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My Logbook Needs Help

Old 12-19-2012, 10:46 PM
  #1  
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Default My Logbook Needs Help

I've had my private pilot certificate for the last 8 years. In those last 8 years I haven't done a ton of flying, but have a fair amount of rental check outs, local flights, bfr's etc. I've finally saved up some money to begin pursuing my instrument rating and hopefully eventually commercial/cfi. I know I need 50 hours XC for the instrument rating so I started going back through my logbook to add up my times. My logbook admittedly has some errors and there are a couple pages with some issues, which I will summarize below:

*My primary instructor marked my dual cross country flight as cross country time. While I realize it is cross country time, it was not PIC as I was a student and it wasn't a solo flight. Yet not realizing this until recently I had been adding that to my cross country total time.

*I have a couple entries that are complete except for I didn't put the date. I can't remember exactly but I'm sure it was a case where I filled it out either right after the flight or a day later, didn't know the date and meant to check but then forgot. I do have many of my flight invoices so I might be able to piece these together but if not what should I do? I'd rather not have time logged than to make up a date as I want to be as honest as I can.

*I have two full line entries that were left blank. I can attribute this to not logging a flight, then flying a subsequent flight and when going to log this I realized I hadn't logged the previous flight, so I left a blank line yet still forgot to go back and log it. If I can't find an invoice for this flight, can I leave it blank?

*I forgot to log a cross country flight that I had taken a couple years ago. I was able to find the invoice for the flight today. Can I make it the most recent entry in my logbook(but obviously put in the actual date of the flight) and make an explanation note of it in my logbook?

I do realize the irresponsibility of not being a prudent keeper of my logbook and am kicking myself for this. I have vowed to log all of my flights from now on immediately after the flight so these issues don't come up anymore. More so, I am worried that future employers would see my logbook and that it could possibly affect my potential to be hired. Has anyone dealt with issues like this in the past? Thanks for the advice!
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Old 12-20-2012, 06:54 AM
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#1 - For the instrument rating requirement, see 14 CFR 61.65(d)(1) which states:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section, 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which 10 hours must have been in an airplane; and

You can still tally your cross-country time total. However, you will need to make sure that any cross-country flight time you use towards the instrument rating be PIC. For instrument certification, I would use a spreadsheet and log out all the flights that do qualify, print it out, and keep it in your logbook. If and when the examiner questions your cross-country aeronautical experience, show them this sheet, and you're good to go.

#2 - If you can't reconcile these flights, personally, I would take it as lost time. Otherwise, you would be in violation of 14 CFR 61.59.

#3 - You can leave it blank.

#4 - Yes.

Don't feel bad about any of this. Lots of pilots I know have experienced at least one of your issues, me included. Just do the best you can in the future.
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Old 12-20-2012, 06:56 AM
  #3  
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Originally Posted by Cumulonimbus View Post
I've had my private pilot certificate for the last 8 years. In those last 8 years I haven't done a ton of flying, but have a fair amount of rental check outs, local flights, bfr's etc. I've finally saved up some money to begin pursuing my instrument rating and hopefully eventually commercial/cfi. I know I need 50 hours XC for the instrument rating so I started going back through my logbook to add up my times. My logbook admittedly has some errors and there are a couple pages with some issues, which I will summarize below:

*My primary instructor marked my dual cross country flight as cross country time. While I realize it is cross country time, it was not PIC as I was a student and it wasn't a solo flight. Yet not realizing this until recently I had been adding that to my cross country total time.
This is correct. Any flight greater than 50NM point to point is cross country. Doesn't matter if it's dual, solo, PIC or SIC, it's cross country.

*I have a couple entries that are complete except for I didn't put the date. I can't remember exactly but I'm sure it was a case where I filled it out either right after the flight or a day later, didn't know the date and meant to check but then forgot. I do have many of my flight invoices so I might be able to piece these together but if not what should I do? I'd rather not have time logged than to make up a date as I want to be as honest as I can.
If you flew it, log it. Do the best you can to recreate the date, but the actual time and conditions of the flight are much more important provided you can justify the time. You might try contacting the school/FBO to see if they have a record in their computer system. ultimately it's up to you and perhaps "eating" some valuable flight time will be encouragement to get things sorted out in the future.

*I have two full line entries that were left blank. I can attribute this to not logging a flight, then flying a subsequent flight and when going to log this I realized I hadn't logged the previous flight, so I left a blank line yet still forgot to go back and log it. If I can't find an invoice for this flight, can I leave it blank?
No problem. Once again, see if the school has a record for you.

*I forgot to log a cross country flight that I had taken a couple years ago. I was able to find the invoice for the flight today. Can I make it the most recent entry in my logbook(but obviously put in the actual date of the flight) and make an explanation note of it in my logbook?
Yes... Make an note as to why it is out of date in the remarks section.

I do realize the irresponsibility of not being a prudent keeper of my logbook and am kicking myself for this. I have vowed to log all of my flights from now on immediately after the flight so these issues don't come up anymore. More so, I am worried that future employers would see my logbook and that it could possibly affect my potential to be hired. Has anyone dealt with issues like this in the past? Thanks for the advice!
Minor errors in logbooks are common. In fact, I'd be more suspicious of a log that didn't have at least one or two minor errors.

That said, if you want to fly professionally, you need to keep an accurate and detailed log. If you can't even be accountablefor recording your own flight time properly, how do I (as a hiring manager) know that I can trust you to keep aircraft documents, FAA mandated records (such as aircraft flight time log sheets, duty and rest records, training documents, etc) and company paperwork straight? (Let alone entrust a multi-million dollar asset to you?)

Details are critical in this industry and I've personally seen airline applications tossed out (even during an interview) for not following the simplest of instructions.

Get your logbook straightened out and then commit to making entries the same day you fly, unless you have a way of accurately determining the info at a later date. (I don't personally consider loose invoices that are easily lost an accurate method).

If you don't want to carry your logbook with you on your flights, I suggest that you leave it in your car at the airport so that you can retrieve it when you get back from your flight and fill it out before you go home.
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Old 12-20-2012, 08:06 AM
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I'll second Josh's answers and add this: Spend the money now and invest in a good logbook program, then be meticulous about entering your data going forward. There are multiple threads on here discussing various programs - use the search function.
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