Logbooks and Majors

[MooneyPilot]

Just purchased log ten pro and was thinking about inputing all my flight time from day 1.
Think this would look good for an interview??

Also when filling out apps they ask you for all sorts of details that takes forever to find in your paper log books.

Any thoughts??

 

[HalinTexas]

Whatever you do, don't throw out your paper books, and don't bring your "pocket logbooks" to an interview.

 

[ackattacker]

Personally I find a simple excel spreadsheet enables you to answer all the various flight time questions fairly easily (especially if you know how to write a simple "sum if" query). Combine that with paper logbook for the interview. You can log each flight, by the day, or even by the week or month and most interviewers couldn't care less so long as it's legible and reasonably consistent.

That said the electronic logbooks also work well. They may be more work in the end, though.

 

[MooneyPilot]

I will for sure keep the paper!

 

[dirkdigler]

I don't know the answer to this really but here's what happened to me.

On my last airline interview, the guy who was one of their check airmen had no interest in looking at the airline flying part of my logbooks. Rather he looked at my very first well worn logbook with duct tapes holding the covers and said, "Man, now this is a logbook! Love it!!". Then he flipped through it while I was being sweated out in the hot seat by other guys in the room and read every single one of my entries, remarks and all, sometimes chuckling in amusement, all the way until he got to the my first airline flying entry.

Take it for what it's worth...

Good luck!

 

[whatitdoing?]

Keep paper logbooks for at least your first 500 or so hours. I'm over 10,000 hours now, so I've gone electronic. Also, back it up. Computer farts will destroy your career.

 

[xjhawk]

well? Did you get the job? I had a couple of pricks at Air Wisconsin do that to me in 04' when I already had a job (but at the time AW was known as a good paying regional) so I was also "interviewing" them. Well, when the idiot started questioning my lack of actual instrument time in msp in February for a bunch of flights less than an hour when I obviously was not flying as a Instrument Instructor nor in planes that could fly in known icing. When I responded as such, he said that I still should have found a way to do it! I gave them a big no before they could even ask.

 

[Mamma]

I don't even keep a logbook. Too much of a pain in the rear.

 

[temcgrew]

Whatever you do, don't throw out your paper books, and don't bring your "pocket logbooks" to an interview.

The last interview I was at, one of the candidates had a briefcase full of "pocket logbooks". Probably 15 or more. I didn't see him in new hire training.

 

[whatitdoing?]

I use to do interviews at ASA. Sure, not a major, but the same principle. Logbooks are only a talking point and proof that you meet the minimums. Don't pencil whip it because it's easy to catch. Make it look professional, whether it's electronic or not, and have something to say. The rest will be obvious to the interviewer. They know you're nervous and want the job. They already know within 5 mins if they're going to hire you. The rest of the time it's to prove that you're NOT the person to be hired.

 

[xjhawk]

I have been thinking of making the switch to an electronic logbook and finally did with Logten Pro. I was not excited about doing all the data entry for my past flights so what they recommend is that you separate all your hours for each plane and group them in one line dated on the last day that you had flown the plane. For example, April 28, 1997 was the last day that I have flown a Cessna 150 then I log all 60 hours and make entries for Dual received, PIC, night, etc under that date. If I ever get an interview, I plan on having a print out of my electronic log book, with all its entries and my old logbooks for reference. I guess it is all up to the ones conducting the interview but I should think that moving into new technology (as every other type of log entry system is doing) is the way to go. Does anyone "in the know" have an opinion on this?

 

[regionalcap]

I did just as you described. Made a single line for each aircraft type up until I started airline flying. No problems during the interview with bringing forward totals.

 

[xjhawk]

thanks, now to get lucky and get an interview.

 

[HAL]

I don't even keep a logbook. Too much of a pain in the rear.

That's what the guy I interviewed with at America West said after he'd been furloughed from his job at a major he'd had for well over a decade. No logbooks, no way to prove the numbers he'd put on the application.

That's what one of the guys who interviewed at Hawaiian said after he'd interviewed with us after Aloha folded. 20+ years of flying, and no way to prove it.

You never know what's going to happen to your career. Keep a logbook.

HAL

 

[Ticker]

The last interview I was at, one of the candidates had a briefcase full of "pocket logbooks". Probably 15 or more. I didn't see him in new hire training.

WTFO! If each of these interview panels want you to break out your time differently depending on how they interpret "PIC"...I'd by beer forever for the guy bringing a wheelbarrow full of pocket of logbooks to the interview...dump 'em out and say "HAVE AT IT".

