Understanding the importance of documentation, aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright created and kept detailed field reports of their flights to record and substantiate their progress. This was the genesis of the aviation logbooks we know today.
A pilot’s logbook is an official record where flight data is stored that proves legal requirements are being met. It can contain every flight a pilot has flown, including flight time, number of landings and types of instrument approaches made. Logbook information can determine aircraft condition, date of inspections, and time on airframe, engines and propellers. It reflects a history of all significant events occurring to the aircraft, its components and accessories, and can prove compliance with airworthiness directives or manufacturers’ service bulletins. Federal aviation regulations (FARs) mandate that most pilots record every single flight they make.
Pilot logbooks have come a long way from traditional hand-written, ink-and-paper pilot binders, which are still in use, to electronic logbooks. Advanced features make it easy for pilots to log and share flights, track hours, review currency, record certificates and ratings, receive electronic instructor endorsements, and generate experience reports.
Pat Boone, general manager of Brussels, Belgium-based CrewLounge AERO, says today’s logbooks “provide seamless and automatic entry of flight data from company sources into the pilot's personal logbook. With this, the pilot meets the legal obligation to register his flight hours. Keeping track of flight hours with a handwritten logbook or a simple electronic logbook without such integrations is quite a task and a burden for the pilots.”
According to Eric Berman, owner and developer at MyFlightbook, headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, having an electronic logbook allows pilots to always have up-to-date reports on your flight experience such as seeing at a glance whether the pilot meets experience requirements for a given flight such as instrument currency or rest periods. Electronic logbooks also make tracking progress toward experience requirements necessary for a new rating easier. They can be used to fill out insurance reports or airline job applications with detailed pilot resume information, including specific data for different types of aircraft flow.
Mobile applications for electronic logging for airline pilots are becoming more widespread and advanced, and there are several new directions for future development. Imre Virág, application developer at FlyGo-Aviation in Budapest, Hungary, offers some examples including:
∙ Data collection and analysis: the functions for collecting and analyzing flight data will become more advanced to allow pilots and operators to extract information from the data better. The applications will automatically collect and evaluate flight data, then generate reports and analyses.
∙ Smartphone integration: smartphones are becoming more feature-rich, and apps are taking advantage of these features to provide users with more functionality. For example, FlyGo apps allow pilots to connect to the aircraft via smartphones to collect and control information.
∙ Artificial intelligence: apps use artificial intelligence (AI) features that allow pilots to work faster and more efficiently. Also, applications can use AI to provide operators with suggestions to improve aircraft performance and reduce costs.
∙ Cloud storage: electronic logging applications are more likely to offer cloud storage options for pilots. This way, data is stored securely. It is also accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
∙ Automation: electronic logging applications are increasingly automating the recording of flight data. That means applications may be able to automatically capture real-time data as an aircraft leaves the runway. Thanks to automation, pilots do not have to manually record data, which saves time and reduces the potential for errors.
∙ Smart notifications: The aim is to notify pilots of problems or changes to flight data.
What follows are some of the most popular electronic logbooks, and their features and updates available to pilots today.
CrewLounge AERO’s PILOTLOG is a successful electronic pilot logbook, used by tens of thousands of professional, sport, civil and military pilots. Run the app on your mobile (iOS / Android / Huawei), and your desktop (Windows / Mac). PILOTLOG imports your roster from 600 airlines worldwide, and connects to 140 different crew management and electronic flight bag (EFB) systems. Boone says “CrewLounge AERO offers a complete platform where you can access various apps with a single user account. These apps work seamlessly with each other.” For CrewLounge PILOTLOG, the latest updates include:
∙ Integration of ACARS screen data capture
∙ Data import from the ADS-B network
∙ Data import from various EFB apps, such as AvioBook (Thales), NavBlue Mission+ (Airbus), Jeppesen Aviator (Boeing)
∙ Data import from 140 different crew management systems and 600 airline companies, such as Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, Ryanair, LATAM, Air Canada, etc.
