What is your approach to logging?

I timed my logging today when I flew with a client of mine. 20 seconds total to enter the flight into MyFlightBook. Did it while he was running the shutdown checklist.

It would have been about half that, but when I fly with a client I enter their name, and then delete the auto-detected landings, so it takes another few seconds.

That's about as un-onerous as you can get!

Now, of course, entering the flight in his logbook took longer due to the comments, but that's just part of the job.
 
It's part of my after-flight checklist, along with tie-down, close flight plan, check master switch is off, etc. No brainer. I actually keep two logs, Hobbes (flight time) and tach time, since the latter is more relevant to service intervals. Takes about 5 seconds.
 
zitai said:
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!
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An Excel spreadsheet does the job for me - none of the online tools I've tried were satisfactory. From time to time, I need to track things like income from instruction, number of night hours in the past X days, total landings since day one, a YouTube link from a particular flight, and other random details. With a spreadsheet, I can set it up exactly the way I want.
 
sarangan said:
An Excel spreadsheet does the job for me - none of the online tools I've tried were satisfactory. From time to time, I need to track things like income from instruction, number of night hours in the past X days, total landings since day one, a YouTube link from a particular flight, and other random details. With a spreadsheet, I can set it up exactly the way I want.
Click to expand...
The only one of those things you mentioned that Garmin doesn't natively track is the income. It does track instruction hours GIVEN. Not a salesman, just mentioning.
 
KE5BM said:
The only one of those things you mentioned that Garmin doesn't natively track is the income. It does track instruction hours GIVEN. Not a salesman, just mentioning.
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Except the income, all of those things are pretty basic functions of ANY online logbook.
 
sarangan said:
An Excel spreadsheet does the job for me - none of the online tools I've tried were satisfactory. From time to time, I need to track things like income from instruction, number of night hours in the past X days, total landings since day one, a YouTube link from a particular flight, and other random details. With a spreadsheet, I can set it up exactly the way I want.
Click to expand...
Before MyFlightBook, I used a DIY database as a logging backup. Excel is just fine for the purpose with one limitation, the same one that moved me away from my DIY: third-party signatures for dual received and endorsements. Logbook apps, whether part of an EFB or independent, use digital signatures and void the signature if the entry is changed later.

I went through the process of going all-digital in stages. I stopped making my paper flight entries 12 years ago, but was not yet satisfied enough about digital signature acceptance, so continued to use my logbook for dual received and endorsements. About 3 years later I was satisfied, but continued to use my paper logbook for CFIs I dealt with who were not as comfortable as me about it.
 
Beachy said:
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.
Click to expand...

Did the rule change that required SPs to carry their logs (or some other evidence of endorsements)?
 
Half Fast said:
Did the rule change that required SPs to carry their logs (or some other evidence of endorsements)?
Click to expand...
No. That rule is there.

But Beachy didn't say he was a Sport Pilot, just that he was "flying" Sport Pilot. Might well be a private or commercial pilot, or even an ATP.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
If you don’t like carrying your logbook, then stick a blank copy of a page in your flight bag.
Click to expand...

I have one of those cheapy give-away thin logbooks (like some flight schools give away after a discovery flight) that I keep under the pad on my kneeboard and I use it for recording info while on a trip, then I transfer the entries to my "real" logbook at home. The real logbook never leaves the house.
 
midlifeflyer said:
No. That rule is there.

But Beachy didn't say he was a Sport Pilot, just that he was "flying" Sport Pilot. Might well be a private or commercial pilot, or even an ATP.
Click to expand...

When I was a SP, I didn't want to carry my logbook, so I made a photocopy of the required endorsements and carried that. The rule says, "A sport pilot must carry his or her logbook or other evidence of required authorized instructor endorsements on all flights."

I assumed I was satisfying the "other evidence" requirement but never knew for certain.
 
I have a C based logbook that I wrote waaaaay back in high school, and it links to a .csv for printing via Excel. I've been thinking about adding native printing functionality for...ummm...damned near 30 years now. ;)

I'm still old school: on a daily basis the flights get added to a small paper trip log, and then added to my main logbook when I get home. The final pages get printed on high quality paper and placed into a custom leather binder.

