What's the official definition of a cross-country flight?

Question

Does it necessarily mean that you land somewhere, or is it just a flight that you filed a flight plan for?

Answer 1

a "Cross country" flight technically... is one where the aircraft lands at a different airport than it departed.  Even if it is only across the street...  that is *technically* a cross-country flight. Most pilots would not log it so... and would simply leave it as local... but.... x/c is one of those categories that once you are out of training becomes basically useless, and you keep adding and carrying up everything you do as x/c because it is so rare that you make a local flight.

I had to laugh because a kid I knew flew with a MEI in a KingAir.. and he wanted him to log the time as "dual"  so he could have some multiengine time....  and the guy obliged him... laughing.... "you are going to be carrying this forward for years"   and he probably did have to write .6  on every logbook page under METurbine for years before it ever changed.

Answer 2

For flight training in Canada, the cross-country exercise is a flight that is a minimum of 100 miles and involves landing at three airports, at least one of which has a control tower and at least one of which is uncontrolled.

Normally, "cross country" refers to any flight that requires either a flight plan to be filed, IOW any flight more than 25 miles from the departure airport.

Answer 3

In the US, that's a frustrating thing to try to find.  It all depends on the purpose of the cross country time.

The general definition of cross country is a flight that includes a point of landing other than the point of departure.  There is no mileage requirement.  This definition counts toward FAR 135 experience requirements.

The requirement for cross country experience toward a private or commercial pilot certificate or an instrument rating requires a landing at an airport at least 50nm straight line distance away from the point of departure.

Both of the above definitions require a landing at an airport other than the original point of departure.

The requirement for cross country experience toward an ATP certificate is strange.  It does not require a landing a point other than the airport of departure, but it does require you to fly at least 50nm straight line distance from your departure point.

Answer 4

(3) Cross-country time means--

[(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3)(ii) through (b)(3)(vi) of this section, time acquired during a flight--]

(A) Conducted by a person who holds a pilot certificate;

(B) Conducted in an aircraft;

(C) That includes a landing at a point other than the point of departure; and

(D) That involves the use of dead reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigation aids, radio aids, or other navigation systems to navigate to the landing point.

[(ii) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements (except for a rotorcraft category rating), for a private pilot certificate (except for a powered parachute category rating), a commercial pilot certificate, or an instrument rating, or for the purpose of exercising recreational pilot privileges (except in a rotorcraft) under Sec. 61.101(c), time acquired during a flight--]

(A) Conducted in an appropriate aircraft;

(B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

(C) That involves the use of dead reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigation aids, radio aids, or other navigation systems to navigate to the landing point.

Answer 5

Just to add one slight detail, there is one exception. Stealth bomber pilots who took off in the US, flew to Afghanistan or Iraq, dropped their bombs, and returned (with multiple in-air refueling on the way) couldn't log cross-country time (because there was no landing other than at the same place they took off). They got the military to add an exception. An in-air refueling makes a flight cross-country.