That would be worth the price of admission. :beer: :beer:

 

[GuinessGuy]

I use a combination of the little red ones and a master............
One line in the master is one day with a total, regardless of the amount of legs. In the remarks column I write "refer to book 2 or 3 or 4 for details"
The master logs have my running total, the little ones have city pairs, tails etc. I then tab the master where there is an upgrade, transition etc.......I had job offers from the "majors" several years ago. I always asked interviewers (when i could) about my logs, nobody cared as long as the times where obvious. I remember one guy told me the cataloging of the little red ones was overkill, his opinion.
Keep in mind, it wasn't 4000 hrs I was keeping track of, it was a bit more......

 

[GuinessGuy]

Yes, the little red ones have big white numbers on them......

 

[whatitdoing?]

Guys, the electronic logbooks are nice because if you have it printed out with totals or you're filling out an application, you can simply press a button and have specific totals in front of you. I remember looking over at this guy with a calculator adding things up for quite awhile because they'd ask how many hours in the last 6 months? Or how many hours in multiengine turbine in the last 12 months at night. Good luck with it if you don't have an electronic logbook. Just saying...been there done that.

 

[FO4life]

for an interview how far back would you print on of the electronic log book to bring with you?

 

[detwilers]

for an interview how far back would you print on of the electronic log book to bring with you?

I brought the entire thing. Adjusted the line spacing so that I could get like 33 lines per page. I started my electronic logbook in 2001 and later went back and added the previous 4 years so that I would have ever flight in electronic format. So now all of my logbook is leg-by-leg. The entire thing printed out was about 2 inches thick double sided [8.5"x11" slightly heavier paper in landscape]. I also added some of the reports logbook pro offers and a world map with connecting lines for ever flight that I have ever done [pretty cool]. Looks like one of those route maps from the in-flight magazine. I put those at the front combined with a title page, signed every page, and had it bound at FedEx Kinkos. I also brought the original logbook with all the original sign-offs as well. That book stopped at about 4,000 hours but the electronic one was complete.

 

[dirkdigler]

Question - I've never used an electronic logbook before. Is there a function built in it to keep track of 121 flight/duty/rest time requirement? Can it import pairings so that it can look forward as well as look back for legality checking purpose? These two function would really make it worthwhile for me.

 

[get2flyin]

For my last interview, had to explain my system to the interviewers. I brought the 'Fisher Price - My First Logbook' (*not really from Fisher Price, but it was my first) that had my first introductory ride up to my last flight before starting as a flight instructor, a Jepp 'Master' logbook with each of my flight as a CFI though my 1st commuter job, and a second Jepp book with one entry per trip from my time at Eagle. Also, after my 1st logbook, I never added the pages at the bottom. I provided a spreadsheet that had the columns from the logbook with one page per line and the total at the bottom. That way, if I ever found a mistake, I didn't have to go white out crazy. Also, I brought my stack of red books in case they had a question about any of my trips. Finally, Sabre kept a total broken down by aircraft and seat, so I brought 3 pages that showed the company provided info in case they thought I padded my time with a pencil.

I laid them all all out and explained my record keeping system and they looked though it for about two minutes before seeming totally satisfied.

 

[AirMorgan]

I started using Logbook Pro about 6 years ago. At the start, I decided to type in every single entry from day 1 (comments and all). At the time I had 5,000 hours. Took about 30 days to get it all in (1-2 hours a day). But when it came time to interview at DAL, it really came in handy. The online application (airline apps) wanted to know lots of funny things like "how much night cross country do you have in a c-172" (or any other a/c for that matter).

Having it all in digital format made finding those numbers a breeze. It would have taken weeks to get that app filled out going through the logbook and adding up all the different parameters airline apps wanted to know. But with everything in a computer logbook I was able to get everything done in about an hour! Highly recommend typing it all in.

PS - after updating your logbook, back it up and then send yourself the backup file via email. I always have my latest logbook backup file tucked away in a gmail folder...just in case.

 

[xjhawk]

the same thing can be accomplished by creating one line (date of the last flight) per aircraft flown with all of that information. Your logbook will not show all your separate flights but can have all your XC, dual given, dual received, night-etc I have already spent hours and hours just entering that information in. With work, wife, and two young kids it is hard to sit down and do anything for 1-2 hours a day-let alone data entry.