Logging relief pilot and cruise relief time: FAA, EASA, CASA
Checked against the sources below on 29 October 2026. How these guides are written
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Under EASA, a cruise relief co-pilot "may log all flight time as co-pilot when occupying a pilot's seat" and writes CRCP in the remarks (AMC1 FCL.050); co-pilot time counts in full toward a higher licence (FCL.035(a)(3)). CASA counts co-pilot time for the period you are "performing co-pilot duties" (CASR 61.085). The FAA has no relief category: you log SIC under 14 CFR 61.51(f), and paragraph (f)(1) ties it to occupying a crewmember station.
- FAA SIC
- Qualified under 61.55 and occupying a crewmember station in an aircraft type-certificated for more than one pilot; or holding the ratings when more than one pilot is required
- "only for that flight time during which" the conditions apply
- 14 CFR 61.51(f)(1), (2)
- FAA augmented crew
- More than the minimum crew the type certificate requires, "for in-flight rest"; flight time capped at 13 h (3 pilots) or 17 h (4 pilots)
- Per flight duty period
- 14 CFR 117.3, 117.11(a)
- EASA cruise relief co-pilot
- Relieves the co-pilot at the controls in the cruise, in multi-pilot operations above FL 200
- Cruise phase
- FCL.010
- EASA logging
- All flight time as co-pilot when occupying a pilot's seat; write "CRCP" in remarks
- Each flight
- AMC1 FCL.050(b)(3), (i)(10)(vi)
- EASA CRCP recency
- 3 sectors as CRCP in type, or 3 sectors in an FSTD, or ORO.FC recurrent training, or an Appendix 9 check
- Preceding 90 days
- FCL.060(b)(3)
- CASA cruise relief privileges
- Cruise relief co-pilot type rating; operator with an approved training and checking system; FL 200 or above
- In flight
- CASR 61.825, 61.835
- CASA recency
- T&C participation plus 2 h simulated co-pilot time, the rating flight test, or exercising the privileges
- Previous 90 days
- CASR 61.840(1)
Relief pilot, augmented crew and cruise relief co-pilot
FAA: Part 117 calls it an augmented flightcrew, "a flightcrew that has more than the minimum number of flightcrew members required by the airplane type certificate to operate the aircraft to allow a flightcrew member to be replaced by another qualified flightcrew member for in-flight rest" (117.3). 117.17(e) adds that "At all times during flight, at least one flightcrew member qualified in accordance with § 121.543(b)(3)(i)" must be at the controls.
EASA: FCL.010 defines a cruise relief co-pilot as "a pilot who relieves the co-pilot of his/her duties at the controls during the cruise phase of a flight in multi-pilot operations above FL 200". Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2076 clarified the cruise relief co-pilot requirements. FCL.720.A(c) provides a type rating restricted to cruise relief above FL 200, usable when two other crew members hold the full type rating.
CASA: Part 61 has a cruise relief co-pilot type rating that authorises you to "Act as co-pilot of an aircraft of the specified type" (table 61.825), but only for an operator with an approved training and checking system and "only while the aircraft is at flight level 200 or above" (61.835(1)).
FAA: logging SIC as a relief pilot
The FAA rules have no relief or cruise relief category. You log SIC under 61.51(f) or you log nothing for that time. The paragraph opens "A person may log second-in-command time only for that flight time during which that person" meets one of its conditions. Under (f)(1) that is being qualified under 61.55 and occupying "a crewmember station in an aircraft that requires more than one pilot by the aircraft's type certificate". Under (f)(2) it is holding the right category, class and instrument ratings when "more than one pilot is required under the type certification of the aircraft or the regulations under which the flight is being conducted".
Pilots read this two ways. Under (f)(1) you log SIC for the time you are at a crewmember station. Under (f)(2) some log the whole flight because the augmented crew was required for it. Neither paragraph mentions bunk time, and no FAA interpretation that settles it was found for this guide. Seat time meets both readings. Note the seat time and sectors in remarks, and if you log more, be ready to show the basis: 14 CFR 3.405 makes a material incorrect statement a basis for action even without intent.
If you were the designated pilot in command, 61.51(e) covers your logging.
EASA: the CRCP entry
AMC1 FCL.050(b)(3) is direct: "a cruise relief co-pilot may log all flight time as co-pilot when occupying a pilot's seat". The condition is the seat, so the time you log is the time you spent in a pilot's seat, logged in the co-pilot column. AMC1 FCL.050(i)(10)(vi) asks you to write "CRCP" in the remarks column "when the pilot acted as cruise-relief co-pilot", and the pilot function list in (a)(4) names "cruise-relief co-pilot" as its own function.
Do not count landings you did not fly. Column 8 records "the number of landings as pilot flying by day or night", and a cruise relief pilot flies none of them. To keep acting as CRCP, FCL.060(b)(3) needs, within the preceding 90 days, at least three sectors as cruise relief co-pilot in the type, three sectors in an FSTD in operator training, ORO.FC recurrent training, or a cruise relief proficiency check under Appendix 9.
