Hey guys,
Just a random questions from someone not in the industry yet. How do you guys track your flying hours? Is there some type of general/standardized FAA program that tracks it or is by paper logbook? Just curious.
Robert,
Great question and one that I’ve been actually meaning to address. It’s really up to you how you chose to log your hours. For years pilots had no choice but to keep paper log books and I’d say most still do. BUT, also say most don’t really want to. The world’s gone digital and there are programs and apps for everything including of course your logbook. The problem is many pilots start out with paper because you need a place for your endorsements (solos, ratings etc) from the FAA. Many FAA examiner’s are still old school and don’t quite know or like digital options and paper is just plain easier in the beginning because the FAA also wants to see all your previous endorsements, hours etc. Next thing you know you’ve got 1500hrs, you’re starting to fly for a Regional where you’re flying 100 hrs a month and it again occurs to you to go digital but now you’ve got to input 2,000hrs of flight time which frankly is a pain in the butt. Soooo what to do? I STRONGLY recommend you do both in the beginning. During your training you pick up paper logbook, nothing fancy, just a place for your hours and endorsements but also get an app/program (personally I use LogBook Pro for both but there are many). In your spare time or even much later you can transfer the paper info to the electronic but you’re only doing 10-20 hrs vs thousands. Once you’ve got all your licenses and rating (ie. finish your training) you can switch over completely to electronic only. The airlines will happily accept a print version of the digital and should anyone ask you have all your original endorsements with signatures stored in the paper book. The other great perk is when ever you change planes at an airline you need to fill out an FAA form 8710 listing all your flight times in a plethora of categories. Most digital logbooks have an “8710” tab. You simply select it and it prints out with all the little boxes perfectly filled out. It’s also great when I applying for an airline since every app asks for different flight times like # of Single Engine Night Solo bla bla bla. Again if you’ve got digital it’s just a keystroke. Trust me, you’ll be happy if you listen to Adam. If you don’t I will say I told you so 
Adam
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