Logbook novels

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Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Mtns2Skies
I'm going through and digitizing my logbook into myflightbook and while going through my pages and pages of flights, reminiscing over the last 10 years of time as a pilot. Wow are there some good stories and great times with friends, planes, Wx, terrain, true cross countries all roped into these flights. Anyone else go back through your logbook and just remember all sorts of good times you've had? For me it's like reading a fine novel, even though there's only a sentence in the comments, its enough to remind me of the whole flight.
 
I've had flight instructors tell me I'm writing too much in my logs...under remarks, I often write things like, "Took Scott to Soaring Eagle Casino, lost a bunch"....etc. Funny thing is, I often see entries that bring back no memory of the flight what so ever. I read the comments and think, "I flew there???" Or, "Why would I take that guy flying???? I don't remember that!"...dangers of flying over a 25 year period I guess.
 
Definitely. Sometimes I even look for flights. "When did I fly that [make/model I flew once]" or the trip to some destination or my first solo IFR flight or.... One of the many things I like about eLogs is how easy it is to do that.
 
I like to record everyone that I take flying. My favorite is the entry “Took Jesus flying”.
 
I use the logbook functionality in Foreflight and I a try to attach a photo i took from the trip and put more descriptive wording so that I can try to recall the flight. I can remember some fights more than others. Obviously the ones that are banging around the pattern or local are not as memorable as the long distance x-countries.
 
tawood said:
I've had flight instructors tell me I'm writing too much in my logs...under remarks, I often write things like, "Took Scott to Soaring Eagle Casino, lost a bunch"....etc. Funny thing is, I often see entries that bring back no memory of the flight what so ever. I read the comments and think, "I flew there???" Or, "Why would I take that guy flying???? I don't remember that!"...dangers of flying over a 25 year period I guess.
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Record meaningful stuff.
Some instructor must have given my father the same bad advice. I wish my Dad had been a little more loquacious. One of his log entries was "Landed short".
The actual story was that Dad was coming back from the Indie 500 in a Fairchild 24 on floats. About 4 miles from the seaplane base, he flew through a serious squall and it caused the fabric to come off the top of both wings. He ended up making a "successful" landing (nothing else broke off the plane) in Lake Meahagh, about 3/4s of a mile from the base. "Landed short".
The mechanics came over, worked overnight, sewed some fabric on the wings and the next day he flew it the last mile home.
Eleven years later, I was flying the same plane. Radial engine version. No incidents. Loved that plane.
The plane was rebuilt a few years ago without floats, and I think it now resides somewhere in Italy.
 
Just the facts. Not uncommon for my entries to have no comments. I stopped noting my passengers ...years ago.
 
If you watch the movie One Six Right, one of the old-timers says he wrote something like this in the front of his logbook: "If found, please return to <address>. This logbook is my love story." Whether you write a poem in every line or just the date, tail number, and hours in flight, your logbook tells a story.
 
when I got foreflight I went through the tedious process of digitizing my logbook, took a week or two and spending at least an hour or 3 each day but it was a fun experience

remembered some great memories, especially from when I first got my license and did my first few real cross countries as an actual pilot

My entries now or a lot shorter, just who I was with and the facts of what I did "lunch with John, ILS back to MYF" - if anything noteworthy happened, like picking up ice or something I will write that down.. but I stopped going into the narrative details of what me and my friend had for lunch or whether or not there was turbulence etc haha
 
All my logbook entries are just times and what lesson i was teaching. I even combine flights if they are same plane. Lot of jepp7s 6hrs 24 landings 6.0 pic type entries
 
