Originally Posted by
Gordy
It is a personal record of flight time. It gives employers an idea of what you have done. I use the same logic I taught my daughter with respect to guys telling her stuff: "Trust but Verify".
Over the years there have been too many people abusing the system and "parker penning" hours which has led to more scrutiny.
FAA inspectors, designated examiners, US Forest Service Pilot Inspectors are all scrutinizing logbooks more than they used to.
As for potential pilots, I have been in this industry many years, and been Chief Pilot or Director of Operations for the last 25 years. There are only so many utility companies in the US that do fire and power line work. I have the phone number of all the DO's and CP's and have probably drank beer with them. Any pilot in the US who thinks he can "parker pen" utility hours should really think twice. I am here to protect the company and company assets.
So nope, a logbook is not a useless document, but I will and so will every Chief Pilot I know "trust but verify".....
I know what a logbook does. I also know what it doesn't do and that's determine experience and competency. Nobody has ever looked at my logbook one time for a job in 20 years. The FAA and whoever can stare at logbooks all day long but they're kidding themselves if they think it's anything but a waste of time.