Correct PIC Name in EASA Pilot Logbook
 

Hi,

I want to start a new EASA Pilot Logbook and I have read that, you can write as PIC Name SELF instead of your real surname when you acted as PIC.
Did anybody did this the same way or got Problems with that, I have heard that people who applied later for CPL, got the licence rejected from the authority because of that ?
But I think for me it‘s just easier to fill out the Logbook and the pages are looking cleaner.
I try now to build hours for ATPL, parallel to my 9/5 Job, so want to do the paperwork Logbook as good as I can.

Thank you for the answers

When I went solo in 1964 I was told to put "Self" as P1. Same when I revalidated after 21 years when I couldn't afford to fly. Still doing it, 2026. But still only a PPL. UK.

I think 'self' is pretty much standard.

I have been 'Self" in all my logbooks - military and civil, UK, EASA and FAA since I started flying in 1990. It is totally standard and universally acceptable.

G

Well I've been writing 'Self' since 1970 and never had an issue. :)

My dad flew on a Kenyan PPL and all his PIC entries are "self".

Regional aviation differences never stop surprising me.

When I was keeping paper log books I had a column for entering PIC hours. If the PIC column was empty I was not PIC and entered the hours as instruction received. The person who was PIC signed that log entry.

Why would I ever need to say that I, self, or me was the person logging PIC? My logs are for my flight time not for someone else's.

There were never enough columns in a paper log for me to record and total what I wanted and that's one of the reasons I abandoned paper logs in favor of computer records.

The op mentions aiming to achieve professional pilot qualifications, in which case their logbook will have to stand up to scrutiny from the regulator.

The EASA rule is:so the only people whose opinion really matters is the LBA. The mostly UK based responses here may not apply.

"The pilot shall keep a reliable record of the details of all flights flown in a form and manner established by the competent authority."

Not a useful reference without a definition of, and associated reference to, "form and manner established".

A logbook goes with you for life, possibly (probably) through multiple competent authorities, and none of them will care... Writing 'Self', your own name or leaving it blank and filling in the PIC column - they're all acceptable.

Taking this very literally, you should record the name of the PIC even if that's yourself. Because of this, I have been putting my own surname in the PIC column for the past 20+ years. I know that SELF is universally accepted, so I guess that's seen as an AMOC. ;)

I too have always entered “Self” in the PIC column, without any problems over the last 54 years. UK, EASA, FAA never raised any issues.

I did fly with a copilot called David Self. I made sure to include his initial !