What is your approach to logging?

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zitai

Filing Flight Plan
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Jun 26, 2025
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Ztai
Hey folks,


I’m a private pilot (≈ 200 hrs, mostly in a DA-42 ) and I still find logging the worst part of flying. I use ForeFlight for the logbook, but I’m usually a few weeks behind and it feels like busywork, so i want to see how everybody do their logbook maybe we can all learn from each other.


How do you stay on top of log entries?


  • • What app or method?
  • • How long does it actually take you after each flight?
  • • Any tricks (photo of tach, automated import, etc.) that save you time?

Curious whether I’m just inefficient or if everyone fights the same battle. Thanks in advance for any tips—or war stories!
 
A custom google sheet. 30 sec per flight. Cannot imagine an easier method.
 
Well beyond the stage of life where I am building hours. Garmin Pilot automatically logs. I go in after and verify/edit as needed. Periodically transcribe to written logbook. Easy. I can see how it could be onerous for a professional pilot tho.
 
Logging is a PITA.

I record all flights with a GPS logger app on my phone, then look at the logs later on my laptop and write them in my (paper) logbook... usually weeks or months later. The longer I procrastinate, the bigger a chore it is, of course.
 
I keep my logbook on my computer/office desk at home. I also take a picture of the tach numbers at the start of every flight.
Caveat: I am old and flying Sport Pilot and just for fun. No future ratings or time building needed - so I am mainly interested in documenting flights for currency. It only takes me a couple minutes (the next time) when I am at my desk to catch up on the most recent flight or two.
 
I keep a paper and Excel logbook. I print dispatch records and keep a copy in the plane. My first checklist (of 3) starts with "Record Hobbs and Tach." My last checklist ends with "Record Hobbs and Tach."
Call the time invested 1 minute for dispatch form, 1 minute for paper, and 1 minute for Excel.
 
I carry my logbook out of habit and fill it out after shutdown.

If you don’t like carrying your logbook, then stick a blank copy of a page in your flight bag. Fill out a line as a last checklist item before your feet hit the ground. Stick it in your logbook when full. Fill out your logbook later, or never, just keep the paper (make a copy, log it electronically, whatever).

I used to take a pick of Hobbs/tach, but that just added to the post-flight logging task.
 
I find it somewhat fascinating that a pilot would hate logging. I would think the personality type to complete training would lend itself to enjoying that part. Maybe it's just me. To answer your questions,

I primarily use an app called "myflightbook". It was developed by a pilot who is a member here. It's free, although he takes donations, available on android, apple, and the web, and syncs between all three. I also keep a paper logbook because I enjoy it, but that one sometimes falls behind

MFB takes about 10s to log a flight. I often do it as I'm driving out the airport access road.

It can be tedious if you have a bunch of entries to catch up on. My only suggestion is to do it right away. One entry, even on paper, takes what...a minute? Do it before you get out of the plane, especially if it's electronic and you already have the device on you. I'm not a FF user, but I tried garmin pilot's log feature and found it to be more trouble than it's worth. You might try MFB and see if you find that faster/ easier.

Welcome to POA!
 
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$8 log book from Amazon, new entries in pencil at shutdown, checked entries and endorsements in black pen. Time > 1 minute / flight.
 
I use ForeFlight log book, and it takes about 20 seconds to record the passengers on the flight, and my tach readings, number of landings. It fills in everything else, I look, approve, and I'm done. I do it in the cockpit before I get out. It's the best 'collecting' game ever, building hours in the air! Foreflight even adds the GPS track log to the entry, so you can see the exact flight route, AHRS, AND any photos I took in flight.
 
I still use a regular paper logbook. It takes all of half a minute to log a flight, and a couple minutes to total up a full page.

I am starting to use Foreflight’s logbook as well, but it often shows more flight time than there actually was - frequently crediting 1.2 for a .9 or 1.0 hour flight, so most entries need some correction. Plus if I go to Foreflight exclusively, I’ll need to transfer all the previous hours.

I don’t see any need to change from paper.
 
