Do airlines or employers care what kind of logbook I have?

P

Pilot-To-Be

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Mar 18, 2024
Messages
13
Display Name
Display name:
Pilot
I’m going to risk looking silly again and ask whether or not my logbook will have any impact on my potential for employment with the airlines or corporate gigs. I’ve noticed a lot of CFI’s and Commercial pilots use the big Jeppesen Professional Pilot logbook. I just have the little basic Jeppesen logbook, nothing fancy, but once I finish it, I’m going to buy the professional pilot logbook. Does it matter which one you have?
 
Have used MyFlightBook twice now for hours verification for jobs. Never a second question.
 
Keep an electronic one ,and back it up with the professional log book. You can switch over at any time the old log book doesn’t have to be full.
 
dmspilot said:
No.
Click to expand...
This is the correct answer to your question.

But…

YOU will be generally happier if you use an electronic logbook. It makes it a lot easier to fill out times for checkrides, and depending upon where you work, you may have to fill out insurance forms that will require certain categories of flight time.
 
I've hired a pilot a time or fifty... Never once have I even dug through an actual logbook. You either have the time and I can trust you with a multi million dollar aircraft, or you can't be trusted.
 
Last edited:
Tarheelpilot said:
No but they do care how well it’s kept. Contrary to some other flying jobs the airlines will dig through your logbook at the interview.
Click to expand...
How well it's kept in what way? I try to write as neatly as possible, but the remarks are very small so sometimes it can look like chicken scratch until you really look at it, if I write a lot of detail.
 
Pilot-To-Be said:
How well it's kept in what way? I try to write as neatly as possible, but the remarks are very small so sometimes it can look like chicken scratch until you really look at it, if I write a lot of detail.
Click to expand...
Accurate, truthful and tabbed for all the important events so they don’t have to spend to much time doing the digging.

I used the postit brand reusable tabs.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
No but they do care how well it’s kept. Contrary to some other flying jobs the airlines will dig through your logbook at the interview.
Click to expand...
I showed mine way back when but was only asked to show the last page with my total times. Having my ATP in hand pretty much verified I was who I said I was. That as well as what was PRIA back then (PRD now.)

I guess if you are a low time FO applicant they might look a little harder?
 
k9medic said:
I showed mine way back when but was only asked to show the last page with my total times. Having my ATP in hand pretty much verified I was who I said I was. That as well as what was PRIA back then (PRD now.)

I guess if you are a low time FO applicant they might look a little harder?
Click to expand...

Which airline did you interview?
 
k9medic said:
I showed mine way back when but was only asked to show the last page with my total times. Having my ATP in hand pretty much verified I was who I said I was. That as well as what was PRIA back then (PRD now.)

I guess if you are a low time FO applicant they might look a little harder?
Click to expand...
The last interview was my legacy job. Logbooks were taken right after the greeting and given back at the end of the day. They were definitely reviewed by the captain and FO doing the interview. I was asked several questions by the board about logbook details. The only way they know that would be by actually looking in the logs.

I only had about 8000 hours and three logbooks to dig through at the time.

I have also had the low threat interviews you mentioned. To be honest all of them were like that with the exception of my legacy airline job. They seem to be very careful about handing out membership cards and the probation period is not a formality.
 
It's been over a decade since my last interview (legacy airline), but they took all my logbooks at the beginning and handed them back sometime in the middle - between the HR and tech panels. They asked a couple of questions about my logs and time, but seemed satisfied.

My digital logbook was printed and placed in a nice leather binder, with all the important moments tagged and easily found. I had a summary page at the beginning and a section at the end with scanned copies of every endorsement. I also included the original logbooks from before I went purely digital.
 
Pilot-To-Be said:
How well it's kept in what way? I try to write as neatly as possible, but the remarks are very small so sometimes it can look like chicken scratch until you really look at it, if I write a lot of detail.
Click to expand...
Don't be afraid to use more than one line for a flight when you have more remarks to enter than will comfortably fit on one line.

The bigger professional logbooks are good because you won't go through them so quickly.

Find an electronic logbook to parallel your paper logbook. Find one you like which allows you to download your schedule from airline's scheduling system and has a app from which you can update the details at the end of each leg.

Once you're through with all your training, where you have a lot of CFI endorsements, you can stop adding to your paper logbook, unless an endorsement is needed, and just print your electronic logbook prior to interviews.
 
This discussion charmingly reminds me of certain former classmates -- in the paleozoic era when e-mail was a communication tool, but electronic documents were not yet ubiquitous -- who, when being forced to provide a 2-page resume to make it readable and not a block of microscopic text, would fret over whether the staple holding pages 1 and 2 together should be oriented vertically or horizontally. [Duh! 45°!]
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Accurate, truthful and tabbed for all the important events so they don’t have to spend to much time doing the digging.