MyFlightbook has over 100,000 users, and Berman doesn’t know of any other free logbooks with that sort of scale. By using it, pilots can share a real-time view of their logbook with their instructors, employers (current or potential), and even on a selective basis with friends—sharing the joys of weekend flying/sightseeing. “The logbook can let you know when you are getting close to having a currency expire or a flying limit be exceeded. Shared aircraft enable maintenance and inspection updates to be communicated implicitly; if someone else flew an aircraft last week, for example, and does a [Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range (VOR)], a pilot can see that and know that I don’t need to do one right away.”
In the case of a flying club—something that is built into MyFlightbook—Berman says because aircraft in the system are shared, club members can communicate with one another and can coordinate aircraft scheduling. A club administrator can get reports on member flights in club aircraft to aid in billing. MyFlightbook can send flight tracks to other apps, such as CloudAhoy for flight debriefing, and can receive flight tracks (and even initialize a flight) from a variety of other sources.
ATP’s Flightdocs is an end-to-end aviation maintenance, inventory, and operations software solution for a fully integrated flight department, delivering increased efficiencies, reduced costs, risk mitigation, and revenue protection. The Flightdocs suite of software products serves everyone from fixed wing to rotary aircraft, and from the single operator to large charters and regional airlines. It provides real-time visibility of data across departments.
“Electronic logbooks are only useful if they can be shared in real-time and ingested into other applications to drive operational efficiency,” says J.D. Smith, senior flight operations product manager at ATP, based in Bonita Springs, Florida. “The best electronic logbook solutions are cloudhosted and built on open APIs that can integrate with other applications that can use the data to drive business intelligence and reduce safety risk. Along with the benefits of this connectivity come the caveats of data security, so it is always recommended that vendors considered for hosting your electronic logbooks be properly vetted to ensure proper data privacy and security. Typically, the primary consumers of logbook data are pilot tracking tools, which document crew currency and training compliance and maintenance tracking tools that track the times and cycles of the aircraft flown. An electronic logbook should be able to collect these data points and export them efficiently.”
FlyGo-Aviation’s FlyGo Pilot Logbook meets EASA and FAA requirements. The data structure is customizable to fit a user's personal needs. And, its intelligent auto-fill system remembers the data entered and automatically fills it in for the pilot. “You can use the database offline, so it does not require an internet connection,” Virág says. “Data security was a critical consideration when designing the app, so the pilot can back up or restore flight records at any time on any iOS device using Mail or iCloud’s cloud-based service. Its intelligent search system helps you find, filter, and summarize data. FlyGo Pilot Logbook allows you to convert digital flight logs into a format suitable for personal backup or printing for job interviews. You can configure it to meet FAA or EASA requirements and print just what you need. [It is] compatible with Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice, and other programs.”
Virág said that in most cases since electronic logbooks like the FlyGo Pilot Logbook are very similar to the paper version used from the start of most pilot training, no special knowledge is required to make the switch. “When creating the FlyGo Pilot Logbook, it was essential to build the basic look of the application as similar as possible to the paper logbook, thus helping pilots to learn how to use it,” he said.
Electronic logbooks have advanced well beyond being simply a record of flight-time. Coradine Aviation Systems’ LogTen pilot logbook has a scrollable timeline to track pilot currency, flight duty, flight limits and rest.
“It’s the pilot’s responsibility to ensure they are always flying within regulated limits and features like LogTen’s ‘Dynamic Time Loupe’ ensure they are always flying safely, and within those limits,” says Paul Edney, director of marketing for Coradine Aviation Systems, based in Portland, Oregon. “From the student and instructor standpoint, updates like the ‘Smart Share’ feature on LogTen makes securing and sharing flights easy. Instructors can review a flight, sign it and share directly from their logbook. The flight will arrive in the student’s logbook, and LogTen will even automatically switch Dual Given to Dual Received.
LogTen integrates with other apps, such as LogTen’s Pilot Credentials. “Logbook data automatically updates between the two apps. That way, the pilot’s data is always up to date when a job opportunity arises that fits their experience,” Edney says. “Using LogTen’s Dynamic Time Loupe, pilots can import their flight schedules and LogTen will automatically and dynamically warn them of any upcoming currency or limit issues. This helps pilots ensure they are current and flying safely within regulated limits.”
