Balloon Life,
December 2000
TheLogbook
OneofthecolumnheadsIhavealwaysusedis
From the Logbook.Thereasonbeingthatasan
instructor I could always look back and find a story
abouttrainingthat could bemade interestingand
hopefully funny. I always change them around just
enoughsothatonlythestudentinvolvedandI
reallyknow whothearticleisabout.Thisrepre-
sents one of the fewgood things that can come from
keepinga reallygoodlogbook. Mostwritersare
smart enough notto write about thisbook simply
because it has gone unregulatedfor solongthat to
try and make right of itnow makes little sense.
ItwouldprobablybesafetosaythatIhave
seen it kept every waypossible except incrayon. I
have seenitinpencil! Since I cannotlet sleeping
dogslie,Idecidedtowriteanarticleaboutthe
logbook.Ifyouhaveeverhadthepleasureof
watching Fred Astaire andGinger Rodgers dance,
stickaroundandyouwillrecognizesome ofmy
moves. I will try and answer a lot of questions and
create a few more in the process. I’ll tell you how
I have kept mine over the years and how I ask the
studentsandpilotsIworkwithtokeeptheirs.
Whetheryoumakeanychangesinthewayyou
keep your records and logbooks will be entirely up
to you.In fact, you just may be closerto correct than
I am.
If you would like to get afew more opinions on
this matter, call the localFlight StandardsDistrict
Office andsee whatguidelinestheyrecommend.
Thequestions,answers,andrandomramblin g
thoughtsbegin. Please have fun with this.
Whatisthemainpurposeofalogbook?It
should be your personal diary of aviation informa-
tion. It is written proof that you have complied with
theregulationssetforthbythe FederalAviation
Administration. It should show that you have flown
thehoursrequiredfor the certificatesandratings
thatyouhaveinyourpocket.Itshouldbethe
supportingdocumentationtoprove totheworld,
and the local sheriff, thatyou are indeed a pilot.
Whatshoulditcover?When,where,what,
why, and with whom you did something in aviation
that you felt was memorable enoughtorecordfor
posterity.
What specific verbiage should we be seeing in
theendorsements?Well,everycategory,class,
certificate,ratingandtypethatweeverhopeto
attain has certainrequirementsfor both flight and
ground training that must be completed and logged.
Reading these requirements before you undertake
the training will let you know how to prepare. You
mightevendrawupamini-syllabustohelpthe
instructor (they love that). The key words that are
usedintheregulationsarethewordsthatyou
shouldlog.
Canthelogbookbe usedtoprove yourtotal
flight time? Sure, it’s the best evidenceyouhave
and you have an entire flying career to prepare for
it.Onegoodwaytoprove yourtotalflight time,
which incidentally is the time we need most often
inourcareer,is toaddupallthetimesyouhave
flowninallthedifferentcategories,classes,and
types of aviation flying machines and this number
shouldequaltotaltimeflown.Should?Itbetter.
ASEL, ASES, AMES, AMEL, simulator, helicop-
ter,gyrocopter,poweredlift,glider, balloon,jet,
turbine,andairship—anythingyouhaveflown
except kites and origami.
Can youputtoomuchina logbook?Only if
youareIyingabouttheentries;otherwise,it’s
impossible.The exactamountoftimeandspace
that you devote to your personal record keeping is
entirelyuptoyou. Mostfolksarenottoohandy
withpenand pencil sothey end upattachingvery
little importance to keeping a regular log.
Howdoesthelogbookapplytothestudent
pilot? Thispoint inanaviationcareer istheright
time to teach them about how to protect themselves
andtheinvestmentoftimeandmoneytheyare
making now and in the future. Show them how and
why compliance with the rules and regulations can
besoeasy,andletthembecomegoodrecord
keepers earlyin their career bymaking it interest-
ing. Ask them a simple question. “Tell me exactly
what we did aviation wise 30 days ago.” If this is a
hardquestion for themtoanswer, they need todo
more with future entries. They will probably agree.
Whatarethe instructorrequirements? Suffi-
cient information and documentation to prove that
youdidwhatwasneededinthetraining,anda
regular recordoftheadvancementofthisfuture
pilot.Ourdutynow becomestimestwobecause
besidesthe writingwe doin astudent’s logbook,
we mustalso keepanexcellent record inour own
logbook.Suchagoodrecord,infact,thatifa
student or pilot that flew with you in thepast should
everlosetheir logs, youshouldbe able torecon-
Your
personal
aviation
diary
Balloon Life,December 2000
struct themfromyours.
Justtakea momentrightnow andlookback
five years ago and read slowly and silently what is
there. Does it make any sense? Does it make your
memorykickinandremindyouofthedayin
question? It’s supposed to. If you are an instructor,
write personal notations on the flight, the airplane,
andthe pilot.Itmightcome inhandysomeday. I
don’tleave anythingout, goodor bad,that might
benefit me or the personI flew with at some later
date.
