For those of us with significant flight experience, transitioning from a paper logbook to a digital one can seem like a daunting task. We know total time is not the only stat that requires accuracy. Day, Night, and IFR currency should be considered, as well as the ability to report on aircraft category, class, and model over time periods. How about turbine time? Retract? Let’s look at a few simple steps to “catch up” in ForeFlight Logbook, allowing you to obtain accurate totals for insurance forms, potential employers, or the FAA.
Step 1: Assess your flying.
Are you a career pilot? Weekend warrior? Own and operate a turbine Grumman Goose (if so let’s talk…)? What does your next year in aviation look like? Your style and frequency of flying dictates how much detail you’ll need to get out of your logbook.
Step 2: Choose a resolution.
- Total Time Only—If you’ve only flown one plane, or even just one type, this could be all you need. You know every hour you’ve flown is in your Cessna 182 RG, so there’s no need to break down your flight time further.
- Time by Type (make + model)—This would suffice for most pilots. Aircraft type generally implies other variables we need for currency, such as category and landing gear type.
- Time by Aircraft ID—You may want to track hours in each specific aircraft you’ve flown. Whether for financial reasons, rental requirements, or simply reminiscence, this method provides the most detail without entering every flight.
Step 3: Choose a timeframe.
How far back will you start logging individual flights?
- Today—Start fresh.
- 3 or 6 Months Ago—This will cover General, Night and IFR currency (part 91).
- 12 Months Ago—Your aviation insurance agent will ask for your time in make and model over the last 12 months, so you may want to enter each flight for the last year.
- Other timeframe—You may fly under another authority apart from the FAA, or your employer’s record-keeping requirements may come into play here.
With these decisions made, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane. Sit down with your logbook, calculator, and a notepad. Create a new ForeFlight Logbook entry for each grouping. For example, one each for C172, P28R, and BE58. While you’re at it, take time to remember all the adventures in your flying career, knowing that your history will be stored safely in the ForeFlight cloud for you to access anywhere, anytime.
If you already have your own spreadsheet, you can use our web import tool on ForeFlight Web. Log in to plan.foreflight.com with your ForeFlight app credentials, click the Logbook tab, and then drag/drop your file into the box. You can also download our spreadsheet template if you are starting from scratch.
If you need help creating a spreadsheet from your paper logbook, check out aculogconversion.com.
Finally, if you have any questions during your transition to ForeFlight Logbook, email us at team@foreflight.com —we’re happy to help!