FAR 117 Q&A
Under Construction
Definitions
Flight duty period (FDP)
Flight duty period (FDP) means a period that begins when a flightcrew member is required to report for duty with the intention of conducting a flight, a series of flights, or positioning or ferrying flights, and ends when the aircraft is parked after the last flight and there is no intention for further aircraft movement by the same flightcrew member. A flight duty period includes the duties performed by the flightcrew member on behalf of the certificate holder that occur before a flight segment or between flight segments without a required intervening rest period. Examples of tasks that are part of the flight duty period include deadhead transportation, training conducted in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport/standby reserve, if the above tasks occur before a flight segment or between flight segments without an intervening required rest period.
Duty
Duty means any task that a flightcrew member performs as required by the certificate holder, including but not limited to flight duty period, flight duty, pre- and post-flight duties, administrative work, training, deadhead transportation, aircraft positioning on the ground, aircraft loading, and aircraft servicing.
Reserve availability period (RAP)
Reserve availability period (RAP) means a duty period during which a certificate holder requires a flightcrew member on short call reserve to be available to receive an assignment for a flight duty period. means a duty period during which a certificate holder requires a flightcrew member on short call reserve to be available to receive an assignment for a flight duty period.
Acclimated (117.3)
It is important for flightcrew members to know if they are acclimated, as that will determine where they enter the FDP Table and whether 30 minutes must be deducted from their maximum FDP.
“Acclimated means a condition in which a flightcrew member has been in a theater for 72 hours or has been given at least 36 consecutive hours free from duty.”
“Theater means a geographical area in which the distance between the flightcrew member’s flight duty period departure point and arrival point differs by no more than 60 degrees longitude.”
Q1 - I only fly in the continental 48 states. Am I always acclimated?
Yes. The area between the East and West Coasts of the United States does not exceed 60 degrees longitude.
Q2 - I am acclimated to SFO time and fly SFO-JFK, which has a three- hour time difference. I am then given a 10-hour rest period before reporting for duty at JFK. Do I use local time (JFK) or SFO time to determine my FDP start time?
You would calculate your FDP start time based on your last acclimated time zone, which is SFO time.
Q3 - In the scenario in the previous question, is there ever a circumstance where a different time could be used?
Yes. If a flightcrew member is acclimated to a theater that encompasses the flightcrew member’s home base, then the certificate holder may designate home base time to determine FDP limits. Once this designation is made, then the FDP limits for the entire FDP series are determined using home base time. If the carrier does not designate home base time as the start time for an FDP series, then local time where the FDP series begins applies and continues for the entire series until the next 30-hour rest break.
Q5 - A flightcrew member is assigned to operate ATL-CDG. Upon arrival in CDG, the crewmember is released to an 18-hour rest before reporting for the return flight. To determine the FDP start time, what time does the crewmember use, ATL or CDG, to enter the Table?
The flightcrew member is unacclimated as he/she has traveled more than 60 degrees and has not been in theater for 72 hours or received a 36-hour rest. Therefore, ATL time, which is the crewmember’s last acclimated time, must be used to determine the FDP start time. In this circumstance, 30 minutes will be deducted from the Table C maximum to determine the FDP limit.
Q6 - A flightcrew member is acclimated to a new theater that, like the United States, has more than one time zone. What time zone is used to determine the FDP start time?
The flightcrew member would use local time at the acclimation point, which is when a 36-hour rest is given or the flightcrew member is in theater for 72 hours. If the theater encompasses the flightcrew member’s home base, then the carrier could elect to use home base time as discussed above.
Q7 - Can a deadhead after an FDP but before rest change the final destination/acclimation end point for the FDP?
No. An FDP arrival point is defined at the point which the FDP ends. A post-FDP deadhead is not part of an FDP and is not used to determine theater.