Digitizing logbooks

A common question when switching to digital is, are they legal? Yes, they are. They qualify as having the required information and are deemed acceptable by the FAA.

Brand-new pilots have the option to start with a digital logbook straight away. But if you already have hours logged on paper, you’ll need to transfer them, either line by line or totaled, to treat the digital log as your new record. For pilots who will want specific totals and the most complete backup, line by line is the way to go.

There are two main options here—digitize yourself or pay a service to do it for you. To digitize it yourself you’ll need some spreadsheet software and rows for dates and columns that mimic your logbook. As long as you’re fairly computer-literate, this is a simple if time-consuming process. Save the spreadsheet in multiple places to have a backup and you’ll be set.

If you decide you’d rather pay for this service, you have a few options. Individuals online offer transcription—just drop a question in a pilot group on social media to find someone—as does the company AcuLog Conversions. Paid transcription is typically priced by the entry, and depending on the size of your logbook that price will rise quickly. For those on the pro path or who intend to go that way, the sooner you start a digital logbook the better. And if you want to be sure it is done right, paying AcuLog might be the way to go.

I recently switched to a digital logbook despite initially resisting out of sentimentality for the tangibility of paper logs. Initially, I tried to do the data entry for my two logbooks and over 1,700 hours myself and realized I would rather rip off my own fingernails and dip my hand in lemon juice than continue the process. When I’m not flying around reporting stories, I spend almost my entire day in front of a computer. The idea of spending my free evenings looking at a screen again was soul sucking. So, I paid AcuLog $600, a hefty (to me) fee for their service. Yes, it was pricey—with two logbooks it became an amount I actually had to budget for. Did I eat a few more Maruchan-CFI-era dinners that month? Yes, I did. Did I feel lazy paying someone else to do it? Yes, a little. But the AcuLog process was easy and straightforward, and it saved me many hours of work and frustration. They even caught an error I made very early on in my second logbook that threw off totals for the rest of the log. I’m grateful for their accuracy and attention to detail, and that I have no doubts that it was done correctly. I paid for the service, and I also paid for peace of mind.

Once a transcription is complete, you can keep this as a simple digital spreadsheet log or get an app like LogTenPro by Coradine. This is the industry standard and tracks all your currencies and duty times, plus makes it easy to log flights. Endorsements and signatures can be made digitally, though it is recommended to keep hard copies for safekeeping. There is both a desktop version and a mobile version with several options for importing and exporting data. If you created your own spreadsheet, Coradine will help you import the file, and if you went with AcuLog, they will facilitate that for you. LogTenPro requires a subscription, although I did get a few months free via AcuLog.

Now that I’ve had the digital logbook for about six months, I can say that I like it, but it isn’t the same. It is convenient and functional. I’m glad I have it—and it makes sense for me to have it (does it sound like I’m trying to convince myself?). But I miss the ritual of filling out my Jepp logbook with my special logbook pen (black ink only), the pride I’d feel completing a new page, and the paper proof of all the hours I’d flown and memories I’d made.

Sentimentality aside, I’ll stick with the digital logbook because of the volume of hours I log, the security of having a backup of my flying career, and the ease of use. There’s probably going to be a way to do this easily with AI soon, but for now, it is up to you whether you need a digital log. It couldn’t hurt anything but your wallet to try.

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