A pilot logbook is a record of a pilot's flying hours. It contains every flight a pilot has flown, including flight time, number of

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...

s, and types of

instrument approach In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...

es made. Pilots also log

simulator A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...

time, as it counts towards training. In most countries, pilots are required to maintain a logbook, per their government's aviation regulations. The primary purpose is to show that certain requirements have been met for a

certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...

or rating, and for currency purposes.

Flight logging requirements by country

Australia

In Australia, pilot logbooks must be retained for seven years after the last entry.

European Union

The

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

(EASA) provides a sample logbook format in which all flights should be logged. Information to be logged includes location and time of departure and arrival, the aircraft registration, the aircraft make, model and variant, the name of the pilot in command, whether the flight was single-pilot or multi-pilot, and for single-pilot flights whether the aircraft was single-engine or multi-engine. Time in an

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they re ...

(FSTD) is also logged. In addition to the requirements of Part-FCL.050, whether a flight was cross-country should also be logged for the issue of an

airline transport pilot licence The airline transport pilot license (ATPL), or in the United States of America, an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate is the highest level of aircraft pilot certificate. In the United States, those certified as airline transport pilots ...

(ATPL).

Ireland

In Ireland, electronic logbooks are not acceptable for the issue of an ATPL. All

PICUS Picus was a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium. He was the son of Saturn, also known as Stercutus. He was the founder of the first Latin tribe and settlement, Laurentum, located a few miles to the Southeast of the site of the lat ...

(pilot in command under supervision) entries must be countersigned by the pilot in command, and electronic signatures are not acceptable. All time under instruction must be countersigned by the instructor.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, personal logbooks must be retained for at least 2 years after the date of the last entry.

United States

In the United States, a pilot is required to log all flight time that is used to meet the minimum requirements for a certificate, rating, flight review, or instrument proficiency check, and for currency. This means that a pilot does not need to record every single one of his or her flights. The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

does not require the flights logged to be logged in an official logbook or format, so long as the conditions CFR Title 14 §61.51 paragraph b are met. This requires information about the flight, such as date, total time, locations of takeoff and landing, and information regarding pilot in command, etc. Because the FAA does not require an official logbook or official format, many formats are available to pilots. Some pilots even use digital methods, such as recording this information in

Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows, Windows, macOS, Android (operating system), Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro (comp ...

or a similar spreadsheet, or through online or other digital methods of recording their flights.

References

Aviation law {{aero-stub