when do you have to fill out a pilot logbook

Any additional information you want to record about the flight is fine if you find it useful, but is very much secondary in terms of identifying, quantifying, and recording your flight.

This is the mandatory information that needs to be in a logbook to satisfy the FAA. Flight position – whether you flew as Pilot-in-Command, Second-in-Command, etc Īll takeoff and landing locations – these are used not only to identify the flight you made, but also to certify that you made such takeoffs and landings within a time period that maintains the currency of your license or rating.You fill in a pilot logbook with the following information: With a hard copy logbook, you pay just the once. On the other hand, some such electronic logbook apps start out free and charge you a subscription fee once you’ve logged over, for instance, 250 hours of flight time. It’s also worth noting that a lot of electronic logbook apps have a range of additional features you can use, and are backed up by the likes of Youtube tutorials, to make sure you never go wrong in logging your flight time. Some pull data from instrument sources, some allow you to update your records by uploading files in a wide variety of file types, like TXT, PDF, or CSV.Īt least for now, the option exists with many electronic logbook apps to send the data across to specialized logbook publishers, and so get the ease of use that comes with electronic flight time logging, matched with the hard copy practicality of a standard logbook. There are a wide variety of electronic logbook apps available, each with their own features. That has allowed quite a healthy market in electronic logbook hardware and software to develop, though technically, you could use something as universal as an Excel spreadsheet to electronically log your flight hours, and it would be acceptable to the Administration. The FAA does not have a specific rule on the format in which a logbook is maintained, merely that one be maintained that ‘satisfies the Administration.’ Yes, electronic logbooks are entirely legal. The details that pilots will log for any entry include their position on the flight – Pilot-in-Command (PIC), Second-in-Command (SIC), etc, the date of the flight, its total duration, and the locations of any takeoff and landing points – as these are often used to prove a pilot is within compliance for their license or rating. That does not necessarily include all flights made, but a rigorously maintained logbook is useful for the removal of doubt or question.

The FAA requires pilots to log every flight that is used towards the requirements for certificates, ratings, flight reviews, or instrument proficiency checks.

When do you have to fill out a pilot logbook