Regulations and Legal Responsibilities
The Regulations and Legal Responsibilities domain asks one core question over and over: is this flight legal for a pilot holding a recreational certificate? Expect questions on privileges and limits, medical certification, currency, required documents, and alcohol.
Privileges and limits
- One passenger only; expenses may be shared, but the pilot must pay at least the pro rata share, and only fuel, oil, airport expenses, or rental fees may be shared.
- No compensation or hire, no flights in furtherance of a business, and no flying between sunset and sunrise.
- The aircraft must be single-engine, certificated for no more than four occupants, have a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less, and not be turbojet or turboprop powered.
- Class B, Class C, Class D, and the surface area of Class E require ground training, flight training, and a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor.
Certification, currency, and documents
Eligibility is 17 years old, English proficient, at least a third-class medical, 30 hours of flight time including 15 hours with an instructor and 3 hours solo, plus the knowledge and practical tests. Carry your pilot certificate, medical, and photo ID when acting as PIC; the aircraft needs its airworthiness certificate, registration, operating limitations, and weight-and-balance data. Passenger currency is three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days in the same category, class, and type; the flight review is one hour of ground and one hour of flight every 24 calendar months. Alcohol: 8 hours bottle-to-throttle, blood alcohol below 0.04, and never while impaired.
Worked example
A friend offers to cover all the fuel for a two-hour sightseeing flight if you fly. May you accept? No. A passenger may pay no more than a pro rata share, and the pilot must pay at least an equal share; a passenger paying 100 percent converts the flight into compensation. Offer to split fuel evenly and the flight is legal, provided it is not in furtherance of the friend's business and is flown in daylight.
Traps
Mixing sport and recreational rules (sport pilots fly light-sport aircraft and generally use a driver's license instead of a medical). Forgetting that pro rata sharing covers only fuel, oil, airport expenses, and rental, not meals. Treating 90-day landing currency as a substitute for the 24-month flight review, or assuming Class E surface areas are unrestricted.