Flight time

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Hiwinger

Filing Flight Plan
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Sep 6, 2023
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swmetz
I had about 180 hours mostly tailwheel. I incurred about a 20 year hiatus from flying. My old logbook has disappeared. Now retired and hope to be back flying soon. Question being is all my "old" time gone to the wind (so to speak) or is there a way to record it ? I plan to use Foreflight as a record.
Thanks,
Hiwing
 
I have seen people that lost logbooks, buy a new one and enter an initial record of 500 hours and have a CFI sign it. Then they build from there.
I don't know how legit it is I only know I have seen it.
 
Your old time is only as lost as you need it for another rating. If you’re wanting a Commercial certificate, is different than if you pursue an instrument rating.

And if you’re not pursuing another rating, the past hours don’t really matter.
 
just a fellow rusty pilot here, no expert... I would think that to be legit it needs some sort of paper trail or something to back it up. Did you ever get any additional ratings after you PPL? You might be able to get the info from the FAA showing how much time you had logged at that point in time.... won't be everything but at least not all the way back to zero.

BUT.... unless you're going back for a new rating why does it even matter?
I'd just go at the bottom of the 1st page in your new logbook where it says "amount forwarded" and write your best guess for each logbook column.
Nothing there is probably useable for a new rating though....
 
I lost two of my logbooks. The first one, the time had already been entered into the new one on the first page, so not a huge deal.

The second one was a much bigger lost. I had been using an early electronic logbook (AeroLog Pro), but the paper one was primary. When I went back after a 20 year hiatis from flying, I realized I had been about 2 years behind on entering my flying in my electronic log book. I was able to recreate some flying, like going to Ohskosh, but lost a good bit of time.

Oh well.

Now I log electronically first in Safe Log Pro. One reason I picked them is they were able to import all my entries from Aero Log Pro. I enter on any of my electronic devices, and then sync with their cloud. And then I sync all my other devices, so I end up with about 6 copies. So unlikely to lose all of them. Every week or so, I update my paper logbook also. That does NOT go with me in the plane, unless I am getting dual.
 
You're retired.
You need to fly a lot to make up some hours.

I'm having a hard time feeling bad for you ;)
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I have seen people that lost logbooks, buy a new one and enter an initial record of 500 hours and have a CFI sign it. Then they build from there.
I don't know how legit it is I only know I have seen it.
Click to expand...
If you think you have 180 hours and claim to have 500, there's a problem.
 
You’re probably going to have to get the tail wheel rating again . We can assume you have a ppl.
 
Hiwinger said:
I had about 180 hours mostly tailwheel. I incurred about a 20 year hiatus from flying. My old logbook has disappeared. Now retired and hope to be back flying soon. Question being is all my "old" time gone to the wind (so to speak) or is there a way to record it ? I plan to use Foreflight as a record.
Thanks,
Hiwing
Click to expand...
Do you have a certificate beyond student already? If so, you have a initial starting point - the 8710 application for the last certificate or rating you earned. You can obtain your record from the FAA. Beyond that, as others mentioned, it doesn't really matter except perhaps for insurance, depending on what you want to fly.

There are ways of recreating things if you need to. But 20 years is a long time for anyone to have records of much of anything in this area.
 
frfly172 said:
You’re probably going to have to get the tail wheel rating again . We can assume you have a ppl.
Click to expand...
Depends. If that PPL was in a tailwheel, it's a pretty good indication that the endorsement was given or the grandfather clause applies. But we're talking about the need to get to at least flight review proficiency, in which case, might as well get the endorsement whether or not technically needed.
 
I’m thinking that unless you need the hours for a rating, finding all the hours you have probably isn’t worth the hassle. The biggest issue to me is passing your Biennial Flight review and getting your tail wheel endorsement current.
 
Brad W said:
... I would think that to be legit it needs some sort of paper trail or something to back it up.
Click to expand...
Like most people, I have no proof at all for over 90% of my hours. It's completely my word. That's good enough for daily flying and it's ethically good enough for most other purposes as well.
 
Might not work for the OP but every year my insurance company asks questions about various times so your insurer may have some helpful information ...
 
OP seems to be renting, so time for insurance company is not a huge thing.

But a best guess (and I would tend to guess low) would work. You can start your new log book with that as the first entry, with a comment that the times are to the best of your knowledge and date and sign.
 
Ask FAA to research your records, and old 8710 for your last rating will have hours. Perhaps your last medical application included hours. Go from there.
 
Crashnburn said:
The biggest issue to me is passing your Biennial Flight review and getting your tail wheel endorsement current.
Click to expand...
There is such thing as "passing" a Flight Review. It is an instructional flight. If the CFI decides you need more instruction, he or she will simply not endorse it as a flight review, and just log it as dual received.

As for the tailwheel endorsement, I have never had anyone ask to see mine, which is in a logbook that was filled up years ago.
 
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