Safety Pilot Qualification?

I've been following this thread all along. It seems to me the simple
answer
at the very beginning is that the "safety pilot" must be legal to fly
the
airplane, period.

Your simple answer is wrong. The safety pilot only need posess a private
(or better) pilot
certificate with category and class ratings and a medical. He is not
required
to meet the specific pilot in command requirements (currency, BFR,
HP/complex
endorsements) etc... unless he is specifically serving in that role.

Here are the only two rules that apply to safety pilot qualifications:

91.109
(b) No person may operate a civil aircraft in simulated instrument flight
unless -
(1) The other control seat is occupied by a safety pilot who possesses at
least a private
pilot certificate with category and class ratings appropriate to the
aircraft being flown.

61.3(c)
(1) Except as provided for in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, a person
may not act as pilot in command or in any
other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember of an aircraft,
under a certificate issued to that person under
this part, unless that person has a current and appropriate medical
certificate...

Nowhere does it say he has to be "qualified to fly the plane." His role
is to provide the
see-and-avoid vigilance that the hooded pilot can not provide.

Well, Ron(s), on at least two occasions while acting as safety pilot I
have assumed control of the aircraft. First, when the hooded pilot blew an
approach and started wandering diagonally across the airport and second when
I had to take evasive action to avoid another aircraft.
But those aside, you cited 91.109(b)(1) above. I don't know any other
way to interpret that other than being qualified for "...the aircraft being
flown." I contend that with my SEL certificate, I may NOT act as safety
pilot in a twin-engine aircraft, nor may I act as safety pilot for an
aircraft on floats. On the other hand, the fact that I have zero time in a
V-35 does not mean I can't go there.
I think you are playing with semantics. Qualified does not mean "checked
out in."

"Casey Wilson" wrote:
Well, Ron(s), on at least two occasions while acting as safety pilot I
have assumed control of the aircraft. First, when the hooded pilot blew an
approach and started wandering diagonally across the airport and second when
I had to take evasive action to avoid another aircraft.

My standard safety pilot briefing lays out my groundrules. The safety
pilot never touches the controls. First step in traffic avoidance is to
give me a heading to fly. If that's not working, he's to tell me to
take the hood off and point the traffic out to me.

I'm relying on his judgement as a pilot to decide what constitutes safe
separation and to come up with reasonable vectors, but that's it. My
job is to fly the plane. His job is to be my eyes.

In the two situations you cite above, would it have worked to have told
the pilot to take the hood off and go visual?

If you want your safety pilot to take the controls, that's fine. But
make sure you go over expectations, responsibilities, and procedures for
transfer of control before starting up. Close to the ground or close to
traffic is the last place you want there to be any confusion about who's
flying the airplane.

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 00:53:56 GMT, "Casey Wilson"
wrote:

I contend that with my SEL certificate, I may NOT act as safety
pilot in a twin-engine aircraft, nor may I act as safety pilot for an
aircraft on floats.

That is certainly true since the safety pilot must have "category and class
ratings appropriate to the aircraft being flown". Twins and seaplanes are
in a different class.


That has nothing to do with the fact that you can be safety pilot in an SEL
a/c for which you could not legally act as PIC.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

"Casey Wilson" wrote in message ...

But those aside, you cited 91.109(b)(1) above. I don't know any other
way to interpret that other than being qualified for "...the aircraft being
flown." I contend that with my SEL certificate, I may NOT act as safety
pilot in a twin-engine aircraft, nor may I act as safety pilot for an
aircraft on floats. On the other hand, the fact that I have zero time in a
V-35 does not mean I can't go there.

Correct, I was just trying to point out that category and class is the limit to the
requirements as far as the FAA is concerned. No tail dragger, complex, or high
performance endorsements are required. Nor is their any requirement for currency
or flight reviews on the part of the safety pilot. I never said "checked out" anywhere.
The FAA has no concept of "checked out."

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 16:38:33 GMT, "Richard" wrote:

Has something changed, or have I just been wrong all these
years?

Nothing has changed.

IFR is wrong.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)