What I really should do is rewrite the whole thing with the data accessible in the cloud and add a mobile front end. But tech has been boring me more and more as I get older, and I can't muster the energy to do it.
 
I personally double dip. I log every flight in ForeFlight, which can usually be accomplished in less time than it takes the line guy to refuel my plane. Then when I get home, I duplicate that information in my paper log book. That way, if my logbook burns up, it’s all backed up in ForeFlight and if ForeFlight ever crashes, it’s backed up on paper.
 
flyingpreacher said:
I personally double dip. I log every flight in ForeFlight, which can usually be accomplished in less time than it takes the line guy to refuel my plane. Then when I get home, I duplicate that information in my paper log book. That way, if my logbook burns up, it’s all backed up in ForeFlight and if ForeFlight ever crashes, it’s backed up on paper.
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I assume Foreflight logbook has an automated backup option. One of my favorite things about MFB is that it dumps a csv backup onto my own personal Google Drive account every evening. So even if MFB shuts down, I still have all.my data, easily exportable to another logbook.

That's important to me, since before using MFB I was using flightlogg.in, which after a few years became as far as anybody can tell completely unsupported. The developer lost interest maybe, and just discontinued all support, although the site still exists.
 
midlifeflyer said:
You too? I’d almost forgotten about that one.

Edit: my account is still accessible. I deleted my data when I stopped using it, but I can log in.
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I can still log in, never bothered to delete my data. It shows my last entry as 2/25/15, but I think the site was pretty much abandoned a couple years earlier. The Google Groups discussions are pretty much all about problems with the site, with no response from the developer.
 
Garmin Pilot, take a picture of tach, enter number then hit the accept button. 15 seconds
 
RussR said:
I assume Foreflight logbook has an automated backup option. One of my favorite things about MFB is that it dumps a csv backup onto my own personal Google Drive account every evening. So even if MFB shuts down, I still have all.my data, easily exportable to another logbook.

That's important to me, since before using MFB I was using flightlogg.in, which after a few years became as far as anybody can tell completely unsupported. The developer lost interest maybe, and just discontinued all support, although the site still exists.
Click to expand...
Yes, it backs up as soon as you connect to the WiFi (or cell signal). You can export, I believe as a .csv so you could export to another logbook.
 
Built my own database. It's been running for 23 years. I started it before I finished my private.
Does any/all filtering, calculations, currencies, distances of flights, weight and balance, etc...
Pick a combo of any category/day/night/cross-country/actual/simulated/IFR/training given/training received/complex/high-performance. Limit by AND/OR/NAND/NOR...
Makes it easy when I was trying to determine whether I was part 135 or ATP qualified or not. Beats the pants off the Excel Luddites.

Every once in a while I export to a remote storage location, and email myself an exported data file to gmail.

As to how I do it, I check the flight time on the MVP-50 when I shut down, round up to the nearest 0.1 hour and log it when I get home. If I forget how long it was, I check flight aware when I sit down at the computer, and round up.
 
Half Fast said:
other
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Half Fast said:
Did the rule change that required SPs to carry their logs (or some other evidence of endorsements)?
Click to expand...
Don’t know. I have a Private SEL certificate but am flying under Sport Pilot rules. So I just carry my “licenses” with me, no need (for me) to show endorsements.
 
EdFred said:
Built my own database. It's been running for 23 years. I started it before I finished my private.
Does any/all filtering, calculations, currencies, distances of flights, weight and balance, etc...
Pick a combo of any category/day/night/cross-country/actual/simulated/IFR/training given/training received/complex/high-performance. Limit by AND/OR/NAND/NOR...
Makes it easy when I was trying to determine whether I was part 135 or ATP qualified or not. Beats the pants off the Excel Luddites.

Every once in a while I export to a remote storage location, and email myself an exported data file to gmail.

