The state of my Log Books

[airshowpilot]

I was wondering of anyone could offer me some advice. I have two log books that correspond to all my flying to date but they are a tad scruffy (my larger log book is from the USA). I'm a JAA fATPL, approx 400 hours total time. Is it worth keeping a good master log book to include all of my hours in case I get the good fortune of attending an interview or is this simply a waste of time? I obviously want to create the right impression, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
P.S. I use the decimal system.

[gdnhalley]

Airshowpilot

I wondered the same thing myself, having 2 scruffy logbooks, and was advised to keep them as they were. I have attended 1 interview and had no problem with them.
At least if they are scruffy they look genuine and not paper hours as you sometimes hear about.
good luck

gdn

[Onan the Clumsy]

I'm on my fifth one (1200TT) and they're not the neatest of books, though they're not THAT scruffy. I think if you're learning, you'll fly here and there, fill in with different pens etc, but if you're flying the line, you tend to do it every day at the end of the day with the same pen you keep in your flight bag. Mine look like that and I suspect ghat most people's do too.

So absolutely, it makes them look genuine.

I have a spreadsheet with everything entered in as well, so that's about as neat as you can get if they want neatness.

[Intruder]

Keep all your old log books, and create your "master log" on the computer, either with an Excel spreadsheet or dedicated logbook software.

[Dogma]

Onan T C,

You are not by chance using the old "log books" that BA used to hand out to us as kids.

1200 hours and your on your fifth log book!

:mad: I am only half way through my first and have circumnavgated the globe.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I think some of you need to write smaller or buy bigger logbooks - I'm on similar-ish hours to Onan and only about 1/3 through an Airtour logbook I bought in 1991 (pretty much identical to CAP407, the CAA commercial logbook).

You can buy leather covers for most sizes of logbooks which make them look a lot nicer (that's what I have), or a friend of mine (who had about 8000hrs military flying and counting at the time) simply took his logbook, and brand new one of the same type to a bookbinder who bound them both together in leather, trimmed the edges to look like new and generally gave him back something that looked like the family heirloom something like that should do - albeit about an inch thick and last I saw him he'd added another thousand hours or so and was still using it.

I admit however that I have a very scruffy cheap Pooleys one that lives in my flight bag, gets entries made as I go, then copied up into both my personal and the aircraft's logbooks when I get home. But, that's disposable !

G

[compressor stall]

5 logbooks???

Good lord - is each flight .2?

1800 hours to fill one (many flights of short duration - .3 for student checkrides etc.)

The subsequent 3000 hours have half filled the next logbook!

[jungly]

Sadly I dont have the contact details but there is a chap in Chard (Somerset) that specialises in re-covering/refurbishing old logbooks.
He combined two of mine 4yrs ago...and even added pockets for photographs and other documents. All in all it was only 20quid and the job (including embossed name and wings etc) was superb.
Ask about...... highly recommended....and you get to keep all those memories in quality print and not on some dull old computer.

[Captain Airclues]

At least longhaul is easier on the logbooks.....19,000 hours and just starting my third!

Airclues

[cpt744]

Airclues,
I'm with you on that, takes forever to finish up one log book with the regular 12-14hours sectors.

Intruder,
Would you have any recommendation on a good user-friendly logbook software??
Many thanks in advance. :D

[Intruder]

I made my own in an Excel spreadsheet. I'm not familiar with any of the commercial programs.

[Genghis the Engineer]

The joy of Excel of-course is that you can adapt it to do anything you want, such as hours on a particular type, any presentation you want - and you can export the data to a different spreadsheet, database, etc. whenever desire or circumstances dictate.

I confess that I've only ever used it for adding up specific things not summing my whole logbook - and if I did I'd still keep my paper logbook. But, that's just me.

G