Logging hours - Manual logbook vs Foreflights logbook

mandm

mandm

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I’m currently running two logbooks, a manual one and one with foreflight. I’ve went through it and found a few mistakes and updated it, got everything to line up, with exception for the number of landings.

In my manual logbook when taking lessons, dual received, the instructor would count touch and go’s as landings. However in Foreflight they only want to count your full stop landings. So Foreflight is not counting touch and go’s? Correction—> Foreflight does have a space for “All landings”

Another area in Foreflight that is confusing is “Solo”. I used the term “Solo” to calculate when I was the only occupant in the airplane. When I did a checkride it was mentioned that your Solo+PIC time should equal your total time which for me doesn’t. (Also, does having a dog in the airplane change the status from not being “Solo”?)

Do people here log touch and go’s as landings? And if you were doing a xc would a touch and go be sufficient or do you need to do a full stop taxi back, or full stop on the runway and takeoff if the runway is long enough? (I guess I’m speaking in general here since I already have my PPL, IR and CPL)

Also I was reading about xc and seems there are many different definitions, some noted that you only had to go outside a 50nm radius and it did not require a landing, so essentially you could take off go 50nm and come back landing at the same airport of departure, and count that as a landing. Another definition showed if you took off and landed at another airport that’s a xc regardless of distance.

Anyway just curious what others think as I think viewpoints will vary.
 
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Couple of thoughts:
T&G count for day time currency in a tricycle aircraft. So, I absolutely count them. They go in my total landings column in FF. I believe this is intended behavior by FF, or else there would be no need for three landing categories. Total would simply be the sum of full stop day plus night.

How can solo + PIC = total time? That's crazy. After your private certificate, sure. But your student time dual was neither of those categories, so unless you were not counting your dual student time (seriously??) there is no way for that statement to be correct.

The XC portion is a point of contention. If it is to be used for a specific requirement, ie Private, Instrument, Commercial, they should have their requirements spelled out. If not, it becomes an area of various interpretations. I keep it simple and still use the Private category, 50nm w/ landing (T&G is acceptable in my logbook), but there are others who will present the other view points.
 
I log landings based on whether they count for currency. So for night and TW, I only log full stops.

For total hours, when you get your PP, Solo+Dual = Total. You cannot log PIC without a rating. Once you are rated, it gets more complicated since you can have hours that are both PIC and Dual. But you can also have Dual that is not PIC (not rated in that aircraft). And after rated, all Solo can be logged as PIC also.
 
Pinecone said:
You cannot log PIC without a rating.
...
And after rated, all Solo can be logged as PIC also.
Click to expand...

Not true. Solo can be logged as PIC regardless of whether you're rated in the aircraft or not. Most commonly this comes into play for student pilots, where solo time can be logged as PIC.
 
mandm said:
Another area in Foreflight that is confusing is “Solo”. I used the term “Solo” to calculate when I was the only occupant in the airplane. When I did a checkride it was mentioned that your Solo+PIC time should equal your total time which for me doesn’t. (Also, does having a dog in the airplane change the status from not being “Solo”?)
Click to expand...

Solo + PIC doesn't equal Total. For Student Pilots, Solo EQUALS PIC, so therefore Solo + Dual = Total, or PIC + Dual = Total. Are you sure you heard correctly?

No, a dog does not change it from being "solo".

Do people here log touch and go’s as landings? And if you were doing a xc would a touch and go be sufficient or do you need to do a full stop taxi back, or full stop on the runway and takeoff if the runway is long enough? (I guess I’m speaking in general here since I already have my PPL, IR and CPL)
Click to expand...

Yes, of course T&G's are landings. If the wheels touched the ground, you landed. And then took off again. 1 landing, 1 takeoff. Yes, it's still a XC.

Also I was reading about xc and seems there are many different definitions, some noted that you only had to go outside a 50nm radius and it did not require a landing, so essentially you could take off go 50nm and come back landing at the same airport of departure, and count that as a landing. Another definition showed if you took off and landed at another airport that’s a xc regardless of distance.
Click to expand...

This is a whole separate discussion that you can find on multiple threads on this board. Short version is, XC is any time you land at another airport from where you started. For different ratings and purposes, that basic definition gets modified in different ways, but only for the specific purpose of that rating or requirement. So you need to read the rules for that specific purpose to see what is counted as a XC for that purpose.

Anyway just curious what others think as I think viewpoints will vary.
Click to expand...

I don't like FF logbook. I mean, in general it's okay, but it pretty routinely overestimates the length of the flight by about 0.2 or more. This is because it tries to do it all automatically. Now, 0.2 may not seem like a lot, but if it's someone in training, say for Private pilot, that's easily a 15% or so logbook falsification, which doesn't sit well with me. I prefer MyFlightBook which has a "start/stop" feature that works flawlessly. And the developer is a regular poster on this board and quickly fixes issues and implements suggestions we identify - I don't think I've ever seen Foreflight/Boeing post here. There's even a dedicated "help/suggestion" thread with posts that go back 6 years:

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/the-myflightbook-thread.91148/page-15
 
Pinecone said:
.

For total hours, when you get your PP, Solo+Dual = Total. You cannot log PIC without a rating.
Click to expand...
That has not been true since 1997 when the FAA amended 61,51 to allow a student pilot in training to log PIC when soloing with the proper solo endorsements. 61.51(e)(4).
 
mandm said:
In my manual logbook when taking lessons, dual received, the instructor would count touch and go’s as landings. However in Foreflight they only want to count your full stop landings. So Foreflight is not counting touch and go’s? Correction—> Foreflight does have a space for “All landings”
Click to expand...

That's right. It's just asking you which they were. Reason is different currency rules requiring full stops for night and tailwheel currency.
upload_2022-11-9_7-39-30.png
 
RussR said:
Not true. Solo can be logged as PIC regardless of whether you're rated in the aircraft or not. Most commonly this comes into play for student pilots, where solo time can be logged as PIC.
Click to expand...

OK, that is a change. Thanks
 
What are the XC rules for ATP? I guess there’s both ICAO and FAA ATP both with differing requirements?
 
Straight out of 61.1, Definitions:

(vi) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements for an airline transport pilot certificate (except with a rotorcraft category rating), time acquired during a flight -
...
(B) That is at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
...

i.e. no landing >50 nm is required. Known as the "military" exception, since so many military missions fly thousands of miles but return to the starting point.
 
I use a manual flight log backed up by my flightbook ,not building time for anymore ratings. So the logs are mostly for convenience.
 
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