Hey...nice logbook

[ShawnC]

Why have one for each type, pure and simple diffrent types of flying need diffrent information to log. For gliders you need the current total number of flights (no need to log landings those are mandatory), type of tow, tow altitude, max altitude. You can't really fit that in a normal logbook and on top of that have the normal set if comments.

So I figure if I have to have more than one log book might as well do it for each diffrent type, that way you can easily tell exactly how much you have of each.


I have yet to find a computer logbook that I like, each one has its ups and downs.

Now if one made one where you could have the idea of having mulitple logbooks (each one oriented to the type of flying that it would log) but would add together to form one master log of time. Thats what I want.

 

[bigr]

Database

have any of you guys made your own custom computer logbook with an off the shelf database? just curious

 

[Timebuilder]

I started to configure Excel for it, but it would have taken too much time and effort.

I'd rather be flying.

 

[Anaconda]

shawn, it has been awhile since i flew gliders, but are all of the items you mentioned logging required? i'm not asking to slam anything you wrote, i'm simply curious. i don't remember logging max alt or tow alt, but it has been many years since i did it and i don't the logbook with me. and yeah, it's a separate logbook

f/o, thanks for the additional comments about whiteout. i should have included that as well. it is definitely not the recommended way to fix errors or typos in your logbook, at least that's what the so-called experts say.

i've been wondering about the database logbook myself. based upon my limited knowledge of access, it seems as if you could do it, but i don't have the patience or the time now to do it. i guess most people would just rather pay for something like that...

 

[avbug]

Don't keep separate logs for different kinds of flying. Simply because you fly different categories or classes of aircraft, don't keep a separate log for each one. There is no point, it's far from standard, and looks very unusual. It also makes tracking information much more difficult...particularly for an interviewer.

If you fly gliders, balloons, seaplanes, multi engine land airplanes, and helicopters, keep it all in one spot. I do. It's far better to track. All your endorsements, your records, your evidence of currency, etc, is in one place, and this is the purpose of a logbook.

A word on whiteout. Don't use it. Ever. A logbook is a legal document, and whiteout or correction fluid should never be used. Use a single line through your error, and initial the line, then write in the correct information in the adjacent space. But do NOT use whiteout, greenout, or any other material to cover up and hide. It looks unprofessional, gives the appearance of untidiness, and also looks as though one is covering something up.

When an error is made on a legal document, one should not hide the error. Think full disclosure; a logbook is intended to be maintained the same way. One line through the error, and always initial the correction. Don't hide or cover up material; if necessary, just make a new entry. Corrections to logbooks later on should be done in the same manner. Cite page numbers, and what it is that you're correcting, and you can accomplish large corrections on a single line entry in the log. It's discreet and unobtrusive, and looks professional. More imporatantly, it's expected.

 

[ShawnC]

No, not really required, but helpful for remembering some of your better flights (ie most altitude gained). But the type of tow is required.

The biggest thing about the glider logbook is that its more efficent to see exactly your number of flights, including what type of launch. It hard to do that when you have it logged in a general logbook.

The reason I use multiple logbooks, for the type of flying there just isn't enough room in the standard logbook, maybe one of these days when I get one of those large ones that have columns for everything I will bring it all together in a single logbook (except my glider, that will always be seperate).

 

[eriknorth]

About the pens-I have always been able to write neater and easier with the Dr. Grip type of pen, or the regular bic stick pens. Now the pens that Timebuilder mentioned are fade resistant and acid free, but does it matter what type of pen to write with? Has anyone experienced any problems using the free hotel pens with the fading or acidity? Again, I'm looking ahead to the overall preservation and presentation of this logbook to the big boys, when the time comes...

 

[bayoubandit]

My $.02, buy what ever one you wish in whatever colors you like. I would not use white out of any sort, but make a nice line through any errors you have made. Logbooks are like checkbooks, your going to screw something up. No big deal, we all do it. To much white out and things start looking funny. Perhaps falsified because you can't tell what was there to begin with. Take it for what it's worth! many here will probably disagree with me. But that's what interviewers and a few different articles I've read had said.

More importantly, make photo copies of everything you log in that book and keep them in a safe place. I keep copies at my parents house in the extreme event my house burns down, my logbooks and copies don't go together.

After writing all this, I realize Avbug has already said most of this stuff. It's good advice!

Good luck and have fun!

BTW, it doesn't matter what type of pen you use, what color you use, or what brand you use. Keep the logbook clean and as orderly as you can, and you will be in good shape. Don't worry about using stencil's or some rediculous manner to make it look perfect. A perfect logbook is unrealistic and a bit suspect IMHO.

 

[avbug]

Erik,

Honestly, you're thinking about this way too much. That's okay, it's what student pilots do. You'll also soon be stuffing your flight bag with every chart, gadget, holder, kneeboard, manual, and cloud level finder known to Man, God, and Sporty's. It's a natural evoloution of learning to fly.

However, don't get too wrapped up in how your logbook goes. Two thousand hours from now and five years down the line, the interviewer isn't going to say, "wow, as a student pilot he kept such nice logs. And my, look at the ink!" Don't worry about it. Do avoid whiteout, and use black pen instead of pencil, but otherwise, do as you like.

I have a logbook crammed with pictures of airplanes; little snapshots taken here or there. I am not a picture taking person normally, and these represent the sum total of my souvineers from a seventeen year stretch in one book...but the point is that it's your logbook. Keep it interesting, professional, and neat, but don't get too wrapped up in the details of ink, pens, or even necessarily the type of logbook.

14 CFR 61.51 spells out what you must log, and gives you the guidelines. After that, it's your book, and you keep it as it pleases you.

Incidentally, I've had more of those uniball pens blow up on me (literally) at altitude and get ink everywhere, than any other kind. Usually no fanfare; the pens working just fine one moment, and then my hand is covered in black ink the next. I don't carry them any more. I'm not a pen snob, but I've taken a liking to the G2 gel pens (dunno who makes them). Until a few days ago, anyway, when I got red ink all over the white sleeve of a uniform shirt. I spent the day having everyone asking me where I was bleeding.

Truthfully, check most any pilots shirt pocket, and you won't find expensive, nice flowing pens. You'll find something half chewed with a motel logo on it. I have a whole pile of hotel pens right here by my computer as the sad evidence of far too much time spent on the road.

Sometimes the most authentic signature in the logbook is the unspoken proof of a dozen different types of ink, of changes in handwriting due to being in a rush, being tired, being whatever. It shoes variety, it shows elapsed time, and it shows an interviewer that it's real and not a cobbled forgery. Be yourself, use whatever is handy to write, and remember, it's a logbook, not a bible. (Bibles don't have enough columns, and it's hard to get everything in between the margins). Done properly, however, your logbooks may one day be cherished keepsakes for your kids. Keep it real, and have some fun. Your log is more than a preparation for an interview; it's a bank for memories.

 

[ShawnC]

Your best bet just try to keep it the same color and I think that anybody will be happy (you should see the look on the examiners face when he saw hot pink in my logbook )