Cross-Country Time

Cross-country is a property of the flight, not a time you calculate. In Wader you tick the Cross-Country checkbox on a flight, and the whole block time for that flight counts towards your cross-country total.

Because the definition differs between EASA and the FAA, Wader leaves the decision to you rather than guessing.

Setting it once, in Preferences

If most of your flying is cross-country, set Preferences → Cross-country default to on. New flights prefill with your choice, and you can still change it on any individual flight.

Note

Changing the default only affects new flights. Existing entries stay as they are.

What counts as cross-country

EASA

FCL.010 defines a cross-country flight as a flight between a point of departure and a point of arrival following a pre-planned route, using standard navigation procedures.

That means:

• There is no minimum distance in the definition itself.
• The arrival aerodrome does not have to be different from the departure one — an A-to-A navigation exercise can qualify.
• Circuit training and unplanned local flying do not qualify.

FAA

Under 14 CFR § 61.1(b)(3) the flight must include a landing at a point other than the departure point, using navigation. For most certificates and ratings that landing point must be more than 50 NM straight-line from the original point of departure; for rotorcraft ratings the threshold is more than 25 NM.

The distance is measured from where that logbook entry started, not leg by leg. Splitting one flight into several entries does not create cross-country distance that was not there.

	EASA	FAA
Basis	Pre-planned route + standard navigation	Landing away from the departure point
Minimum distance	None in the definition	>50 NM (>25 NM rotorcraft)
A-to-A flights	Can qualify	Do not qualify
Distance measured from	Not applicable	Original point of departure

Distance requirements come from the licence, not the definition

This is the part that trips up most student pilots. The cross-country definition sets no distance — the licence requirement does. Under EASA Part-FCL:

Licence	Cross-country requirement
PPL(A)	5 hours solo cross-country, including one flight of at least 270 km (150 NM) with full-stop landings at two aerodromes different from the departure aerodrome
CPL(A)	20 hours cross-country as PIC, including a VFR flight of at least 540 km (300 NM) with full-stop landings at two aerodromes different from the departure aerodrome
ATPL(A)	200 hours cross-country, of which at least 100 as PIC or PICUS

Caution

Confirm the current figures with your ATO or national authority before relying on them. Requirements differ between integrated and modular courses, and national variations exist.

Combining with your pilot function

Cross-country is independent of the function you log. A flight can be cross-country and PIC, SIC, Dual, PICUS or SPIC at the same time — tick the checkbox whichever function you selected.

Recording the detail

For flights you intend to count towards a specific licence requirement, use the Remarks field to note the routing, the landing aerodromes and the distance. If those hours are ever questioned at a licence application or a job interview, the evidence is already in your logbook.

Note

Some national authorities still expect ATPL cross-country experience to be evidenced in a physical logbook. Check with your competent authority before relying on an electronic record alone.

References

• EASA Easy Access Rules for Flight Crew Licencing (Part-FCL) — FCL.010, FCL.210.A, FCL.510.A, Appendix 3
• 14 CFR § 61.1 — Applicability and definitions