I use MyFlightbook works great . I log time mostly now to keep my maintenance up to faye
 
alfy1989 said:
I use ForeFlight log book, and it takes about 20 seconds to record the passengers on the flight, and my tach readings, number of landings. It fills in everything else, I look, approve, and I'm done. I do it in the cockpit before I get out. It's the best 'collecting' game ever, building hours in the air! Foreflight even adds the GPS track log to the entry, so you can see the exact flight route, AHRS, AND any photos I took in flight.
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You can even add pictures. And it yells at you when you have unlogged flights.
 
When I was a professional airplane flyer, I was too cheap to buy one of those fancy leather bound log books. I used a spiral note book instead.

And used a pencil.
 
Beachy said:
I also take a picture of the tach numbers at the start of every flight.
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Same here - tach and hobbs. For logging and maintenance purposes.
Domenick said:
I keep a paper and Excel logbook.
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Paper logbook at home, excel logbook on my phone and back-up on computer. Cross-check the totals on the computer with the paper log, I tend to fumble some numbers on paper every few pages.
One tab for currency items (regulatory and non-regulatory), one tab for airplane maintenance items and one tab for the actual logbook. Overdue currency and maintenance items have a days/hours until due column that turns red when the number is negative. Easy way to notice is something is past due.
Jim K said:
I find it somewhat fascinating that a pilot would hate logging.
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I don't hate it, but I do procrastinate. The main reason for procrastination can be coming up with a good logbook entry for what I did during that flight. I like telling stories.
I'm really annoyed by the minuscule amount of space most logbooks give you for flight details. I also don't like using multiple lines for the flight description. So my compromise is a (very) abbreviated entry in the paper log, and a long story in the excel log.
 
Spiral notebook to write down whatever needs to be written down - fuel, start times, ATIS, list of frequencies, runways at destination, parts I need to order, any work done to the airplane, what I need to pick up from McDonalds on the way home, blah blah blah.

Eventually gets transferred to the appropriate logbook (pilot, airframe, engine) - pilot logbook is paper and excel sheet so I don't have to do math and provide a backup. Others are paper
 
I log digitally soon after my flight. Take a photo or make a paper note if I’m not doing at the airplane.
 
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I have my BFR guy fill out his part every two years, then put the book back in the safe for next time.
 
I never had a logbook until I left the Air Force. My military time is on a computer printout, and I didn't bother logging the little bit of civilian time while I was on active duty. For the last 15 years or so, I've logged time electronically (gotta love MyFlightBook) but I still back it up in a paper logbook. Now on the sixth large logbook.

To answer the question, it takes me about 10-15 seconds to log a flight on MyFlightBook on my phone. Later, at home, about the same amount of time to duplicate the entry on paper. I often edit the electronic record to reflect the maneuvers we did, but I only put the student's name in the remarks of my paper log.
 
Write down instrument approaches on whatever crap is floating around, generally fuel receipts. Toss them after 6 months.
 
Yeah, I'm not understanding the "logging is too much work" idea.

Now, I can see "my PREFERRED logging method is too much work". Which, if that's the case, you should look at changing your method.

Back a few years ago, I was keeping three logbooks - paper, Excel, and MyFlightBook. THAT was a pain, because they never matched due to errors, and I'd feel compelled to find the error and fix it.

So I gave up the paper and Excel. Now it's all MFB. Being a phone app, I always have it available, and really, it takes a matter of seconds to log. Literally sometimes single-digit seconds if I used the "start" and "stop" functions that day. If I'm acting as a CFI, I usually start and complete my log entry while the pilot is doing their shutdown checklist - with lots of time to spare. But really, you can do it while waiting for the airport gate to open, or the hangar door to close, or while you're taking a leak, whatever, it's that quick.
 
Now that I have a hangar, I'm planning to add a desk and log my flights before I leave the hangar. Historically, I've not been the best at logging my flights and I'm trying to be better. I pay more for insurance because I haven't logged hours I should have logged. Don't be like me, log your hours.
 
