Electronic Logbook questions

[DavidWhite]

Hey guys, I’m wondering if anyone knows of an electronic logbook that will allow you to enter times like starting from a previous logbook. I would like to switch to electronic, but I do not want to have to go back and upload all of my other stuff from previous logbooks. I’d rather just keep using paper if thats the case.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

I would think most would allow you to do that. Pretty much like starting a new paper logbook.

 

[Larry in TN]

Create a fake aircraft type for each category and class in which you've logged time. Make a single entry for each fake type with the combined times for that cat/class.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Any of them will - You can either just make a single entry for everything, or several entries for various categories and classes if you want to keep track of such things going forward.

FWIW, I put all of mine into an electronic log ages ago when I had about 800 hours, so I went back and put everything in.

There's also services that will enter everything in for you if you want the detail and don't mind spending money.

 

[midlifeflyer]

As others said, most if not all electronic logbooks let you do starting totals, just like you would do with a paper logbook. The one you are looking at will have information on the specific method for their app or website.

 

[Pinecone]

I use SafeLogPro and it has a screen/field to carry over from old log books. You just will get totals for everything in the old logbook. You will lose time in type, just keep category and class.

I lost my original logbook (which will probably turn up some day).

 

[midlifeflyer]

I use SafeLogPro and it has a screen/field to carry over from old log books. You just will get totals for everything in the old logbook. You will lose time in type, just keep category and class.

They vary on that. Others will save time in type too. It depends on how much work you want to do. With 4 types of singles, it might not be much work. With 30 types of singles it would be a lot more.

 

[RussR]

Like others have said, you can just enter the previous flights in one lump sum, or divide it up as specifically as you want. But if you do, you won't get cool maps like this (this one from MyFlightBook, the best logbook, but others do similar maps):

 

[Flyhound]

My electronic logbook is just an Excel spreadsheet I created. I can add of delete features as I see fit. It only took 10 minutes to create the original outline. I've changed it s couple of times since then to add features I was interested in. I will keep a paper logbook and scan the pages from it so there is lots of redundancy in my record keeping. The real time consuming part was inputting all of my historical flight data going back to the mid 1970s.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Interesting... today, my insurer asked me to tell them how many hours I have with a controllable pitch prop. Took 10 seconds in MyFlightBook. Without it, wow! Complex aircraft, most HP aircraft, some non HP, non complex aircraft. Hours.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

Interesting... today, my insurer asked me to tell them how many hours I have with a controllable pitch prop. Took 10 seconds in MyFlightBook. Without it, wow! Complex aircraft, most HP aircraft, some non HP, non complex aircraft. Hours.

“Hmm, let’s see. ~400 hours Cessna 402, ~300 hours Cessna 195. Does 2,200 hours of turboprop time count? Not to mention the nearly 20,000 hours of turbo fan time, which I suppose does NOT count. How specific do you want me to be?”

LOL. That took me less time to figure out than it did to type it.

 

[DavidWhite]

Thanks for all the good answers guys! Do most folks use MyFlightBook??

 

[RussR]

Thanks for all the good answers guys! Do most folks use MyFlightBook??

I don't hide my opinion that MFB is a fantastic product. It has all the normal capabilities of any online logbook, has outstanding support (the developer is on this board, and on Facebook and probably other places), has fully exportable data so if he ever quits, you don't lose anything, and most of all, it's free! Although a small annual donation gets you some definite benefits like daily backups. Highly recommended.

 

[midlifeflyer]

“Hmm, let’s see. ~400 hours Cessna 402, ~300 hours Cessna 195. Does 2,200 hours of turboprop time count? Not to mention the nearly 20,000 hours of turbo fan time, which I suppose does NOT count. How specific do you want me to be?”

LOL. That took me less time to figure out than it did to type it.

I don't care about specificity but accuracy. if you regularly run type totals in your paper logbook, you have them at hand. If you can say "1000+" with confidence, I wouldn't worry too much. But I have far less time than you and it is spread over about 30 different types of singles in as many years. Taking a quick look, my last 6 flights included a 172, 182, PA28R, and a DA40. That's kind of mix is not unusual and I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how many hours I had in any of them.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Thanks for all the good answers guys! Do most folks use MyFlightBook??

There's a significant user base but I'm not sure about "most." I've been an MFB user since 2006 (the joke is my user number is lower than the developer's) and share @RussR's opinion if it. LogTenPro has been fairly popular with the professional crowd.

But, leaving out DIY backups to paper, I suspect "most" were introduced to digital logging by their incorporation into EFBs. As an instructor who only works with already-certificated pilots, I still see mostly paper. When I digitally sign a logbook, most often it's Foreflight, then MFB. I can't say what is happening at the student level, but suspect students adopt their instructor's logging preference and would not be surprised to see similar numbers.

 

[Wagondriver]

Create a fake aircraft type for each category and class in which you've logged time. Make a single entry for each fake type with the combined times for that cat/class.

That's what I did.

 

[EricBe]

Hey guys, I’m wondering if anyone knows of an electronic logbook that will allow you to enter times like starting from a previous logbook. I would like to switch to electronic, but I do not want to have to go back and upload all of my other stuff from previous logbooks. I’d rather just keep using paper if thats the case.

FYI, MyFlightbook *does* have a starting totals tool to help you create a small set of placeholder flights to capture your starting totals.