I left my logbook in my bag and after a three hour bus ride (dozed off a few times) I walked off without it. ( had several bags) I have not been able to get it back despite my earnest efforts. The people at the port authority are pretty much saying go screw myself. I have no one else to blame for being such a dumbass.

But now what? Luckilly I have proof of my times to some degree because I have my certificates, the FAA can also check to count all the student sign offs i've had which will also help verify that I've flown since receiving my certifications and ratings. And I have one of my previous employer being kind enough to provide me with the total billable hours which means I can at least decipher from that how many hours i've flown with them. But all this still comes down to what do I do now? Even if I can get proof of most of my hours I won't remember all the damn lessons and little details, like the dates I've flown, what I covered with my students, where I went, etc.

Any advice, suggestions?

 

I lost my logbook as well. The advice given to me was this, gather as much information about your flying as you can for verification. Start another logbook and single line entry each type of aircraft being conservative on your flight times. I also wrote and inserted a notarized statement in my logbook attesting to the times I logged in the NEW logbook. YMMV, but I have interview 5 times since then and was offered jobs 4 times. In my case, no one blinked an eye about the situation, again, YMMV.

 

First off, there is no need to log lesson numbers amd what you covered with students in your logbook. All you need are the tail numbers and flight times etc.
If I were you, I'd get a copy of your last 8710-form from the FSDO and see if you can get copies of the entries from your former students to help fill in the blanks. If your employers billable hour printouts include the tailnumbers and HOBBS times you already have a leg up.
Others on the Forum have suggested adding "reward if found" on the inside of the logbook. I know this doesn't help you at this moment, but perhaps you can sweet talk the port authority by stating that there is a reward.

 

This is why we absolutely positively must go to Kinkos each quarter, scan our logbook to a PdF and email it to ourselves. Monthly would be more sensible for fulltime pilots. Not doing a backup at all is reckless with this much crucial data in it. Good luck.

 

This is great advice

 

Thank you all for your input


yeah from here on I am always going to back my stuff up. I knew I should have done this a long time ago, and now I am paying for it big time for my inaction. I am doing my best to gather as much resources as possible. I will definitely be notarizing my new logbook of this, and hope that future employers do not think much of it.

I can get most of my times confirmed/verified, however I still have the problem of trying to accurately record all the various different tail numbers I have flown with students and their respective dates, especially the important ones like the flights that are necessary for currency i.e. night currency, instrument currency, etc. I also no longer have anyone's signatures.

As suggested I am going to have to low ball the hours I cannot confirm or verify just to stay on the safe side, but how much weight do you think they'll put on the dates of the flights being accurate? Do you think it won't really matter as long as I stay conservative, i.e. 3 stop and goes at night roughly a month and a half ago, but instead i record it being two months ago?

 

Even easier, just use a digital camera or even iPhone to take pictures of your logbook, and store the photos in Dropbox.

 

Another option, if the time is not too far off, is you put your hours on your last medical exam paperwork. If you did not keep the copy they give you afterwards, ask your AME for a copy. That can also function as a legal copy since you signed it. At least it's something.

 

Not sure what your flying history is, but if it all possible attempt to reconstruct your paper logbook. If your flight school(s) and employer(s) keep decent records you should be able to at least get the total times and tail-numbers.

When you go to an interview, bring copies of EVERY piece of substantiating documentation you can find (8710's, medicals, school/employer records). For things like landings, approaches, MC, etc you will have to claim the total from your last 8710. You can then list ESTIMATED additions to that based on your flying history.

The problem you have is that employers are wary of falsified pilot resumes...an authentic OG logbook with student endorsements and a few coffee stains lends an air of credibility to your history. Some employers might not even consider you, but the more data you have, the better.

A major will somewhat more tolerant if you have a solid history at a regional since you can pull all the details out of scheduling software.

You might be tempted to create a e-logbook and then use a printout from that...the problem there is that even if you can get total times from school/employer records you won't have accurate night, IMC, LDGs, etc. The only way to get credit for reasonable estimates is to come clean about the situation.

 

Gen an electronic logbook and back it up in multiple ways. I have a printed copy, and I email the elec file to myself periodically. I also have the elec copy backed up via hard drives/usb drives.

cliff
RMS