What Counts Toward the 1,500 Hours in 2026? How Pilots Log ATP Time
Published by
Jessica Haney
Published on
Updated on
Read time
7 min read
Imagine a pilot with 1,520 hours in the logbook who still cannot apply for an airline ATP certificate. The total looks right. The buckets inside it do not. That pilot spent a year flying hours that were easy to find, and the night, cross-country or class-of-airplane time that the FAA also requires was thin. It adds months to a plan that was supposed to be finished.
The 1,500 hour rule is a headline for a bundle of requirements. If you want an airline career, you need to know what goes into the bundle and how each hour gets logged. This guide walks through it in plain English, using the FAA’s own rules for the airplane ATP certificate.
The 1,500 hours are really six numbers
The ATP aeronautical experience rule is 14 CFR 61.159. For an airplane ATP certificate it asks for 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot, and inside that total it sets minimums for several kinds of time. The same rule covers the shorthand most people use, which we explain in our guide to what the 1,500 hour rule is.
| Bucket | What the FAA asks for |
|---|---|
| Total time as a pilot | 1,500 hours |
| Cross-country | 500 hours |
| Night | 100 hours |
| Instrument | 75 hours |
| Class of airplane for the rating | 50 hours |
| Pilot in command (or SIC performing PIC duties) | 250 hours, including 100 cross-country and 25 night |
Read the table as a checklist, not a single number. A logbook can have 1,500 hours and still fail one row. A student who plans only for the total tends to find out about the gap late. The Zero to Airlines program at MH Aviation is built so these buckets fill as you train, not after you finish.
The airline’s own hiring bar is a separate question. An airline can ask for more than the FAA minimum, so treat these numbers as the floor for eligibility, not a promise of a job.
Pilot-in-command time is the one most people mislog
Pilot-in-command (PIC) time has its own logging rules in 14 CFR 61.51. In short, you can log PIC time when you are the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft you are rated for, when you are the sole occupant, or when you act as PIC of an aircraft that needs more than one pilot.
For future instructors there is a rule that changes the math. A certificated flight instructor may log PIC time for all flight time while serving as the authorized instructor, as long as the instructor is rated to act as PIC in that aircraft. That is why instructing is the most common way to build hours, and why so many students move from the CFI certificate straight into the right seat of a trainer.
Student pilots can log PIC time only when they are the sole occupant, hold a solo endorsement, and are training for a certificate or rating. Hours you fly with a safety pilot or as a passenger do not count the same way. Before you pay for a block of flying, ask what each hour will become in the logbook.
Cross-country, night and instrument time have their own rules
Three of the buckets deserve a closer look because they are the ones that stall careers.
Cross-country time needs 500 hours for the ATP. Short local flights do not move this number much. Flights that take you to another airport build it faster, which is why a training plan with real trips matters more than a plan that repeats the pattern at home. The private pilot certificate is where you start logging it with your first solo cross-country.
Night time needs 100 hours, and 25 of the 250 PIC hours must be at night. Night flying is easy to postpone because daytime schedules fill first. Build it in while you are already flying often.
Instrument time needs 75 hours, in actual or simulated conditions. You log instrument time only when you operate the aircraft solely by reference to instruments, and a training device counts only when an authorized instructor observes it and signs the record. Simulated time in a full flight simulator or training device is capped at 25 hours, or 50 hours in an approved Part 142 course. The instrument rating is where most pilots collect the bulk of it.
Simulators count, but only up to a point
Many students ask whether simulator time helps. It does, with limits. The FAA allows up to 100 hours of the experience required by the ATP rule to come from a full flight simulator or flight training device, as long as the device represents an airplane and the training is part of an approved Part 121, 135, 141 or 142 course. Up to 25 hours of full flight simulator time can count toward the class-of-airplane requirement in the same kind of course.
Home simulators and informal practice sessions do not fit that rule. If a lesson will not be logged under the conditions above, you should assume it will not move the ATP number. For most students, the dependable route is time in the airplane.
Where the multi-engine hours come from
The class-of-airplane requirement is 50 hours in the class of airplane for the rating you want. For an airline pilot that is multi-engine. Our multi-engine rating gives you your first hours in a twin, and from there you need a plan for the rest. We cover the options in how to build multi-engine hours affordably.
A simple way to keep your logbook honest
A few habits make the difference between a clean ATP application and a long audit of your logbook.
- Log the same day. Write the flight, the conditions and the category of time before you leave the airport.
- Tag each row. Mark cross-country, night, instrument and PIC on every entry so you can add them up.
- Review every 100 hours. Compare your totals with the table above and look for the thinnest bucket.
- Keep the paperwork. Instructor sign-offs for training devices and endorsements belong with the logbook.
We build every training plan at MH Aviation around these buckets, not only the total. If a block of lessons will not add to a bucket you are short on, we say so before you spend the money. Our rate sheet shows how pay-as-you-go pricing lets you plan blocks that way, and we are glad to talk about financing options when you visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every flight hour count toward the 1,500?
Total time as a pilot includes the time you log properly as a pilot, but the 1,500 hours must also include the cross-country, night, instrument, class-of-airplane and PIC minimums. Time that cannot be logged under the FAA’s rules does not count.
Can I count dual instruction I receive?
Dual instruction counts toward your total time as a pilot. It does not count as pilot-in-command time unless you are the sole manipulator of the controls and rated for that aircraft, so most dual hours build the total but not the 250 PIC hours.
Can a flight instructor log all of an instructional flight as PIC time?
Yes. A certificated flight instructor may log PIC time for all flight time while serving as the authorized instructor, provided the instructor is rated to act as PIC in that aircraft. This is one reason instructing is a common hour-building path. You can read our CFI guide for the steps.
How much simulator time can count toward the ATP?
Up to 100 hours of the required experience can come from a full flight simulator or flight training device that represents an airplane, as long as the training is part of an approved Part 121, 135, 141 or 142 course. Instrument time has its own cap on simulated time.
Where can I read the official rule?
The FAA explains the ATP pathway on its ATP training page, and the full text is in 14 CFR Part 61. An airline can ask for more than the FAA minimum, so check the hiring requirements of the companies you want to fly for.
Start planning your hours at Fox Field
A good logbook starts with a good plan. If you want to see how the buckets fill at a school that keeps its own aircraft in the air, book a first flight at MH Aviation and we will map out the path with you at our first flight page.