As to how I do it, I check the flight time on the MVP-50 when I shut down, round up to the nearest 0.1 hour and log it when I get home. If I forget how long it was, I check flight aware when I sit down at the computer, and round up.
Click to expand...
I blocked myself from all those flight tracking websites through the FAA. I missed tracking my own flights after to fill out my logs. I got over it and use my paper logs and FF now to complete my logs.
 
Gary Ward said:
I blocked myself from all those flight tracking websites through the FAA. I missed tracking my own flights after to fill out my logs. I got over it and use my paper logs and FF now to complete my logs.
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adsbexchange still has all your flights by tail number. Just need to know the day. You still show up. Try it.

Edit: Just checked, there are a few hundred (545) currently airborne over the US and southern Canada that show on adsbexchange that don't show up on the blocked sites. You got ADS-B, you're tracked.

Double Edit: Don't freak out, but I with a little sleuthing (only on PoA), you definitely show up. Pretty decent pattern work at the end of the the last flight, too. :)
 
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For me, Foreflight is my logbook, I just add my tach times and check the data, link pics and landing counts. Now the plane is a different matter and I can see what the OP is talking about. I use a homemade Excel sheet in Google drive that I share with my A&P. I track mtce intervals, oil change intervals and airframe, engine, prop time. I sit down about once a month and open Foreflight on one monitor and my Excel sheet in the other and enter dates, times to update the calculated fields. I would love to have an app for this stuff that would link to FF and do notifications and alerts.
 
Clock, paper, pen. Enter into spreadsheet annually to find whatever aggregates the insurance company wants.
 
zitai said:
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!
Click to expand...
As you're seeing, after 70 responses, is that there are lot of different ways to log, and a lot of it depends on what your goals are in aviation, and your own personality. There are people who don't log at all except for what's required for currency, people who only update their times when insurance requires it, all the way to people who log every flight immediately after the flight. People who log on a sheet of notebook paper and total it up when they feel like it, all the way to people who run an automatic log via one of the apps. There is no real "right" answer.

I am quite surprised, however, that you seem to so despise the actual logging process. I know when I had 200-ish hours, entering that flight in my (paper at the time) logbook each day was a nice conclusion to the flight - feeling like I had accomplished something that day, and now recording it in "official" form. Putting comments in there so I could remember it years later. Getting one step closer to whatever goal I had at the time. I actually enjoyed putting things in my log, especially since as a "hobby" pilot at the time, flights were a somewhat rare and exciting thing. But of course, to each their own. (I will admit that now that I work as a pilot, don't need hours for any future goals, and have all the ratings I'm likely to ever need, logging isn't as "fun" as it used to be, but I still log every flight at the end of the day for accuracy.)
 
I log nothing. Both Uncle Sam and the Airline Company log my time for me. There isn't a single entry in my civilian logbook for my 121 time, and my military logbooks are kept by people who get paid to do that. I might be lazy :)
 
I use SafeLog Pro as primary. I take a pic of the G3X EIS page for Hobbs and Tach after engine shutdown each flight. Unless I shot several approaches, it takes maybe 30 - 60 seconds to log the flight.

I also keep a paper log book, so maybe once a week or so, I fill in the paper book.

The reason I picked SafeLog Pro was I used to keep a digital logbook in AeroLog Pro. While it still exists and is supported, I wanted a better, more modern application. SafeLog Pro was able to convert my AeroLog data file to their format for importing (for no charge), so I went with them. I also like that with synching, the data is in their cloud, in my phone, both tablets, laptop and two desktops.

