Logbook Errors

[Sticky]

Hi-

I looked through my logbook today and realized I made a addition error last year that caused my single and multi time not to add up to equal total time. I used white out to correct the 10 pages that had the errors. Now all the numbers match up. Now I hear that white out is a sin and technically not allowed. Is this true?

 

[ePilot22]

White Out

I don't know about not being allowed, but I saw this one girls log book and it look like a blizzard inside! She must have used a case of white in it. On top of all this she logs FTD/SIM time in her total time column.

I don't think I would have use white out, maybe just correct the times at the bottom of the page or drawn a line through the wrong time and rewritten the correct time next to it.

Good Luck!

One other thing; I've heard it's bad to use blue ink in your log book as well, any thoughts?

 

[TrafficInSight]

Hi-

I looked through my logbook today and realized I made a addition error last year that caused my single and multi time not to add up to equal total time. I used white out to correct the 10 pages that had the errors. Now all the numbers match up. Now I hear that white out is a sin and technically not allowed. Is this true?

I'd bet that as long as none of the entries are changed and it's just the totals at the bottom then it's fine. A rule my CFI told me and I've seen it repeated here is, entries in pen totals in pencil. Good advice, apparently.

 

[erj-145mech]

I've heard it's bad to use blue ink in your log book as well, any thoughts?

Might just be the edge you need if you're applying to Jet Blue though....

 

[Ralgha]

One other thing; I've heard it's bad to use blue ink in your log book as well, any thoughts?

Yeah, whoever told you that is an idiot.

Logbooks are not a big deal. They hardly got glanced at when I was interviewing, and I got no questions about them, they're not the neatest logbooks I've seen either. Relax.

 

[drinkduff77]

Yeah, whoever told you that is an idiot.

Logbooks are not a big deal. They hardly got glanced at when I was interviewing, and I got no questions about them, they're not the neatest logbooks I've seen either. Relax.

Ditto.

You can do whatever you want with your logbook. Logbooks are all on the honor system anyways so who cares if you cover something up with whiteout. People make logbook neatness too big of an issue.

On the other hand if it does get reviewed and isn't accurate with respect to meeting minimum times...for FAA checkrides, insurance, company requirements, etc., you could be in a bind.

 

[ePilot22]

Yeah, whoever told you that is an idiot.

Thanks! I had my suspicions.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Yeah, whoever told you that is an idiot.

But there seem to be a whole bunch of folks who believe in the one-color only "rule". Not only in aviation. You can't imagine (or maybe you can) how many times I've heard that all legal documents =must= be signed in black ink.

That one at least has a basis in reality. In the olden days, photocopiers has problems with blue. In fact, they used to sell a light blue pen or pencil that supposedly let you write on things so that the notes would be invisible when copied. So the custom started of signing legal documents in black.

Somehow that got translated by the mythologists-that-be into a "rule"

 

[Airway]

You're not going to get sent to the door at the interview because you used blue ink in some of your entries.

As a rule, I always do my totals in pencils. Totaling errors happen every now and then.

 

[shamrock]

Don't know if it's the accounting classes I've taken, but why not just make an adjusting entry on one line in your logbook correcting the error? You could write an explanation into the entry explaining the error so in the unlikely event someone noticed it they would understand what you did.

Seems a bit easier (and neater) that 10 pages of white out and your totals would add up correctly again.

Just a thought.

 

[A Squared]

But there seem to be a whole bunch of folks who believe in the one-color only "rule". Not only in aviation. You can't imagine (or maybe you can) how many times I've heard that all legal documents =must= be signed in black ink.

You must have missed that day in law school

That one at least has a basis in reality. In the olden days, photocopiers has problems with blue. In fact, they used to sell a light blue pen or pencil that supposedly let you write on things so that the notes would be invisible when copied.

It was fairly common in the engineering world where you have drawings which might be marked , then then copied and you didn't what your marks showing up in the copies. They were called non-repro blue pencils. I don't know if they still sell them.

So the custom started of signing legal documents in black. Somehow that got translated by the mythologists-that-be into a "rule"

On thee other hand, some advocate signing in blue so there's no question that it is an original signed document, rather than a copy of a signed document, which might have been altered during the copying preocess.

In fact just the other day I was filling out some official form and the instructions were to sign in blue ink.

[/u]]Don't know if it's the accounting classes I've taken, but why not just make an adjusting entry on one line in your logbook correcting the error? You could write an explanation into the entry explaining the error so in the unlikely event someone noticed it they would understand what you did.

Seems a bit easier (and neater) that 10 pages of white out and your totals would add up correctly again.

Just a thought.

Yeah, that's what I do when I find an error. I agree that it's a much better approach. there's no appearance of hiding anything or changing anything, it's all out in the open and it's neat and it's probably not going to be noticed unless somone's really scrutinizing you logbook

 

[RJones]

If you only have 2200 hours total time, now is the time to convert to a computer logbook. The presentation doesn't have white-out.

Blue vs. Black ink... flying along a couple of months ago and used a blue ink pen for the aircraft logbook. The captain freaked out and said it has to be black. I was stunned... looked it up in the FOM and showed him that blue or black ink was ok for A/C logbook's. For crying out loud, who cares what color ink, just as long as it logged.

RJ

 

[Big Duke Six]

I"ll second the "adjusting entry" advice. I had to make several getting ready for my interview at F9. It all came out very neat and tidy. Too bad they never asked to see my logbooks...

Just put it down like this "Correction for dates xx/xx/xx thru xx/xx/xx, SIC erroneously logged as PIC" or whatever. Definitely err on the side of caution here - if they decide to give you credit for something then fine, but its not good to claim any time that's not 100% inarguable.

 

[AKMac]

If your worried about neatness you can cut out some of the lines in the last page of your logbook, and carefully glue them into place over the error so you can fill in the correct numbers. I've done it before and if you do it correctly you'll hardly even notice.

 

[kilroy]

I have not made an entry in my log book in about 2 yrs. We use electronic flight time duty times at work that also tracks currency and medicals.