PA.I.A.K2
Privileges and limitations
As a private pilot you can carry passengers and cargo for personal use. What you cannot do is get paid to fly passengers or property, or be paid to fly outside the seven exceptions. That is the default rule , and it has a small set of narrow exceptions. The same rule applies if you are second in command of an aircraft that needs two pilots — § 61.117. Most checkride questions on this topic are really about the exceptions.
The default answer is no. Every "yes" is an exception with conditions attached, and you should be able to name the exception and its conditions before you take anything of value for a flight.
What "compensation" means
Compensation is not just cash. The FAA reads the word broadly, and anything of value can count:
- Free flight time or use of an aircraft.
- Flight hours you get to log toward a rating.
- Goodwill, favors, or a business advantage.
- Meals, lodging, or similar things, in some contexts.
So if you are not sure whether something counts, assume it does. The FAA's interpretation runs broader, not narrower.
The seven narrow exceptions
Flying for hire is prohibited, except as paragraphs (b) through (h) allow . Paragraph (i) is BasicMed — a medical alternative, not a compensation exception; see K5.
Flying yourself for your own business — § 61.113(b)
You can be compensated for the flight — salary, reimbursement, whatever — when the flight is only incidental to the actual business and the aircraft carries no passengers or property for compensation or hire. The regulation itself says "for compensation or hire," so the four-expense limit you will meet in (c) and (e) does not apply here. Flying a client to a sales call fails the second condition: you are being compensated to carry a p