


For many, the vexing question is how to handle endorsements. Though most pilots do use standardized formats for both paper and electronic logbooks, you are free to use almost anything - a spiral notebook, an Excel spreadsheet, or whatever else you choose as your preferred means of documenting required flight time. With respect to how, though, the regulations say only that the pilot must document and record information “in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.” Since there is no statement or regulation that deems electronic documents and records unacceptable for this purpose, it is perfectly legal to maintain the required information in almost any format you choose. The logbook entries portion (14 CFR section 61.51(b)) lists the specific information to be recorded for this purpose. A review of 14 CFR section 61.51, Pilot Logbooks, shows that FAA regulations focus on what the pilot must “document and record,” either to meet the requirements for a certificate, rating, or flight review, or to meet the regulatory requirements for flight experience. We’ll start with the proverbial fine print of the legalities. I quickly and enthusiastically moved from textbooks to eBooks, and I eagerly embraced the convenience of online flight planning and digital charts - especially after they began to include the magic blue dot denoting geo-referenced positioning.īut whither the paper logbook? Whether you are just starting out as a pilot in training or are a longtime pilot contemplating the convenience of electronic record keeping, there are a number of factors to consider. The advent of the Internet, portable electronics devices, and the app-for-everything age has rendered pretty much everything in that once-treasured gray bag obsolete. And there was a little rectangular book of pristine green pages that sported a sturdy black cover and bright gold lettering proclaiming itself to be a Pilot Logbook. There was an odd and, at the time, utterly inscrutable circular slide rule that was pretentiously and improbably known as the “E6B Flight Computer.” There were crisp new copies of the sectional and terminal area charts for my home airspace.

There wasĪ clear plastic plotter that looked like a souped-up version of my high school geometry class protractor. There was a thick and heavy textbook, albeit one with glossy pages and full-color photos to illustrate things like piston engine parts. When I enrolled as a flight student in the summer of 1991, my newly-assigned flight instructor handed me a small, gray-zippered bag filled with items that now seem like archeological artifacts. ELogbook Logistics: Considerations for Moving from Paper Log to Digital Login
