By the book

Why? Because the G3 is most likely a new instructor yet to develop the savvy to record the logbook for the student as stipulated in the regulations.

CASA regulation CASR 61.345 states that the logbook should record the date, the type of aircraft, single or multi engine, the nationality and registration marks, the takeoff and landing points and, of course, the flight time flown.

In looking at those logbooks I see no departure or destination details, just the early manoeuvres carried out. Even when the student starts navigation flying I can often see aerodrome abbreviations rather than the full and correct name of the aerodromes used. An example. YBKE – YCBA – YWLG – YBKE. Perhaps it would be better to put the aerodrome locations by their correct title. Bourke-Cobar-Walgett-Bourke. Anyone reading that logbook can read the locations instead of having to try and find what the abbreviations mean. That can be the pilot, family, or better still a possible employer if the pilot is chasing a commercial job.

It is not so far back that instead of having a Y prefix to an aerodrome title we had an A prefix. So Bourke was ABKE. An overnight change by Air Services and all the then GPS receivers got confused.

Writing the full name of the aerodrome may take extra space and lines in a pilot’s logbook. So what. Do not be afraid to use more lines to record the flight details. For me I would record a flight with a dogleg or waypoint like this: Bourke – Bourke via Cobar. Bourke was the departure and landing point with Cobar as the waypoint or turning point.

Around my home city I have flown to almost a dozen aerodromes that had abbreviations but are now housing estates. If I had used designations no one would know where I operated from on certain dates.

In recording the aircraft type, I make an effort to record the detail per the maker’s specification, not the ICAO flight plan designation. Now AUJ2 will mean nothing to most pilots or people reading a logbook but the correct title of Auster J2 will. Time and again I have seen the flight plan designation P28A in a logbook. The correct title should be PA28 with, better still, the sub-model designation, such as PA28-161.

Now a real Doozie. The Cessna 182 retract is in fact a Cessna R182 while its little brother the retract Cessna 172 is a Cessna 172RG. Has that confused you?

Logbooks should be written up correctly,
neatly and accurately

It is vital to write up a logbook as soon as possible after a flight. Memory fades with time. A notebook helps, but transfer the details to that logbook as soon as possible. Failure to record a flight means a loss of flight time. A pilot going for a commercial licence wants to record all the flight time that he or she pays for. A logbook should be a complete record of a pilot’s flying history. It should be written up accurately, neatly and the correct flight times recorded. A lot of pilots will draw a line in red underneath the entries for a month and record the individual flight time totals for that month. In some cases the time in types is recorded. It is then easy to work out the flight time in any one type.

Now some pilots will use an electronic logbook and then print out the record if and when required. Me? I prefer the standard blue-covered book. I do not want my computer hijacked again and to be held to ransom to get my records back.

A logbook should not be carried in an aircraft to avoid any chance of loss if the aircraft goes down and burns or goes for a swim. Likewise be cautious of carrying a logbook around in your car in a flight bag. Cars can get broken into and the flight bag complete with headset and logbook may never be seen again. I have come across at least three pilots who have had their logbook stolen from their car – one when the car was parked on his front lawn. To have a separate record of the logbook and its entries a simple fix is to use a camera and photograph each page as it gets filled out. Put the chip aside and you have an ongoing record of your logbook entries.

Another tip, particularly for instructors, is to record the full Christian and surname of a person when you make an initial flight with them. On later flights you then only use the Christian name initial and, of course, the surname. This means that you can then skim through your logbook to easily find that first flight date with that student.

Logbooks can be a pain to write up, but they record a pilot’s history for the regs, for a possible employer to view, for your own knowledge, and to look back on in years to come. Neat, tidy, accurate is the motto.

‘Do not be afraid to use more lines to record the flight details’

Instructor tip of the month

The ATIS. When taxiing out or flying into a control zone, or where there is an ATIS with a code letter to identify the current information, one should always write down what that information is: code letter, runway, wind direction and strength, QNH, cloud details, visibility. One problem that may arise is that when you do the read back you can easily misinterpret the code letter. Wrong says the tower. One way to prevent this is to draw a square around the code letter. That makes for its easy identification when you glance down to read it. Simple but it works.