How much space dowe allot to an entry? Too
much. If written well and carefully maintained, it
may become a best seller someday. Just make sure
thatwhatyouputinthelogisenoughfor youto
fully relate to someone else exactlywhatwenton
during thatflight. And make sure itisthe truth.
Where to put what? First, get a big logbook to
startwith.Withtheendorsementsgettinglonger
andlonger,you’ll needthe extra space just about
thetimeyoufinishyourInstrumentrating.Most
everyoneeventuallyfillsupmorethanone.Ask
yourself what youcanlegallylog from that flight
andtheanswermightbeanentryintoseveral
columns on one flight. Taking a flight at night on a
cross-country, instrumentconditionsor under the
hood in a single engine airplane, high performance
withapproaches and landings as the pilot in com-
mand might be all one flight but entries into several
columns.
Thelogbookcanbreakorhelpmakeyour
aviation future. From the very first discovery flight
and even before, you should have your flying goals
laid outandknow what they requireof you. This
will give a definitive purpose to the record keeping
andmake it so much more enjoyable andreward-
ing. Knowing what will be needed of you in time to
come willsave a lot of trainingtime andcertainly
tons of money. Bad logging or even none at all can
get you into a future lawsuit, and if you lie to your
logbook it can cost you that license you are getting
andtherightyouhavetofly.Tome,thatlast
statement wouldconstitute a tremendous loss.
LookupwhattheFederalAviationRegula-
tionssayaboutallofthis,whichwillprobably
explainwhymostsmart peoplerefuse to write in
detailaboutloggingtime.Readcarefullywhat
CFR/FAR 61.59says about being truthful and not
logginganyP-51timeandhowunhappythey
would be if we did. Thendropbackto CFR/FAR
61.51 to find out a lot of stuff that we might not have
known before andstuff that is apt to change from
time to time. This one regulation is probably why
somanypeopledothe verysamethingsomany
different ways and all of them think what they are
doingiscorrect. Somewhereitwastaughtincor-
rectlyand otherssimplydidnotkeepupwith the
changesovertheyears.Eitherwayitmakesfor
some interesting and sometimes amusing reading.
I don’t meanthat I think the requirements we
are boundbyinaviationare funny, but whenyou
read the regulations and look at your logbook at the
same time,you’llsee whatI mean.Itsometimes
lookslikewearereadingtwototallydifferent
books.IsyourlogbookdifferentfromtheoneI
describe? Probably so. Is it a crime? Probably not.
Was there an intention on your part to cheat on your
time for one reasonoranother? Isthatyour final
answer?Coulditbethatit’sthewayyouwere
taught to keep your log? Possibly. Are you trying to
meet the requirements and regulationsas bestyou
knowhow?Areyouwillingtoadmitthatyour
record keeping is just a littledifferent from what the
regulations require? Are youwilling to improve it
andhavesomeonehelpyoubringituptodate?
Sure, whynot.
I do a lot of flight reviews, recurrency, profi-
ciency, andinstrumentcheckssoI gettosee the
handiworkof a lotof differentpilotsandinstruc-
tors. You canbelieve me when I tell you that none
arejustexactlyastheyshouldbe.Mosthave
absolutely nointentionof changingthewaythey
record their business and pleasure because most of
us have beendoingita certainwayfor so longit
wouldbeachoretolearnsomethingnew.And
unless youare a flightinstructor followinga con-
tinuedandflagrant courseof logbookIying,you
are probably never going to get into much trouble.
I don’t push the point of changing because I don’t
think that I have the right to make this intrusion into
someone’sprivate diaryunlesstheyseekoutmy
help.Iamwillingtoshowthemwheresubtle
changescouldbemadethatmightsomedaybe
helpful to them. Some adopt them and some don’t.
Sowhathave we accomplishedwiththis ar-
ticle? Hopefully, some of youwill take a moment
toreflectonwhathasbeensaidaboutthismost
importantrecordbookandthenprivatelyanswer
these closing questions. If your logbookwere put
onthestreetasanovel,woulditbeconsidered
fictionornon-fiction?Woulditbe abestseller?
Would it get you in trouble? Areyou happy with the
bookasitstands?Doyouintendtomakesome
changes? Are yougoing tobuya new FAR/AIM
book just to read what I mentioned? Would you like
to call orwriteto me, in private, and pose a question
or two? I alwaysendevery article with myname,
address,andtelephone number.
Thanks for taking the time to readthis article.
I reallyhope you findit useful.
JimTrustywastheFAA/AviationIndustry
NationalFlightInstructor of the Year(1997) and
still teaches full-time atMQY in Tennessee. You
may call himat 615-7588434 or write himat103
Highland Drive, OldHickory, TN 37138.
...make
sure that
what you
put in
the log is
enough
for you to
fully
relate to
someone
else
exactly
what
went on
during
that
flight.
