DGCA CA-39 form: how to fill it and what eGCA checks

The DGCA CA-39 form is a one-page "Flying experience" statement: a summary of your logbook for the preceding 5 years, 6 months, 12 months or 18 months, in 18 columns, signed by you and countersigned by whoever may certify your logbook under Rule 67A. When you apply through eGCA, the portal checks your hours against your e-logbook and marks each requirement "Qualified".

What CA-39 is, and what it isn't

CA-39 is a summary, not a logbook. Its certification reads: "This is to certify that I have examined the logbooks of ... and the above is a true summary." You add up flying already in your personal logbook, which Rule 67A requires you to keep and certify, and lay the totals out in DGCA's columns.

Download it from DGCA's Forms page (Flight Crew, "CA 39 Form"). Use a separate form for aeroplane and helicopter flying, and one for each period your application asks for.

The 18 columns

The first, unnumbered column names each row: "Write years for year wise, months for month wise or Aircraft for Aircraft Wise". A TOTAL row closes the table.

How to fill it, step by step

1. Pick the period. The CPL (A) application asks for a CA-39 for the preceding five years and one for the preceding six months, both certified by your flying school's CFI. The ATPL (A) application asks for your total flying period and the preceding six months. Renewals at DGCA's regional offices ask for the last 6 months, and the last 12 months of instructional flying.
2. Choose the rows. Year-wise for a five-year form, month-wise for six months, or aircraft-wise when the application wants experience by type.
3. Split single and multi-engine, then day and night. Night is DGCA night: half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise. See how DGCA night time is worked out.
4. Keep P1(U/S) in its own columns. The form's note says: "write P1 U/s experience separately and do not include in Co-pilot column." Your logbook may carry the same time as co-pilot with a remark under Rule 67A(6), so take care when you copy it across.
5. Separate instrument and simulator time. Columns 14 and 15 are instrument time on the aircraft. Rule 67A(11) lets you log it only when the aircraft is "flown solely by reference to instruments", and never for over-the-top flying. Synthetic simulator hours go in column 16, apart from flight time.
6. Fill instructional flying and remarks. Column 17 is instructional flying; column 18 is for remarks.
7. Total and check. Add every column for the TOTAL row, then check the totals against your logbook and your eGCA e-logbook before anyone signs.
8. Sign and get it countersigned. You sign as licence holder. The countersignature, with name, designation, the organisation's seal and the date, comes from your Rule 67A(4) authority. That is your operations manager, deputy operations manager or chief pilot at an airline, and the CFI or deputy CFI at a flying school.

What eGCA checks when you apply

On eGCA, your e-logbook is the evidence. The CPL (A) manual's first prerequisite is: "Applicant must fill e-Log book for requisite flying experience." When you apply, eGCA shows a "Flying experience" table built from it, and each parameter has to read "Qualified" for the service you apply for.

Four details decide whether your hours count:

• Only approved and submitted entries count. Entries in "Approved" and "Submitted" status count towards your total. Airline flights stay pending until your operator validates them.
• Airline flights after 1 January 2021 go in as "current" entries. Older flying goes in as "previous" entries, which DGCA checks against your paper logbook when you apply.
• Some ATPL lines are checked by hand. The ATPL (A) manual says parameters 7 and 8 show blank or zero, and DGCA validates them from your e-logbook itself.
• The total isn't the decision. DGCA's instructions warn that the hours in your eGCA profile "shall not be construed as having met the requirements for issuance of licenses and ratings."

Where does that leave CA-39? The eGCA ATPL (A) manual lists it as an original document only for defence pilots. The CPL and ATPL application forms on DGCA's site still list it in their document checklists. Check what your application screen asks for, and keep a countersigned CA-39 ready. ATPL issue still asks for your original logbooks.

Mistakes that get a CA-39 sent back

• P1(U/S) time added to the co-pilot columns.
• Simulator hours counted in the total.
• Night worked out with civil twilight from an EASA or FAA logbook app.
• Totals that don't match the logbook, or the e-logbook, for the same period.
• A countersignature from someone who isn't your Rule 67A authority.

Getting the numbers out of your logbook

Pilotbook, an iPhone logbook from Tera Labs, totals your logged flying by year, month and aircraft for a CA-39. It also runs an eGCA pre-check that shows each licence requirement with the required and actual figures, and asks you to check the requirements against the current rules. Its CA-39 layout has 14 columns today and counts P1(U/S) as PIC or co-pilot time, so copy its figures into DGCA's form and keep P1(U/S) separate. Pilotbook is coming soon to the App Store: see what it does.

Questions people ask

What is the CA-39 form?

DGCA's "Flying experience" form: a summary of your logbook for a period such as the preceding 5 years or 6 months, in 18 columns, countersigned under Rule 67A.

Who can countersign a CA-39?

The person authorised to sign your logbook under Rule 67A: at an airline, the operations manager, deputy operations manager or chief pilot; at a flying school, the CFI or deputy CFI.

Do I still need a CA-39 if I apply through eGCA?

eGCA checks your hours against your e-logbook, and its ATPL manual lists CA-39 only for defence pilots. DGCA's application forms still list it, so check your application and keep a countersigned copy ready.

Where does P1(U/S) go on CA-39?

In its own columns, 7 for day and 11 for night, never in the co-pilot columns.