I used to keep paper log book as primary with digital on the side. But I lost my paper logbook in a fire and later found I was about 2 years behind in transferring to digital, so lost a bunch of time. Note to self, leave paper log book in a SAFE place.
 
zitai said:
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?
Click to expand...
Well, I don't always, much like you... Reasons below.

zitai said:
  • • What app or method?
Click to expand...
When I started (2002), I just used paper. In 2008 when I got my commercial, filling out the form was a giant PITA so I decided to transfer to electronic, and at that point I used LogTen Pro. When LTP went to a subscription model, I kept using the old version for a while, and eventually switched to ForeFlight once they added logbook functionality.

zitai said:
  • • How long does it actually take you after each flight?
Click to expand...
Not too long, if I do it every flight - But I got really bad at that for a long time, and I'm just starting to get good habits back.

zitai said:
  • • Any tricks (photo of tach, automated import, etc.) that save you time?
Click to expand...
I always take a pic of flight time (off the GTX 345), fuel remaining, and Hobbs (I don't have a recording tach) at the end of each flight for recordkeeping purposes. Same with fuel receipts every time I fuel up.

flyingron said:
1. File what you want.
2. Fly what you get.
3. Log what you need.
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I disagree with "log what you need" for two main reasons:

1) Insurance will be cheaper if you log everything and can document all of your total and recent experience.
2) If you someday end up flying for work, the more time you have the better off you'll be.

Notice that I didn't say you "want to" fly for work. I never wanted to fly for work because I was afraid it'd ruin the fun, yet 16 years and 2000 hours into being a strictly GA-for-life pilot an opportunity fell into my lap and I ended up flying for work. And I figured I'd be there until I retired, so I didn't try too hard to log a lot of time there - I'd always let FOs be the PF on legs that were only loggable by a single pilot, for example (we were mixed 91/135 in single pilot airplanes). Well, now I'm looking for another flying job and I wish I'd have logged a bit more.

You can never have too much time in your logbook, and you never know what your future holds. Log everything.

Jim K said:
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.
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I used to fill out the logbook after every flight, counting every hour... But once I had commercial, multi, instrument, my own plane and 1000+ hours it was a lot less important to me.

Also, when you have a wife and kids, they do NOT want to wait for you to fill out a log entry at the end of every flight. That's where my bad habits started - Get everyone else home, tell myself to log it later. Well, I'm always busy when later shows up too...

ateamer said:
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.
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It's not hard to do, and you can do it by entering things into their spreadsheet template and importing it if you want to. It's definitely worth it when it comes to filling out insurance renewals or applying for flying jobs.

As far as the extra time, it appears that ForeFlight ends a track log 15 minutes after touchdown. It rarely takes that long to get to parking and shut down, so that's likely where the extra time is coming from. If you jump into the track log, you can easily edit it - I just truncate the end after the groundspeed goes to zero at my hangar. Then it's accurate.

kaiser said:
I have the opposite issue. Mine under-logs by .1 to .3. I’m wondering if it’s a setting.
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You can set it to auto-create drafts based on track logs (which tends to log a bit extra at the end, as noted above) or based on filed flights, which often seem to have times that are slightly optimistic IMO and probably under-log, or both. Which are you using?

sarangan said:
An Excel spreadsheet does the job for me - none of the online tools I've tried were satisfactory. From time to time, I need to track things like income from instruction, number of night hours in the past X days, total landings since day one, a YouTube link from a particular flight, and other random details. With a spreadsheet, I can set it up exactly the way I want.
Click to expand...
ForeFlight lets you add custom fields to the logbook - You could easily add a floating-point number field for the income, and it already does everything else you mention.

RussR said:
I assume Foreflight logbook has an automated backup option.
Click to expand...
Yes. It backs up to your account on ForeFlight's cloud, and can also automatically send you a CSV export via email each month - And I recommend everyone ensure that it does exactly that, just in case! (I never delete those messages either.)

To the OP: My advice is to log it at the end of every flight, or alternatively at the end of the last flight of the day, BEFORE you leave the airport. It'll only take a minute or three if you do that. Otherwise, it becomes a thing and it's a giant PITA to catch up after a while. At one point, I finally spent all the time to ensure I had everything from my paper logs, my old e-log, my company export, my ForeFlight track logs, my photo records, etc logged accurately once and for all in one place (ForeFlight) and now I try very hard to keep up with it so I never have to go through all that effort again!
 
