cadbury
Well-Known Member
Dear Pilots/CFI/Examiner,
I will be pursuing my ATP AMEL in Spring 2026 and I have already fulfilled almost all of the aeronautical experience requirements.
However, I have found myself in a difficult situation when it comes to logging the 500 hours of cross-country experience required for the ATP (fixed-wing).
Last year, I worked as a flight instructor at a flight school in Indonesia. During that time, I accumulated many hours of cross-country under VFR with GPS navigation. All routes were fixed and had to be approved by the Indonesian aviation authority.
According to Indonesia DGCA regulations, a cross-country is defined differently from the FAA: it does not have to meet the “straight-line distance of more than 50 NM” requirement, but instead must be more than 50 NM with a landing or touch-and-go.
Here is where my confusion begins:
Many of my logged flights exceed 50 NM in overall routing distance, but if measured in a straight line, they are less than 50 NM.
Because of Indonesia DGCA restrictions, cross-country flights cannot cross the sea, must follow coastal routes, and must avoid restricted zones and hilly terrain, which often forced us into curved routes.
Case Study (1):
I know of Indonesian pilots who came to the US for the FAA ATP. Despite facing the same issue with their cross-country hours, they still passed their ATP checkrides and were issued FAA ATP certificates.
Case Study (2):
Similarly, I have met Republic of Singapore Air Force pilots who came to the US for FAA ATP. Their military flying often did not involve traditional “cross-country” flying with landings, yet they were still accepted by FAA DPEs.
This leaves me very uncertain. For my own situation:
Should I disclose my background and the nature of my logged cross-country hours to the FAA DPE before my ATP AMEL checkride?
Or should I remain silent, as others seem to have done, and simply proceed with my logbook as it is?
I sincerely ask for guidance from experienced professional pilots who may have seen similar situations. What would be the correct and prudent course of action here?
*Note:
§ 61.1 (b)(vi)(B) That is at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
I will be pursuing my ATP AMEL in Spring 2026 and I have already fulfilled almost all of the aeronautical experience requirements.
However, I have found myself in a difficult situation when it comes to logging the 500 hours of cross-country experience required for the ATP (fixed-wing).
Last year, I worked as a flight instructor at a flight school in Indonesia. During that time, I accumulated many hours of cross-country under VFR with GPS navigation. All routes were fixed and had to be approved by the Indonesian aviation authority.
According to Indonesia DGCA regulations, a cross-country is defined differently from the FAA: it does not have to meet the “straight-line distance of more than 50 NM” requirement, but instead must be more than 50 NM with a landing or touch-and-go.
Here is where my confusion begins:
Many of my logged flights exceed 50 NM in overall routing distance, but if measured in a straight line, they are less than 50 NM.
Because of Indonesia DGCA restrictions, cross-country flights cannot cross the sea, must follow coastal routes, and must avoid restricted zones and hilly terrain, which often forced us into curved routes.
Case Study (1):
I know of Indonesian pilots who came to the US for the FAA ATP. Despite facing the same issue with their cross-country hours, they still passed their ATP checkrides and were issued FAA ATP certificates.
Case Study (2):
Similarly, I have met Republic of Singapore Air Force pilots who came to the US for FAA ATP. Their military flying often did not involve traditional “cross-country” flying with landings, yet they were still accepted by FAA DPEs.
This leaves me very uncertain. For my own situation:
Should I disclose my background and the nature of my logged cross-country hours to the FAA DPE before my ATP AMEL checkride?
Or should I remain silent, as others seem to have done, and simply proceed with my logbook as it is?
I sincerely ask for guidance from experienced professional pilots who may have seen similar situations. What would be the correct and prudent course of action here?
*Note:
§ 61.1 (b)(vi)(B) That is at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure;