Electronic Logbooks

denverpilot

denverpilot

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DenverPilot
Okay, I know this gets beat to death here regularly, but back when this thread came out...

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/comm...ten-pro-x-im-sick-of-giving-them-money.75745/

I really did just say "screw it" and go back to paper.

Since then there's been a multitude of threads on electronic logging, and a great many nice things to say about myflightbook, but...

There's years and years and YEARS of data hand entered into my old LogTen database and I *REALLY* don't feel like re-entering all of that crap. But I also dislike the idea of just starting at a "starting hours" point and going forward from there with the electronic log -- it doesn't allow for analysis back all the way to "day one" so to speak.

I've done some searching, and you'd think that there'd be such a thing - but I see no good way to simply (or even complexly! GRIN) import that data into pretty much any offering out there. myflightbook talks a little bit on their main website about importing but no docs, no screenshots, no specific mention of any other electronic logbooks, etc... I know it's a one-man show over there and free, so I don't expect much... really... it's not a complaint... but leaving a one-man show behind was what I was trying to do leaving LogTen.

In fact, the only "competitors" in this space that actually seem to give a crap about making import tools and making sure data can get INTO their logbook from the competition -- a surefire way to help garner users, it would seem to me -- are LogTen and ForeFlight has a few FAQ articles about how to get stuff into their (still not ready for prime-time, so it's off the table for now) logbook offering.

Curious: @jason and @jesse , what did you end up doing? Paying the LogTen guy his ransom and continuing on, or did you bail to something else? (Heck at least @jesse can write it off... hahaha...)
 
Myflightbook will import from a .csv file. I don't remember if there's documentation on the site, but you can export an empty come, and the fields are pretty self explanatory.
 
Talk to Eric at MyFlightbook. He helped me get my old logbook imported perfectly. I've been very satisfied ever since and will continue to use it for the foreseeable future.
 
ImportTemplate.csv
 

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  • ImportTemplate.csv.txt
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I ended up staying on the old version of logten. The one before they started the recurring revenue. Still works for what I need.

Will probably move to foreflight when it's ready.
 
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jason said:
I ended up staying on the old version of logten. The one before they started the recurring revenue. Still works for what I need.

Will probably move to firefight when it's ready.
Click to expand...

FireFlight? Or do you mean ForeFlight?
 
I got the new computer version, with free upgrades, of LogTen X during the promotional period when it was free. It's only the OSX version that was free but I can't forsee ever needing it on my iPad. I only log every few weeks. I don't think it's free any more. I believe they did that for the people who were ****ed off at the new pricing structure.
 
Those that linked the import page: "To use this site, you must first sign in." <-- That seems silly to read the docs. I'll probably sign up, but I hate signing up for stuff I don't even know if I want to use it.
(@Lindberg Don't know if I can get to .csv from the old LogTen, but I'll see... I'm more interested in how the fields map up... which kinda means needing to see screenshots... but well, heck, I'll probably just have to sign up.
@EppyGA the csv file you mention is stuck behind the sign-up wall.)

@LDJones interesting that Eric has time to do that... that can't be efficient for him... wow. I hope you sent him a nice donation... :)

@Everskyward I saw their "deal" for those of us that were ticked back then, and almost bit, but realized since I wanted the mobile versions AND I wanted it to work on both iPhone and iPad and Mac, all he was doing was setting the hook for another future payment from this "sucker" fish. Stuck to my original gut feel, that he was just going to keep extracting $$$$ regularly via whatever means he could... and in some ways I can't blame him, you can't make a living at software sold once and never sold again. Even the OS manufacturers have finally figured that out, and it's all just becoming rental software...
 
I tried a few of the electronic logs, and decided for me, the boring recreational pilot who's not after a bunch of ratings, that the paper one works just fine for me.

Besides, totaling up a page is like Christmas:)
 
denverpilot said:
@LDJones interesting that Eric has time to do that... that can't be efficient for him... wow. I hope you sent him a nice donation... :)
Click to expand...

He bends over backwards to help people use his FREE service. And I DO send a donation annually. It's well worth it to me, and even gets me extra services (nightly downloads to my dropbox account!)
 
denverpilot said:
Those that linked the import page: "To use this site, you must first sign in." <-- That seems silly to read the docs. I'll probably sign up, but I hate signing up for stuff I don't even know if I want to use it.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about signing up. There's no cost and he'll never spam you about it.
 
denverpilot said:
Those that linked the import page: "To use this site, you must first sign in." <-- That seems silly to read the docs. I'll probably sign up, but I hate signing up for stuff I don't even know if I want to use it.
(@Lindberg Don't know if I can get to .csv from the old LogTen, but I'll see... I'm more interested in how the fields map up... which kinda means needing to see screenshots... but well, heck, I'll probably just have to sign up.
@EppyGA the csv file you mention is stuck behind the sign-up wall.)

@LDJones interesting that Eric has time to do that... that can't be efficient for him... wow. I hope you sent him a nice donation... :)

@Everskyward I saw their "deal" for those of us that were ticked back then, and almost bit, but realized since I wanted the mobile versions AND I wanted it to work on both iPhone and iPad and Mac, all he was doing was setting the hook for another future payment from this "sucker" fish. Stuck to my original gut feel, that he was just going to keep extracting $$$$ regularly via whatever means he could... and in some ways I can't blame him, you can't make a living at software sold once and never sold again. Even the OS manufacturers have finally figured that out, and it's all just becoming rental software...
Click to expand...
EppyGA said:
I uploaded the csv file for you to look at.
Click to expand...


How did you do that? I tried and the site would only;y let me upload picture files...
 
EppyGA said:
You can upload .txt files so I added .txt to the end of the filename ;)
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Ah! Well played. Thanks.

Here's mine just for variety...

John
 

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  • myflightbook.txt
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denverpilot said:
Ahhh, thanks guys. So am I getting this right, it'll track pretty much whatever you feel like entering? I'm guessing here that @EppyGA 's looks like he tracks less fields than @jsstevens does, and it allows for that?
Click to expand...
They have a whole bunch of "Flight Properties" in addition to basics like hours, landings and routes. They also track which airports you've visited. It's up to you to fill in the properties if you care. For example, there is a property for night take offs. I've not always bothered to track them, so they don't show in my logbook. But if you want my flight book to track currency (which is does) you have to fill in the related properties.

I've been very pleased with it. I usually fill it out on my iPad after a flight along with my paper log. I export the .csv file and email it to myself periodically for data backup.

John
 
Sounds great. Next stop, seeing if I can suck the data out of the old program either easily (if they have a CSV dump) or if I have to go write some code to suck it directly out of their files, which if I remember right aren't in too awful a format.

Appreciate the info.
 
You're more than welcome. If you want to see more data let me know and I'll give you my whole logbook. I just won't post it here...
 
denverpilot said:
Sounds great. Next stop, seeing if I can suck the data out of the old program either easily (if they have a CSV dump) or if I have to go write some code to suck it directly out of their files, which if I remember right aren't in too awful a format.

Appreciate the info.
Click to expand...

File:Export

Looks like you'll need to do a few exports (flights, aircraft, etc.).
 
Anymouse said:
File:Export

Looks like you'll need to do a few exports (flights, aircraft, etc.).
Click to expand...

Yeah was just poking at that. Getting too late tonight to mess with it but the knowledge that MFL will do the fields I would want, covers 90% of my question.
 
Hopefully MyFlightbook has a few custom fields you can use. If they do, just put stuff there as needed.
 
Nate, if it help any, I've been running an eLog since DOS. An export to a spreadsheet and some minor tweaking gave me a csv that imported into MyFlightBook with surprisingly few errors for more than 20 years of flights and 1500 hours of data. And most of the errors I did find were original entry ones, rather than a function of the import.

And yes, Eric helped with some.
 
MyFlightbook is crazy good. For FREE. Unlike some of the other "pay 99 bucks once... and also every year. FOREVER" options.
 