I generally prefer the 12nm arc to the localizer back-course, but only if it has an NDB as the FAF.
 
judypilot said:
It's part of my after-flight checklist, along with tie-down, close flight plan, check master switch is off, etc. No brainer. I actually keep two logs, Hobbes (flight time) and tach time, since the latter is more relevant to service intervals. Takes about 5 seconds.
Click to expand...
I have a spreadsheet where I keep each flight with Hobbs, Tach, Fuel and price and other airplane numbers.
 
Beachy said:
SEL certificate but am flying under Sport Pilot rule
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flyingcheesehead said:
Well, I don't always, much like you... Reasons below.


When I started (2002), I just used paper. In 2008 when I got my commercial, filling out the form was a giant PITA so I decided to transfer to electronic, and at that point I used LogTen Pro. When LTP went to a subscription model, I kept using the old version for a while, and eventually switched to ForeFlight once they added logbook functionality.


Not too long, if I do it every flight - But I got really bad at that for a long time, and I'm just starting to get good habits back.


I always take a pic of flight time (off the GTX 345), fuel remaining, and Hobbs (I don't have a recording tach) at the end of each flight for recordkeeping purposes. Same with fuel receipts every time I fuel up.


I disagree with "log what you need" for two main reasons:

1) Insurance will be cheaper if you log everything and can document all of your total and recent experience.
2) If you someday end up flying for work, the more time you have the better off you'll be.

Notice that I didn't say you "want to" fly for work. I never wanted to fly for work because I was afraid it'd ruin the fun, yet 16 years and 2000 hours into being a strictly GA-for-life pilot an opportunity fell into my lap and I ended up flying for work. And I figured I'd be there until I retired, so I didn't try too hard to log a lot of time there - I'd always let FOs be the PF on legs that were only loggable by a single pilot, for example (we were mixed 91/135 in single pilot airplanes). Well, now I'm looking for another flying job and I wish I'd have logged a bit more.

You can never have too much time in your logbook, and you never know what your future holds. Log everything.


I used to fill out the logbook after every flight, counting every hour... But once I had commercial, multi, instrument, my own plane and 1000+ hours it was a lot less important to me.

Also, when you have a wife and kids, they do NOT want to wait for you to fill out a log entry at the end of every flight. That's where my bad habits started - Get everyone else home, tell myself to log it later. Well, I'm always busy when later shows up too...


It's not hard to do, and you can do it by entering things into their spreadsheet template and importing it if you want to. It's definitely worth it when it comes to filling out insurance renewals or applying for flying jobs.

As far as the extra time, it appears that ForeFlight ends a track log 15 minutes after touchdown. It rarely takes that long to get to parking and shut down, so that's likely where the extra time is coming from. If you jump into the track log, you can easily edit it - I just truncate the end after the groundspeed goes to zero at my hangar. Then it's accurate.


You can set it to auto-create drafts based on track logs (which tends to log a bit extra at the end, as noted above) or based on filed flights, which often seem to have times that are slightly optimistic IMO and probably under-log, or both. Which are you using?


ForeFlight lets you add custom fields to the logbook - You could easily add a floating-point number field for the income, and it already does everything else you mention.


Yes. It backs up to your account on ForeFlight's cloud, and can also automatically send you a CSV export via email each month - And I recommend everyone ensure that it does exactly that, just in case! (I never delete those messages either.)

To the OP: My advice is to log it at the end of every flight, or alternatively at the end of the last flight of the day, BEFORE you leave the airport. It'll only take a minute or three if you do that. Otherwise, it becomes a thing and it's a giant PITA to catch up after a while. At one point, I finally spent all the time to ensure I had everything from my paper logs, my old e-log, my company export, my ForeFlight track logs, my photo records, etc logged accurately once and for all in one place (ForeFlight) and now I try very hard to keep up with it so I never have to go through all that effort again!
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Thank you for the detailed reply @flyingcheesehead , I started my bad habbit of not logging after flight, keep telling myself will log afterward and never do until something came up, that's very helpful thanks again.
 
Half Fast said:
Young whippersnapper. When I was in high school, we felt fortunate to use Napier's Bones....
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You had 1's? We had to build an entire relational database out of 0's...


With a nod to XKCD.
 
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