Shepherd said:
Record meaningful stuff.
Some instructor must have given my father the same bad advice. I wish my Dad had been a little more loquacious. One of his log entries was "Landed short".
The actual story was that Dad was coming back from the Indie 500 in a Fairchild 24 on floats. About 4 miles from the seaplane base, he flew through a serious squall and it caused the fabric to come off the top of both wings. He ended up making a "successful" landing (nothing else broke off the plane) in Lake Meahagh, about 3/4s of a mile from the base. "Landed short".
The mechanics came over, worked overnight, sewed some fabric on the wings and the next day he flew it the last mile home.
Eleven years later, I was flying the same plane. Radial engine version. No incidents. Loved that plane.
The plane was rebuilt a few years ago without floats, and I think it now resides somewhere in Italy.
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That seems to be the norm from your dads generation. If they kept diaries at all it would say something like “spent the night in Normandy. Didn’t get much sleep”
 
^could a logbook entry ever be incriminating? Is there a vested interest to not be too verbose in them? Not to be paranoid or be lawyerly, but in today's litigious environment it may be in your best interest to keep the logbook entries as brief and factual as possible.. no?

"Had lunch with Jim at Camarillo. Flight following home. Coastal Route Bravo Transition. Practice ILS 28R MYF"
 
Tarheelpilot said:
That seems to be the norm from your dads generation. If they kept diaries at all it would say something like “spent the night in Normandy. Didn’t get much sleep”
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We have my great-grandfather's diaries from the Civil War, and they read similarly. One day's entry reads, "I saw Abe Lincoln today. He looks just like I thought he would."
 
ive logged and made notes on every flight ive ever taken for almost 30 years. i really enjoy going back and remembering.
 
I rarely put anything into the comments that isn't required by an FAR. I'm not overly paranoid about the legal aspect, just don't find anything that interesting on most of my flights.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I rarely put anything into the comments that isn't required by an FAR... just don't find anything that interesting on most of my flights.
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If that was the case I'd quit flying.

The only thing the FARs require me to log is a flight review every two years. My logbook contains things like "lunch with Jeanne", "formation with Stan", "windy", "oil leak-smoke-forced landing", "mud at Salmon River", "beautiful evening", "beach cruise", etc. Years from now when I'm too old to fly it'll be fun to go back and look at them.
 
Dana said:
If that was the case I'd quit flying.
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Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't enjoy the act of flying every time I go. I'm just not the sentimental type I guess.
 
My philosophy seems to be that if the flight was worth remembering then I'd remember it. A logbook entry does not seem helpful.
 
I like to make short comments on my flights. Also helps to keep track of who you have taken on a flight.
 
I've always taken a lot of pictures while flying, I'm very glad of it. My logbook doesn't have many comments, but the photo albums speak volumes.

It was a lot of work, but I've scanned all the color slides and prints going back to the early 1960s, and have them backed up six ways from Sunday.

Now I make a point to take at least one photo memorializing every flight, in the air or on the ground. I put them all in a digital album together with the track log from Foreflight.
 
iamtheari said:
If you watch the movie One Six Right, one of the old-timers says he wrote something like this in the front of his logbook: "If found, please return to <address>. This logbook is my love story." Whether you write a poem in every line or just the date, tail number, and hours in flight, your logbook tells a story.
Click to expand...
That


I’m a fan of some notes.

A man is his passions, how cool to have them documented so well for your family to later enjoy, or to look back on a rainy day.
 
All my logbook entries end with the form number of the NASA ASRS for that flight.
 
Yeah...I like giving the inspectors a bread crumb trail to augment their investigation. ;)
 
Lol, if you’re worried about your overlords you need to secure your stuff better
 
James331 said:
A man is his passions, how cool to have them documented so well for your family to later enjoy, or to look back on a rainy day.
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On the other hand, one should never let facts get in the way of a good story. ;)
 
I was getting my log books audited at a job interview for my first airline gig. "Tell me, Eric, just how did you make Sara puke?" I got beet red and had to explain why communication is important to your first passenger, in the back seat of a Citabria, doing spins, with no intercom.

I became more verbose with later comments. No more, "Made Sara puke" styled entries.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
RudyP said:
All my logbook entries end with the form number of the NASA ASRS for that flight.
Click to expand...
Why bother with a separate logbook? Just include your PIC time in the ASRS forms and use those as your logbook.
 
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