How to Total Your Logbook Hours for the FAA 8710-1 / IACRA

Your checkride application includes Section III, Record of Pilot Time on FAA Form 8710-1. In IACRA, the equivalent is the Aeronautical Experience grid (IACRA Help). 14 CFR 61.39(a)(7) requires a completed, signed application. FAA Order 8710.3 tells examiners to review the hours on the form against your logbook as a special emphasis item (FAA Order 8710.3E, ch. 5). Mismatches cause delays.

What the FAA says to enter

• Enter at least the minimum experience required for the certificate. Entering all pilot time is recommended (IACRA Help; 8710-1 instructions).
• "Class Totals" should reflect time in the class for the rating sought, such as SEL or Helicopter (8710-1 instructions).
• FFS/FTD/ATD time goes in its own blocks and can be credited only as the regulations allow (8710-1 instructions; for private pilot, see 61.109(k)).
• If decimals are used, make sure they're legible (8710-1 instructions).
• Don't submit IACRA Step 6 until your hours are correct. Your recommending instructor can help (IACRA Help).

Step by step

1. Re-add every page. Check each column on each page, then the "totals forwarded" line. One carried-forward error spreads into every later total.
2. Build a summary by category (row): Airplanes, Rotorcraft, Powered Lift, Gliders, and Lighter-Than-Air, with FFS, FTD, and ATD time on their own rows. Then fill these columns: Total, Instruction Received, Solo, PIC and SIC, Cross Country Instruction Received, Cross Country Solo, Cross Country PIC/SIC, Instrument, Night Instruction Received, Night Take-Off/Landing, Night PIC/SIC, Night Take-Off/Landing PIC/SIC, and Number of Flights. Glider applicants also complete Ground Launches, Powered Launches, and Aero-Tows. These are the Section III column names on the current 8710-1 (03/26).
3. Columns overlap, and that's correct. One night dual cross-country flight counts in Total, Instruction Received, Cross Country Instruction Received, and Night Instruction Received. Total is not the sum of the other columns.
4. Don't count the same flight twice in the same column. That usually happens when a page total is carried forward and then added again.
5. Cross-country: for private airplane, count only flights that meet the >50 NM landing-point rule (61.1). Rotorcraft follows the general definition (same section). Keep a separate count, because a logbook "XC" column may include shorter flights.
6. Night takeoffs/landings: count them from your entries. Don't estimate them from night hours.
7. Class totals: enter SEL or Helicopter time for the rating sought.
8. Cross-check against 61.109: each requirement (40 total, 20 dual, 10 solo, and so on) should be visibly supported by the numbers you enter.

Worked example (made-up, for illustration only)

The Total (5.5) equals Dual plus Solo here. That's a useful sanity check for a student pilot without PIC time beyond solo, but it isn't a general rule.

Common totaling errors

• A page subtotal added twice
• Hood time logged in the "Actual instrument" column
• Solo time also counted as dual
• Cross-country flights under 50 NM counted toward airplane XC requirements
• ATD/FTD time put in aircraft Totals

Skip the spreadsheet. Cleared 2 Checkride reads photos of your paper logbook, re-adds every row and page, and produces hour totals plus a CSV export, along with the 61.109(a)/(c) and AC 61-65K endorsement checklist. See the sample report on cleared2checkride.com. $24.99 per check. Verify the final numbers with your recommending instructor before you submit in IACRA.