For pilots, flight time is one of the most important metrics in their careers. While for regular folk, tracking how many hours they have worked in a day, week, month, or a year sounds a bit unusual, for pilots, it is crucial for both safety and their careers. After all, flight crews’ experience is measured in hours spent in the cockpit – as well as during briefings and other activities – enabling pilots to advance in their careers.
In the old days, and, depending on personal preference, in this day and age, paper pilot logbooks have been the standard within the industry, requiring pilots to manually fill in information about the flight they just operated.
At the same time, with technology moving forward in leaps and bounds, alternatives to paper logbooks have appeared on the market, including mobile applications. They have been embraced by regulators as well, ensuring that pilots can continue tracking their time in the cockpit while on active duty with even more precision than before.
As such, some pilots, especially students, could face a dilemma: which is the best way to track and log their flight hours? Is it to use paper logbooks or pick a digital alternative, and use mobile applications or software solutions to see their flight experience grow on a screen?
Table of Contents
Advantages and Disadvantages of a paper pilot logbook
Pilot logbooks trace their history back as far as the early 20th century, and, according to the Smithsonian magazine, published by the Smithsonian, were even used by the Wright brothers, who designed, built, and flew the first-ever aircraft on December 17, 1903. According to the magazine, after the flight, Orville Wright wrote down that “the machine lifted from the truck just as it was entering on the fourth rail. Mr. Daniels took a picture just as it left the tracks.”
As time went on and aircraft continued to develop, including for military use, some had standardized logbooks, like the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC), which transformed into the Royal Air Force (RAF) as time went on. One of the key characteristics of the RFC’s logbooks was that they were standardized, per the Smithsonian magazine, and included places for pilots to pen the time of flight, origin, destination, aircraft type, and other information about the flight, which is very similar to the paper logbooks of today.
In the United States, the Air Commerce Act of 1926 established the mandated use of logbooks, paving the way for pilots to fill out their experience after each flight. Nowadays, regulations, such as those of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), stipulate that each record of a flight must include, in addition to the personal name(s) of the pilot(s), details of the pilot(s)’ function, and operational conditions, at least the following:
- Name(s) of the captain(s),
- Date of flight,
- Place and time of departure and arrival,
- Aircraft type and registration,
- Whether the aircraft is single-engine or multi-engine
- Total time of flight,
- Accumulated total time of flight
The process to fill out a paper logbook is very straightforward once the data is at hand. Grab a pen, the paper logbook, and fill out the information. However, paper logbooks, despite their simplicity, have their disadvantages. Here is a summary of the basic advantages and disadvantages of using one:
| Advantages of a paper logbook | Disadvantages of a paper logbook |
|---|---|
| Not reliant on a third-party service | Susceptible to being lost |
| Universal standard | The need to fill it out manually |
| Simplicity of using a pen and paper | Hard to amend errors without making a mess |
| Keeps traditions alive | Water or other damage is permanent |
| Single payment for a logbook | Required storage to safely store them |
Pros and Cons of a digital pilot logbook
The natural alternative to the paper logbook is, naturally, a digital one. Plenty of companies offer solutions to enable pilots to track their flight time on their phone and/or personal computer, whether it is for career progression or safety. Whatever the case might be, software-based solutions like FLYLOG.io, and to quote, offer an “easy way to keep your flight records compliant with authorities.”
Such applications offer pilots a very easy way to keep track of their flight time. For the sake of continuity, FLYLOG.io, for example, offers compliance with the most influential regulators within the industry, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), EASA, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Transport Canada’s (TC) civil aviation arm, and others.
The number one pro of using such digital logbooks is the ease of the process of filling out the information, which is, depending on the employing airline, sometimes done automatically. There are, of course, cons, such as a pilot being reliant on a third-party provider whose future and/or support might be uncertain, even at the best of times.
| Pros of a digital logbook | Cons of a digital logbook |
|---|---|
| Error-free and clean logbook | Reliance on a third-party service |
| Information about compliance and recency requirements | Potential difficulties of acceptance at interviews |
| Automatic night-time and landing calculations | Possible issues when switching devices |
| Easy import from paper logbooks and airlines’ scheduling systems | Subscription payments |
| Detailed statistics | Difficulty of obtaining digital signatures |