How to Properly Use Logbook?
 

I have my log book, wondering what the column "Take-Offs & Landings Day/Night" means. I already have a section in my log book that says "Single Engines" > Day/Night > Dual/PIC > Hours" so whats the other column for? Is this referring to when I took off/landed? I.e - 4 pm - 6 pm? or something like that?

Also whats the difference between;
"Page Totals"
"Totals Forwarded"
"Totals to Date"
and "Grand Totals (Columns 1 to 10)"

Bottom line is, it's your log book, you can write what you like in it. All you can't do is claim hours (etc) you haven't flown when applying for licences, ratings etc. For for example one might use the multi-engine column to record one's floatplane flying if there (shockingly) isn't a pre-printed floatplane column.

Devilmonk


You should ask your instructor for instructions! He or she should help you enter your first few flights correctly until you get the hang of it.

I have an AFE log book that has columns for:

Day Take off
Day landings
Night Take off
Night Landings

and according to the example page, and my previous instructors, it is simply a count to the number of take off and landings for that flight. Typically this is one take off and one landing under Day as I don't have a night rating, unless I have been circuit bashing etc.

Yep, just to count how many takeoffs/landings you did. If you take off from A and land at A/B/C/Wherever (during daylight) and that's all you do then put a "1" in each of the day takeoff and day landing columns.

Page totals are the totals hours added up on that page.

Totals forwarded are the total hours you have added up from previous pages.

Totals to date/Grand totals I haven't seen separated before. Both sound to me like they would be used to add up the hours from the current page onto the hours from all previous pages.

Have a look in the front few pages (or maybe the back few) of the logbook, as often there are instructions.

Just thought I'd add that I count a "touch and go" as one landing and one take off, not only full stop landings etc

On that basis, I'd have had to count some of my early t&g's four or five times....

Ok, so I only have one column that represents both takeoff and landing, so should I write 2 instead of 1?

Also, if I understand this correctly,

"Page Total" is the total hours of that page of the log book,

"Totals to Date" and "Grand Total" mean the same thing, (apparently I have to write this twice in my logbook.

But what is "Totals forwarded"? Any ideas?

Also, thanks for responding everyone :) this is my first post on the forums.

I'd just write 1 - the day you make a take-off and not a landing you won't have anything to record anyway.

The Total Forwarded is the total forwarded either to the next page or, when the time comes, the next logbook.

Without seeing the logbook I can't be sure but the Total to Date is broken down - single engine, multi, day, night, instrument and , if uyou're a luckt Wombat, floatplane.

The grand total is generally all of the above added up. So the numbers would be the same if it's all dual single-engine day stuff but they'll differ later on as you do more.

Write whatever you want - if you want to take a page to describe each flight and what you did and what the weather conditions were and what your instructor said and how many Bf109s you shot down, go for it.

Do not forget the forwarded parts of your flying from the former logbook. How you fill you book in detail is up to you, but it should be documented somehow (if there is no explanation within the book).

Are there any instructions at the front / back of your logbook?

I would think it strange to have to write the same thing twice for "Totals to date" and "Grand total" but I have not seen that format before so am unsure.

If one column represents takeoff and landing I would just write a 1 for a "set" of take off and landing if that makes sense.

"Totals forwarded" is normally the grand total from the previous page. You use this to add on to the current page total to get the new grand total.

As an example, 2 pages of a logbook (assuming the first two pages of a pilot's first logbook)

page one
Page total: 10.0
Totals forwarded: 0.0 (you have no previous pages)
Grand total: 10.0

Page two
Page total: 15.0
Totals forwarded: 10.0 (Grand total from previous page)
Grand total: 25.0

If there are no instructions to help you and you can't figure it out, it's probably best to ask your instructor.

As said, best way is to ask your instructor, logbooks do vary, but I think the last post has it ALMOST right.
Most logbooks have page total, totals brought forward and totals to date running under all columns, so these are the totals for each column, so for example you will have a column for Single Engine Day Dual/P2 and at the bottom of that column you add up all the flights for that column on that page giving the page total, total to date (totals carried forward in most logbooks) from that column on the last page goes in the totals forwarded (most log books have this as "totals brought forward"), you then add these two together to give the new total to date for that column - you will then have another column - e.g. Single Engine Day P1, you then add up all the Totals to date from 1-10 across the bottom (some columns like Instrument or Cross country not included as these are part of the earlier columns) and this then goes in your Grand total box. When you start off you will only be making entries in the Dual/P2/Pu/t box so your total to date and grand total will be the same, but once Solo they will differ.

So, once solo, as per the previous post
Page 1
--- -------------- P1 ---------- P2
Page Total ------- 0. ----------- 10:00
Totals forwarded. 0. ----------- 0
Total to date. ---- 0. --------- 10:00


Grand Total 10:00

Page 2
--------- ------- P1 --------- P2
Page Total ------- 2:00 ----- 8:00
Totals forwarded. 0. --------- 10:00
Total to date. ---- 2:00 ----- 18:00


Grand Total 20:00

I've been flying in various forms for twenty five years now and all I can say is that Tippex is your friend...

Or go electronic - certainly for anyone looking to fly as a Career you want to go that way - makes filling in hours on applications so much easier!

Ah foxmoth! Now I see where grand total comes into it. My logbook does not have this but merely has a "total time" column which is added at the bottom.

I also agree with the last posts about logging electronically. I personally keep a paper logbook as well but it's so so much easier to keep whenever I fill it in from an e-logbook that has done all the calculations for me. I have used so much less tipex since I started doing it this way (unfortunately it still is occasionally used whenever I fail to engage my brain before putting pen to paper).

Anyone recommend a good electronic logbook or do you just set Excel up?

You could do some shadowing of your logbook in MS Excel, as it can never be a replacement for a printed booklet (a valid logbook is an official document and has to fulfill certain requirements, such as non-changeable, unique trackable etc - short, there is no electronic version for it for private flights yet. Airlines do have spent vast amounts of money to do their logbook not in the plane, but in huge data centers with very specific hard- and software - which in shear far too expensive for small planes ... I once was doing a persistent link addition to such a system and only the small feature was £ 1/2m ) If you give a **** for the requirements, you are free to do anything.

AIUI the CAA accepts most commercial log book programmes, use Log10 Pro myself, largely because they did a promo through the company I work for.

Also a logten pro user. I have never heard of anyone not happy with it ASIDE from it being a bit more expensive than some alternatives. It is a fantastic program that will do everything you want it to (certainly I am yet to out-think it).

I used to use a mocked up excel sheet for it but I abandoned it very very soon after trialing logten.

Also, as far as I know a logbook is an official document in terms of what it must contain and that it must be recorded, but there is nothing to mandate the container. It can be printed out from a program, kept electronically, written in a book sold as a "pilot's logbook" or written on the back of envelopes.

VortexLog seems to do everything a GA pilot wants for free.
I use it to back up my hard copy log book and can add more written detail.