I used the postit brand reusable tabs.
Click to expand...

Larry in TN said:
Don't be afraid to use more than one line for a flight when you have more remarks to enter than will comfortably fit on one line.
Click to expand...
Understand. I just want to make sure I present myself as best as I can. I have not used more than one line and tried to fit more than I probably should on a single remarks box, but overall I’d say it’s legible. Hopefully that will not hinder me, but I will remember that going forward.
 
Pilot-To-Be said:
Does it matter which one you have?
Click to expand...
For what it is worth, I use a spiral notebook (for left handers). Then again I have been told I can't be a real pilot because I do not have the ego real pilots are supposed to have... :lol:

If I was to do it all over again, I would go electronic with a spiral notebook back up.
 
DJTorrente said:
This discussion charmingly reminds me of certain former classmates -- in the paleozoic era when e-mail was a communication tool, but electronic documents were not yet ubiquitous -- who, when being forced to provide a 2-page resume to make it readable and not a block of microscopic text, would fret over whether the staple holding pages 1 and 2 together should be oriented vertically or horizontally. [Duh! 45°!]
Click to expand...
Yeah, but ya gotta get the intel to find out if the CP is left- or right-handed, so you know which side to put the staple on.
 
Groundpounder said:
As long as it can be printed and presented in an acceptable manner, plus is a standard format, it should be fine.
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity, why does it need to be printed? That sounds very 1970s - right up there with mimeograph and fax.
 
Groundpounder said:
Can you think of a better way to present them at an interview?
Click to expand...
Sure - digitally in PDF, just like the rest of the world deals with resumes, CVs, and other official documents.

I can't remember the last time I got a physical print-out of a resume, report, contract, nor any other document. Heck, I was at a standards body conference this week where absolutely nothing was printed. Not the schedule, attendee lists, exhibit hall map, conference proceedings, nothing.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Just out of curiosity, why does it need to be printed? That sounds very 1970s - right up there with mimeograph and fax.
Click to expand...

I still fly with guys that insist on printing the release from a dot matrix printer in the crew room. You never know who you'll be dealing with in an interview - having it printed is the safe decision.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Sure - digitally in PDF, just like the rest of the world deals with resumes, CVs, and other official documents.

I can't remember the last time I got a physical print-out of a resume, report, contract, nor any other document. Heck, I was at a standards body conference this week where absolutely nothing was printed. Not the schedule, attendee lists, exhibit hall map, conference proceedings, nothing.
Click to expand...

Oh, I see.
 
Doesn’t matter. If I had to do it all over again, I would have converted to digital. My paper logbooks were off by about 20 hours from airlineapps and I couldn’t figure out where my mistake was. I had ~4500TT and about 3 logbooks to sift through. It wasn’t fun.
 
Pilot-To-Be said:
Understand. I just want to make sure I present myself as best as I can. I have not used more than one line and tried to fit more than I probably should on a single remarks box, but overall I’d say it’s legible. Hopefully that will not hinder me, but I will remember that going forward.
Click to expand...
My books are far from perfect. They are however as correct as I can make them… plenty of single lines through errors and corrections after 25 years of flying.

I was involved in the hiring process at a regional airline and some 91 ops over the years. I have looked a my fair share of pilot logs.

Don’t over analyze the situation. If you make an effort for the books to be professional in appearance and don’t play fast and loose with documentation of your experience you’ll be fine. (No parker P-51 time)

The tabs make it easier for the interview team to verify the important events on your resume. It may not be required but it definitely makes a good impression.
 
Last edited:
jordane93 said:
Doesn’t matter. If I had to do it all over again, I would have converted to digital. My paper logbooks were off by about 20 hours from airlineapps and I couldn’t figure out where my mistake was. I had ~4500TT and about 3 logbooks to sift through. It wasn’t fun.
Click to expand...
That less than .5% error. Over 3 logbooks, I'd say that's pretty good. BWTHDIK - I just fly for fun. ;-)
 
jordane93 said:
Doesn’t matter. If I had to do it all over again, I would have converted to digital. My paper logbooks were off by about 20 hours from airlineapps and I couldn’t figure out where my mistake was. I had ~4500TT and about 3 logbooks to sift through. It wasn’t fun.
Click to expand...

I had about the same percentage of error on mine. I tried to find the issue(s) but never did. Nothing was mentioned in my interview, so I guess it wasn't a big deal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top