multi-day trip. Most days I fly
far more than 50 nm (25 hrs). Some days I fly "locally" to
see the sights and return to the same airport (10 hrs) that
is more than 50 nm from home. Some days I make only a
little progress and land less than 50 nm from the airport of
the previous day, but much farther than 50 nm from my hangar
airport (5hrs). How much of that can I log as XC time
usable for a rating?

I don't think the FARs give unambiguous answers to those questions. I think
we just have to use common sense to discern the intent of the regs. I 'd say
that flying locally in sight-seeing circles doesn't count, even if it occurs
in the middle of an XC flight, unless the sightseeing time can't readily be
separated out (that is, I'd probably count an hour of sight-seeing circling
that occurred, without landing, in the middle of a 100nm leg). But if you're
making steady progress from one point to another that's more than 50nm away,
then I'd count every leg, even on a day when you advance less than 50nm.

--Gary