I duplicate logs on Garmin and my original student-issued Jeppesen paper logbook for a couple of reasons. One, redundancy. Too many times I've seen electronic records just go "poof" into the ether AND I don't ever want the legitimacy of my early days of flying to come into question. My Garmin records can not possibly have the signatures of my CFI from 24 years ago. Second, ease of reports. You know how you have to go in and count up all the hours you've done when you file your IACRA applications? Yeah...Garmin does that for me with one click of a button. That and I'm a sucker for tracking metrics. I like periodically going in and see numbers move around. I do the same thing with my run/fitness tracking.

Point 2a on using Garmin...I take a GDL50 with me whenever I fly and it does a great job of tracking flight time for me as well as keeping a flight data log automatically. I've found it usually is within 0.1 hours of Hobbs time. Those data logs imported automatically into your log entry so you can review your flight on a map if you wish. If I were an aircraft owner, the information boxes available in a Garmin log are priceless. Boxes for oil used/added, fuel used/added, tach time and hobbs time among other things maintenance related.

Total time spent logging everything...about 5 minutes. I'll write my times on a scratch pad when I leave the plane. Once I get home, I'll write in the paper log while at my computer so I can put everything in at once. Since Garmin automatically generates a log file, I just have to correct any time discrepancies (the aforementioned 0.1) and add any notes that are important to me and hit save. Done deal.
 
I use foreflight. its track log -> logbook functionality is what brought me to the product in the first place. I run track logs when I fly (plugged into Stratus 3). Then i flip them to logbook entries. that's it. during my primary training (through Commercial Multi add on) I dual logged into a paper binder logbook.. that was a little painful. but last few years i'm 100% in foreflight and it's brilliant.
 
kaiser said:
I use foreflight. its track log -> logbook functionality is what brought me to the product in the first place.
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That's interesting. Like @RussR, I use MyFlightBook. I'm sometimes asked why I don't use Foreflight's logbook. One answer I give is that I don't want to feel tied to a particular EFB by having my only logbook in it. That's true, but the other answer is, I had been using MFB for 10 years when FF added logbook functionality and stopped recording flights in which no third-party signature was required on paper about 3 years before the FF logbook appeared.
 
kaiser said:
I use foreflight. its track log -> logbook functionality is what brought me to the product in the first place. I run track logs when I fly (plugged into Stratus 3). Then i flip them to logbook entries. that's it. during my primary training (through Commercial Multi add on) I dual logged into a paper binder logbook.. that was a little painful. but last few years i'm 100% in foreflight and it's brilliant.
Click to expand...

Well it's brilliant except in my experience it overlogs by about 0.2 every single flight, so I have to manually edit the flight time each time for my clients that use it.
 
midlifeflyer said:
That's interesting. Like @RussR, I use MyFlightBook. I'm sometimes asked why I don't use Foreflight's logbook. One answer I give is that I don't want to feel tied to a particular EFB by having my only logbook in it. That's true, but the other answer is, I had been using MFB for 10 years when FF added logbook functionality and stopped recording flights in which no third-party signature was required on paper about 3 years before the FF logbook appeared.
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To be fair, the functionality brought me to FF, the integration with all other features is what’s keeping me there. Traffic, WX, Jepp plates w/ geo-ref, W+B / profiles (and integration to the 135 I fly with), even custom logbook tags and entries, etc

RussR said:
Well it's brilliant except in my experience it overlogs by about 0.2 every single flight, so I have to manually edit the flight time each time for my clients that use it.
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I have the opposite issue. Mine under-logs by .1 to .3. I’m wondering if it’s a setting.
 
I used to carry my log book with me and sometimes put it in the log book in the hangar after the flight.
I lost my Ipad and 2 log books for 18 hours last year. I set them on top of a pickup bed mounted fuel tank. Drove about 25 miles and when I got off the highway going around the bend they slid off! They got run over for half a day but I found them next day laying in the roadway. I was lucky I got my logs back with some wear! The i pad was there also but it didn't hold up to being driven over.
So all my logs stay home now.
I use a legal pad that I keep in the plane. I log tach time and hobbs on it. I also record any maintenance done to the plane. Then I take pictures of the pad and update my logs at home. Every flight since April 2018 is logged on this pad for this plane when I started flying it.IMG_5405.jpegIMG_5404.jpegIMG_5403.jpeg
 
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