For those with significant flight experience, transitioning from a paper logbook to a digital one can seem like a daunting task. To ease the transition, you can create entries called "catch up" entries to start your digital document at a certain point in time. Catch up entries are single entries that summarize a block of time. Follow the steps in this article to learn how to do this.
STEP 1: Decide what date you want to use for your catch up entries. You will need to decide on a transition date to go from a paper to an electronic logbook. Any time before this date will be used in catch up entries. Any time after this date will need to be added to ForeFlight as individual entries. Here are some timeframes to consider:
- Today. Create catch up entries for time prior to today and add new entries individually for any flight starting today and after.
- 3 or 6 Months Ago. Create catch up entries for time prior to 3 or 6 months ago. Create individual entries for any flight within the last 3 or 6 months and after. This will cover General, Night and IFR currency (part 91).
- 12 Months Ago. Create catch up entries for time prior to 12 months ago. Create individual entries for any flight within the last 12 months and after. Your aviation insurance agent will ask for your time in make and model over the last 12 months, so you may want to enter each flight for the last year.
STEP 2: Decide how detailed you want your catch up entires to be. Here are some examples of what to consider:
-Total Time Only. This can be used to enter a single entry with totals for items such as total time, PIC, SIC, Instrument, etc.
-Time by Type (make + model). This would suffice for most pilots. Aircraft type generally implies other variables we need for currency, such as category and landing gear type.
-Time by Aircraft ID. You may want to track hours in each specific aircraft you’ve flown. This method provides the most detail without entering every flight.
STEP 3: Create catch up entries. Open ForeFlight and go to MORE > LOGBOOK and select the (+) button and select NEW ENTRY.
-Total Time Only. If you are only entering total times for each logbook category, don't enter an aircraft ID. This type of entry will result in reports having an "unknown" section for this bulk entry.
-Time by Type (make + model). If you are entering bulk entry by aircraft type (Make and Model), use an aircraft ID that is generic, but matches the name of the aircraft. For example, for a Cessna 172, you could enter an aircraft name of C172. Add bulk time for the make and model of aircraft to include such things as total time, PIC, SIC, Night, Instrument, etc. Make new logbook entries for each aircraft type you have flown.
-Time by Aircraft ID. If you are entering bulk entry by aircraft registration, use an aircraft ID that matches the aircraft registration. Add bulk time for the aircraft to include such things as total time, PIC, SIC, Night, Instrument, etc. Make new logbook entries for each aircraft you have flown.
If you need help creating a spreadsheet from your paper logbook, check out aculogconversion.com.
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