Pilots Pal Logbook Software - HELP

[chopper2]

Hi

Can anyone put me in touch with Mr Steven Jonathan Mark LANG (DOB: Jul 1968). Ex of Pilots Pal, Solo House, London Road Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1AT. Old Tel: 01293-873696.

Mr Lang sold the Log Book Software called Pilots Pal …. I bought and used it. I thought my data was safe on my various hard drives and I still have multiple backup copies ….. But the program that reads the data files has locked and Mr Lang has gone out of business! I hope that if I can contact him he will be able to unlock the program (which I purchased) and let me migrate my logbook data to another program.

Where in the world is Mr S J M LANG? Perhaps you have a valid email address for him?

[Airbubba]

According to this PPRuNe thread from 2011, Steve had shut down the app years ago:

https://www.pprune.org/computer-internet-issues-troubleshooting/451362-pilots-pal.html

I'm not too big on logging time myself now that I've finally got my ATP ;). However, I do have several thousand hours on pay sheets I could harvest if needed I suppose. Now, where did I put those pay sheets?

I had a similar issue with a nice piece of satellite tracking software I purchased two decades ago. The author grew weary of pirated copies of his work floating around and shut down development in 2001. I continued to use the software for years afterward until one day the program timed out and locked up. I found the author through a Google search and sent him a note. He unlocked my program and I enjoyed use of the app until finally the Windows application programming interface would no longer support the legacy code.

In my experience, some of those old proprietary databases will load into a spreadsheet program if they are not encrypted. Have you tried to view the files to see if they are in ASCII with delimiters perhaps? On the other hand, some of those custom apps used homemade compression techniques to save precious memory that scrambled things beyond all recognition.

[jonkster]

from the thread Airbubba posted above, there is a link to a site that converts data from various log book formats, might be worth a look:
Import Wizard | mccPILOTLOG (http://www.mccpilotlog.net/import-wizard/)

[Airbubba]

From the PPRuNe thread linked above, this web page claims to import your Pilot's Pal database into a file that will run on their software:

Pilots Pal V11 Submit (http://www.mccpilotlog.net/convert-data-file/) the entire database file for conversion. File extension must be MDB, X-MSACCESS, SQL, SQLITE or SQLITE 2.

Import Wizard mccPILOTLOG (http://www.mccpilotlog.net/import-wizard/)

And, if your Pilot's Pal database is in one of the SQL or MSACCESS formats, it should import into a modern database or spreadsheet program.

_________________________

Thanks jonkster, I just saw your note with the same suggestion, hope it helps chopper2! :ok:

[chopper2]

Thank you both for the suggestion that I import the data to mccPILOTLOG ..... I am half way through the process which is possible, but not simple. What I would like is a print out from Pilots Pal to aid in the task of the manual corrections...... hence my request for contact with Mr S Lang, who I understand is a Pilot and may well be known by members of PPrune?

[Airbubba]

Here's a possible LinkedIn hit:

Steven Lang

Capt B787 Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Airlines/AviationPrevious
Qatar Airways (https://uk.linkedin.com/company/qatar-airways?trk=ppro_cprof),
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (https://uk.linkedin.com/company/oasis-hong-kong-airlines?trk=ppro_cprof),
European Aviation Air Charter
Education
Goldsmiths, University of London (https://uk.linkedin.com/edu/goldsmiths-university-of-london-12593?trk=ppro_sprof)
Capt (TRE) B777/787

Qatar Airways (https://uk.linkedin.com/company/qatar-airways?trk=ppro_cprof)

August 2008 – November 2015 7 years 4 months Qatar



https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steven-lang-2ab55485

You might give a shout in the PPRuNE Middle East forum to see if a QR colleague has contact information.

His school and military dates don't look good for a 1968 DOB however.

[VHS]

As Airbubba (https://www.pprune.org/members/2149-airbubba) has said, if the data is ..."MDB, X-MSACCESS, SQL, SQLITE or SQLITE 2" it would be fairly easy to import it into a spreadsheet or another DB format.

Q/ Why would you need "...manual corrections"?

Regards

VHS

[ehwatezedoing]

Q/ Why would you need "...manual corrections"?

Regards

VHS
It could be because data transfer from an old electronic logbook to mccPILOTLOG doesn’t always go smoothly.
Depending on he way you previously logged your hours...

I had this issue with another logbook software than the one from this topic.

[Skyjob]

mccPilotLog sounds like the best option to me. They can also assist in conversion on your behalf if you ask and are concerned.
Always, send a copy of the database and keep a copy in case of issues arising, then do not delete backup until satisfied you are completely happy all entries have transferred correctly.

Many logbook providers are simply using databases and therefore can be imported into each other ro transferred between softwares. Import functions are a simple way to provide this functionality.

[chopper2]

mccPilotLog sounds like the best option to me. They can also assist in conversion on your behalf if you ask and are concerned.
Always, send a copy of the database and keep a copy in case of issues arising, then do not delete backup until satisfied you are completely happy all entries have transferred correctly..

Hi Skyjob .. as I said above

I am half way through the process with mccPilotLog, but its not quite that simple. What I would like is a print out from Pilots Pal to aid in the task of the manual corrections...... hence my request for contact with Mr S Lang, who I understand is a Pilot and may well be known by members of PPrune?

[chopper2]

Here's a possible LinkedIn hit:

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steven-lang-2ab55485

His school and military dates don't look good for a 1968 DOB however.

Thanks Airbubba

"Good Spot" ….. But I don't think the age works.

[Porto Pete]

It was a shame this software was discontinued, it had a loyal following and in my opinion was one of the least bloated and to the point elogbooks.

Pretty much all the major remaining providers can convert the SQL data file and import the data into theirs. mccPilotlog, Safelog and Logten Pro were all providers who I considered and were all able to import the data.