I'm currently a rotor guy preparing for the RTP world and I haven't kept a personal logbook. I'm wondering what the best way forward is from the community.

1) I can go through CAFRS and get historicals from all of my previous -12's and input them into a digital logbook but with limited information.

2) Start keeping one today and then just reference my DA 759 in any interviews as previously flown time. So I would have my 759 with the majority of my time and then an electronic logbook as well with a little bit of helicopter time and then my fixed wing time as well. Then I would confess that I hadn't kept a logbook until this date (which might look bad).

3) Keep my rotor stuff completely separate from any fixed wing. (But by doing that I wouldn't be able to show the cross-country time that I'm accumulating now).

Any other ideas?

If your military branch kept your logbooks for you, then it shouldn't be a big deal that you didn't also log it yourself. Start a logbook now, include any miscellaneous non-mil flights which you have records of. Make one entry, today's date, covering all previous mil time.

Then log each flight going forward. Do retain your mil hardcopies as part of your logbook.

Awesome. Thank you for the help!

im in the same boat never kept any of my 3000+ hours in an official logbook. You can do a one-line entry in your log book with a break down of your military hours. Im just guessing, but I would think the important thing to show would be the required RTP minimums per the CFR.

Yeah I've thought about that. Specifically, the 200 cross-country hours. I know that I have that time, but unfortunately I can't show it since I don't have a record of it. :/

1. As written above, do a one line entry.
2. Do a conservative entry for cross country time. I think I figured 50%.
3. Get familiar with the FAA logging of flight time. For example, if you are receiving dual in an aircraft which you are certified to fly. So when you get your instrument airplane after your private airplane all that dual time is logged as PIC even in IMC.
Another example, you can log multiple conditions with the FAA, so night AND IMC, not one or the other like the Army.
4. Get a computer logbook program to supplement your paper logbook. This will greatly help you to break down flight time for airlines. Try to find one that will interact with crew scheduling software such as mccPilotlog. I use this one and it is very easy. I synch it once my schedule comes out and all my trips are populated. Once I finish a trip I synch again and the times for that trip are automatically populated based upon my out/off/on/in times. It even automatically figures when you have night time. All I have to do is plug in instrument time and approaches.

I would be very reluctant to log time based on an estimate if you need that time for verification. The FAA is entitled to a detailed accounting if they ever ask. It can be in any format, scribbled on yellow stickies or whatever, but it would need to be in detail.

If you had the details at one point and lost them, you could probably get away with a plausible sum total that was based on the details that you had at one time.

Also regarding PIC, there are two types:

Sole manipulator. This is what you get when you are flying under the supervision of a CFI or PIC. It is loggable and useable for some FAA purposes. But most civilian employers do not count this as actual PIC, it's good to log but keep it in a separate column.

Actual PIC. You're the boss and signed for the airplane. This is the captain/PIC, check airman, or CFI. Never the SIC or student.

Don't mix these two, you'll fail the logbook review at an interview.

Unfortunately with cross country time there is no real way to figure it as it is not something tracked by the military. I've spoken to the FAA and employers during interviews about this and none had an issue with a conservative estimate based upon the platform I flew.
You are correct about PIC time which is another reason to use an electronic logbook.

I have 800+ hours from my Iraq deployment I know all of it is cross county considering we flew about 45 minutes every mission just to get to the mission area, I could do the same for Afghanistan consider the distance and time we fly during the mission sets.

That kind of how I figured it, though as an IP in those situations I had some local pattern time. Still, saying 50% of it was cross country was probably very conservative.