I think all Private pilots know and are tested on the privileges of the Private Pilot certificate. Simply put, I was always told that a private pilot is allowed to have passengers pay their pro-rata share of expenses such as fuel.
My cousin just took his PVT pilot checkride yesterday. He was asked by the examiner this hypothetical question: "your friend asks you to fly him someplace so he can attend a meeting. can the pilot accept the friend's offer of paying for his 1/2 of the fuel bill?" My cousin said "Yes". the examiner said WRONG! Since the friend was going someplace on "business" the friend could not pay for anything. The examiner claimed that only if the flight is for "fun" can the PAX pay their share. I never heard of such a distinction. Was the examiner correct?
My cousin just took his PVT pilot checkride yesterday. He was asked by the examiner this hypothetical question: "your friend asks you to fly him someplace so he can attend a meeting. can the pilot accept the friend's offer of paying for his 1/2 of the fuel bill?" My cousin said "Yes". the examiner said WRONG! Since the friend was going someplace on "business" the friend could not pay for anything. The examiner claimed that only if the flight is for "fun" can the PAX pay their share. I never heard of such a distinction. Was the examiner correct?