June 13, 2013
Pilot Logbook Template — Google Sheets
Ever since I earned my Private Pilot License , I have been using my Sportys Pilot Logbook that I bought on the same day I finished my introductory flight. I didn't really think about it until the other day; what if I lost my logbook? How do I get back all of my flight logs? Apparently, this is not really a new question .
The short answer is, you can't. But you do have some options. Check with your flight instructors. Hopefully they keep good records of your flights. Check with your flight school or flight club. FAA Form 8710. Hopefully you filled this out and duplicated your logbook at the time of your check ride. After doing some searching , there are a few useful solutions: Keep your logbook at home.
Carry a smaller version to log time after flights. Make photo copies of your logbook periodically and store in a safe location. Scan and backup electronically. Use logbook software. I decided that I would use Google Drive (and Google Spreadsheets) to develop an cloud-based logbook myself. There were a few pros to this approach: I could view and updated my logbook from anywhere (on any device).
I have an iPhone and iPad that I use for flying anyway. I could share in real-time with my instructor (or anyone with a Google Account). I could easily total my time and landings in different aircraft and by category (this is really useful for insurance applications). I could easily filter to limit the log view..