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There has been some debate as to whether cross country time for student pilots is 25 miles beyond the aiport of origin (61.93) or 50 miles. Which is it? Does anyone know for sure?
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Very good question, and you're the first person I've ever heard mention that!!! It's a multi-pronged answer.
The first step to answering that question is to determine the purpose for which you wish toy use the XC time. If it's for meeting the aeronautical experience requirements for a private cert, commercial cert or an Instrument rating, we use Part 61.1 (3) (ii) [assuming we're talking airplanes here]. This basically states that the cross country flight must include a landing at an airport at least 50 NM from the departure point.
I think that this regulation is pretty cut and dry, and reading too far into it is rather pointless.
If we're not using this XC time to meet the aeronautical experience requirements of any of the above listed three ratings, then we simply use Part 61.1 (3) (i). We stop there, and we see that the regulations simply state that the flight must include a landing at a point other than the departure. It can be 2 miles away, and it's considered a XC flight.
When might we use this? Any time other than any of the above listed situations. These can include meeting the aeronautical requirements for an ATP cert, meeting Part 135 Minimums, etc. Nothing shady about it, and the person that wants to get a job will log every single bit of XC time that they legally logged.
As for the "25 NM" reference, this is from Part 61.93 (a) (1). This is the section the regulates the actions that must be taken before a student flies on a solo XC flight of any type, OR makes any solo flight of more than 25 miles from the point of origin. This does not qualify a XC flight as one of more than 25 miles, it's just saying that if a student pilot wants to fly that far away, (s)he has to meet the same requirements as a student that wants to fly on a solo cross country flight.
Note that according to Part 61.93 (b), a flight instructor can authorize a student to fly solo to an airport that is within 25 miles from the departure airport. This may be useful if a student wants to practive at an uncontrolled airport (or controlled - whatever the case may be), wants to leave congested airspace, or any number of other situations. Can this be logged as cross country time? Absolutely!! Will it count towards the cross country requirements of the PPL, IR or Comm Cert? Nope - doesn't mean it's not useful though.
Whew.....