CASA: co-pilot time for the period you perform co-pilot duties
CASR 61.085 defines co-pilot flight time as "any period, during flight in an aircraft that, under these Regulations, must be flown with a flight crew of at least 2 pilots, in which the person is performing co-pilot duties other than as pilot in command under supervision". The words "any period" and "performing co-pilot duties" mean you log the time you were doing the job, which for a cruise relief pilot is the time in the seat. 61.345(3)(f)(ii) requires you to record that co-pilot time for each flight.
Duty limits use a different measure. CAO 48.1 counts a flight crew member's flight time while "acting as a crew member on board the aircraft", so a full sector can count toward your limits while only your seat time goes in your logbook as co-pilot time.
To exercise the rating you need, within the previous 90 days, to be participating in the operator's approved training and checking system and to have completed 2 hours of simulated co-pilot time in an approved device, passed the rating's flight test, or exercised its privileges in an aircraft (61.840(1)).
What relief time credits toward
FAA: SIC time is time as a pilot, so it counts toward the 1,500 hours of total time for an ATP (61.159(a)). It does not count toward the 250 hours of PIC unless you were performing the duties of pilot in command under supervision (61.159(a)(5)), which a relief pilot in the cruise is not.
EASA: FCL.035(a)(3) says a licence holder "acting as co-pilot or PICUS, is entitled to be credited with all of the co-pilot time towards the total flight time required for a higher grade of pilot licence". For an ATPL(A) that is part of the 1 500 hours in FCL.510.A(b). FCL.010 places cruise relief inside multi-pilot operations; ask your authority how it treats CRCP hours against the 500 hours in multi-pilot operations of FCL.510.A(b)(1). FCL.730.A also sets the experience a cruise relief co-pilot needs before a zero flight time type rating course: 1 500 hours of flight time with a level C simulator, 750 with level D.
CASA: co-pilot time is flight time as a pilot (61.080(d)), so it counts toward the 1 400 hours of flight time as a pilot in the 1 500-hour ATPL requirement (61.705(1)(a)). It does not count as PIC or PICUS time.
Mistakes pilots make
- Logging the whole block as SIC or co-pilot time when you spent half of it in the bunk, with nothing in your records to show the basis.
- Leaving "CRCP" out of the EASA remarks column, so the entry reads as ordinary co-pilot time.
- Counting takeoffs and landings flown by the operating crew. EASA's column 8 is landings as pilot flying.
- Logging relief time as PIC or PICUS. Under all three authorities it is SIC or co-pilot time.
- Letting cruise relief recency lapse between trips: three CRCP sectors or an approved alternative in 90 days under EASA FCL.060(b)(3), and the 90-day test in CASR 61.840.
What Off Chocks tracks
- Off Chocks has a relief seat beside the command and first officer seats: Second Officer under CASA, Relief (not SIC) under the FAA and Co-Pilot (relief) under EASA. The FAA printed summary keeps relief time on its own line, marked as not SIC, and the EASA print counts it in the Co-Pilot column.
- For first and second officers, the Break (out of your seat) row takes your break off the block, so total time, air time and the day and night split are the time you were not on rest.
- It does not add the EASA "CRCP" remark for you or track cruise relief recency (FCL.060(b)(3), CASR 61.840). Add the remark in the flight's remarks and track recency with your operator's records.
Common questions
- Can a relief pilot log the whole flight?
- Under EASA you log time in a pilot's seat (AMC1 FCL.050(b)(3)), and under CASA the period you perform co-pilot duties (61.085). Under the FAA, 61.51(f) can be read two ways and no FAA interpretation on bunk time was found; logging seat time meets both readings.
- What is a cruise relief co-pilot?
- EASA FCL.010: "a pilot who relieves the co-pilot of his/her duties at the controls during the cruise phase of a flight in multi-pilot operations above FL 200". CASA's cruise relief co-pilot type rating is likewise limited to flight level 200 or above (61.835).
- Do I log relief time as SIC under the FAA?
- If you log it, yes: the FAA has no relief category, so relief time is SIC under 14 CFR 61.51(f) or not logged. It counts toward ATP total time; PIC time needs 61.51(e).
- Does cruise relief time count toward an ATPL?
- Yes as co-pilot time. EASA FCL.035(a)(3) credits all co-pilot time toward the total flight time for a higher licence, and CASA counts co-pilot time as flight time as a pilot toward the 1 400 hours in 61.705.
- What recency does a cruise relief co-pilot need?
- EASA: in the preceding 90 days, three sectors as CRCP in type, three in an FSTD, ORO.FC recurrent training or an Appendix 9 check (FCL.060(b)(3)). CASA: training and checking participation plus 2 h simulated co-pilot time, the flight test or exercising the rating in 90 days (61.840).
Sources
- 14 CFR 61.51 Pilot logbooks (eCFR, up to date as of 27 Oct 2026)
- 14 CFR 117.17 Flight duty period: Augmented flightcrew (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 61.159 Aeronautical experience: Airplane category rating (eCFR)
- EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), October 2026: FCL.010, FCL.035, FCL.050, AMC1 FCL.050, FCL.060, FCL.510.A
- Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, Compilation No. 103 (in force from 29 Sep 2026), Part 61 and Dictionary
- Civil Aviation Order 48.1 Instrument 2019 (latest compilation): flight time and flight time limits
This is a plain-words summary to help you keep your own records, not legal advice. The regulation and your operator's procedures always take precedence.