I used flightlog on my I devices and it allows me to backup to Dropbox so I can "sync" between phone and iPad. I log in that and then monthly I update paper log that stays in safe. I also keep in the plane an aircraft log which tracks hours and issues. This way checks and balances are always happening between paper and digital.
 
ircphoenix said:
MyFlightbook is crazy good. For FREE. Unlike some of the other "pay 99 bucks once... and also every year. FOREVER" options.
Click to expand...

I have donated more than 99 bucks to him just out of principle. He does a great job so I have no problem supporting his product.
 
I'm just getting started and am dual logging in the flight log my school gave me and also logging the time in foreflight. I really like the foreflight interface as well as the fact that it's backed up in the cloud automatically.
Once I get my ticket I plan to just log in foreflight.
As for just entering a starting number in foreflight I would think of it as being no different than putting a starting number in a new log book. You still have all the details int the old book and can go look at it any time.
 
Google docs and excel sheets seem to work great, plus it's free.

Been using docs for about 5 years, works great and I can download my log in a bunch of different formats if needed, like a PDF download for printing and binding for presenting to folks if needed.
 
It took me about 10 minutes to turn an Excel worksheet into a facsimile logbook and have been using it to backup my own logbook for years.
 
My bigger concern with the pay-for-use electronic logbook revolves around later being able to export the data. I'm new to this concept, but what happens if I someday decide to discontinue my Foreflight subscription? How do I extract all of my log entries to another program?
 
Coloradokevin said:
My bigger concern with the pay-for-use electronic logbook revolves around later being able to export the data. I'm new to this concept, but what happens if I someday decide to discontinue my Foreflight subscription? How do I extract all of my log entries to another program?
Click to expand...

Foreflight has a CSV import/export option at https://plan.foreflight.com
 
jaymark6655 said:
Why not just use Excel?
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Database front ends tend to have more options in terms of cross-referencing data than their underlying spreadsheets . Yes, you can do quite a bit in that regard with Excel - I've seen some great models - but it tends to be easier to work with in a database environment. Same reason you use a word processor rather than a simple text editor. More options to make the document better.

For some, it doesn't matter. It did to me 20 or so years ago, when I built my own, so I went the database route rather than the spreadsheet route.
 
jaymark6655 said:
Why not just use Excel?
Click to expand...
Additionally to what Mark said, the pay for systems have some pre-made database queries that can be quite useful. Such as compiling the 8710 form, currencies (night, passenger, IFR, etc) and others.

Sure, the same can be done with Excel, but for those who haven't built the how to competency to do that (yet), having the pre made ones make things nice and simple.
 
q5kacom said:
I used flightlog on my I devices and it allows me to backup to Dropbox so I can "sync" between phone and iPad. I log in that and then monthly I update paper log that stays in safe. I also keep in the plane an aircraft log which tracks hours and issues. This way checks and balances are always happening between paper and digital.
Click to expand...

I just noticed that MyFlightBook also has the DropBox option. I'm not a DropBox user so I hadn't noticed.

John
 
jsstevens said:
I just noticed that MyFlightBook also has the DropBox option. I'm not a DropBox user so I hadn't noticed.

John
Click to expand...
Yes. That and a Excel version that will automatically update.

There are also a few donantionware options. For $25 a year, the system will automatically upload a csv of the logbook to your DropBox nightly so you don't have to do it manually.
 
A tip for any ELB you like to use... If it has a photo option that you can associate with a flight (MFB has this), use it to take photos of endorsements and CFI signatures earned in the flight.

somof you ever lost your logbook, you will have an image of the endorsements and signatures as you rebuild.
 
AggieMike88 said:
A tip for any ELB you like to use... If it has a photo option that you can associate with a flight (MFB has this), use it to take photos of endorsements and CFI signatures earned in the flight.

somof you ever lost your logbook, you will have an image of the endorsements and signatures as you rebuild.
Click to expand...

I'm using an iPad Pro (and pen) with foreflight and it has a signature block for my CFI on every log entry. He can also do full endorsements with notes and restrictions. Here's a page showing the options:
https://www.foreflight.com/products/logbook/
 
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