Logging local flights.

I am curious about how people choose to log local flights where you
might fly over another airport or city, but not land there.

For example, on a nice day I might make an hour or hour and a half
"grand tour" over several nearby cities, just for the pleasure of
looking at the changing countryside, and then land back at my home airport.

No FAR issues, of course, but wonder if most people just enter it as
"KXYZ LCL", or cite the cities or airports flown over but not landed at.

Second, what is your preference if you make a flight involving several
intermediate stops, all in one day? If it's a major cross country, I'll
log each leg on a separate line, but if it's just "A" to "B" to "C" to
"A"... do you log each leg separately or show it as multiple entries on
a single line with the grand total time for the trip?

Third, I've been using a simple Excel spreadsheet to summarize the time
which is offically kept in a standard logbook. A formal computerized
logbook seems like "overkill" to me, but I'd be interested in comments
from people who have a favorite computerized logbook, and what features
they particularly like.

Rich

I am curious about how people choose to log local flights where you
might fly over another airport or city, but not land there.


I only log if I land (minimally touch-n-go)
but I might make notes in the comments section of what cities I overflew.


what is your preference if you make a flight involving several
intermediate stops, all in one day?

On a long cross-country flights, I log each leg on one line. I make sufficient
notes in the tiny space provided for comments so that I can look back years
later and recall details of the flight . . . who was with me, what site I
photographed (if any) and other "memory joggers".


www.Rosspilot.com

If its local lets use my home base 59S as example

59S to 59S Comments of What i did number and type of landings at home
airport and time of flight



"Rich" wrote in message
...
I am curious about how people choose to log local flights where you
might fly over another airport or city, but not land there.

For example, on a nice day I might make an hour or hour and a half
"grand tour" over several nearby cities, just for the pleasure of
looking at the changing countryside, and then land back at my home
airport.

No FAR issues, of course, but wonder if most people just enter it as
"KXYZ LCL", or cite the cities or airports flown over but not landed at.

Second, what is your preference if you make a flight involving several
intermediate stops, all in one day? If it's a major cross country, I'll
log each leg on a separate line, but if it's just "A" to "B" to "C" to
"A"... do you log each leg separately or show it as multiple entries on
a single line with the grand total time for the trip?

Third, I've been using a simple Excel spreadsheet to summarize the time
which is offically kept in a standard logbook. A formal computerized
logbook seems like "overkill" to me, but I'd be interested in comments
from people who have a favorite computerized logbook, and what features
they particularly like.

Rich

I use an Excel spreadsheet highly modified from the way it came to me from
this group. I added things like 'conditional formatting to show yellow
cells if not longer night or IFR current, approaches, etc. Another tab
summarizes time in type, another for W&B, another for Angel flights you get
the point.

A spreadsheet you can control (read modify) is great, as it can be modified
to suit your use, not the features another person (perhaps non-flying)
thought you needed.

As for logging, I prefer logging trips as one line. I have no desire to
fill up a book for sake of filling it. I had a trip last week from my home
base and back with 3 side trips and one weather diversion. Lots of airport
id's, day & night landing but one line.

Thx, {|;-)
Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

Rich wrote:

I am curious about how people choose to log local flights where you
might fly over another airport or city, but not land there.

For example, on a nice day I might make an hour or hour and a half
"grand tour" over several nearby cities, just for the pleasure of
looking at the changing countryside, and then land back at my home airport.

No FAR issues, of course, but wonder if most people just enter it as
"KXYZ LCL", or cite the cities or airports flown over but not landed at.

Yes, I typically list "local."


Second, what is your preference if you make a flight involving several
intermediate stops, all in one day? If it's a major cross country, I'll
log each leg on a separate line, but if it's just "A" to "B" to "C" to
"A"... do you log each leg separately or show it as multiple entries on
a single line with the grand total time for the trip?

I almost always log each leg as a separate entry. Flying only 25-50
hours a year fills the log book pretty slowly even with this method.


Matt

I think you are discovering the difference between a flight log---a
legal document---and a flight journal, where you record memories. I
suggest you keep both.

For "local long distance" flights, where I hop from place to place but
end up back home at the end of the day, I put an extra column in my log
and marked it "VIA". In there I list any local airports I may have
stopped at for gas or nature. Often, a "real" cross-country flight will
end up there as well if I forget to write down the Hobbs time while I'm
there. In that case I do it all on one line---mark the total time down
as x-c and just put the airport where I stopped in the VIA column. Then
I have a record of where I landed and the total time for the flight. I
specifically do not put down places I simply flew over---that's for the
journal.

I have noticed over the years that I use that column more and more as my
concept of "local" has expanded with experience. I now include trips to
work in my definition of "local" even though they are 150 miles away. I
still mark the time down as cross-country, of course, I just don't go
into the same detail I would if I were going to a neighboring state, for
example.

Having a faster plane changes things as well! A 1-hour flight in my
Beech puts me a LOT farther away than it did in a rented 152.

In article ,
ospam (Rosspilot) wrote:

....I make
sufficient
notes in the tiny space provided for comments so that I can look back years
later and recall details of the flight . . . who was with me, what site I
photographed (if any) and other "memory joggers".



Be careful with those notes. They become part of the 'official' record.
Someone who, as part of being checked for something else, had their log
book checked and it was noticed that he had taken a passenger up, and he
wasn't current with his take offs and landings. His note in the memo
section of the passenger did him in.


Edward

....I make
sufficient
notes in the tiny space provided for comments so that I can look back years
later and recall details of the flight . . . who was with me, what site I
photographed (if any) and other "memory joggers".



Be careful with those notes. They become part of the 'official' record.
Someone who, as part of being checked for something else, had their log
book checked and it was noticed that he had taken a passenger up, and he
wasn't current with his take offs and landings. His note in the memo
section of the passenger did him in.




I'm not worried about it at all. I keep my logbook accurate for ME.

Where does this paranoia come from?






www.Rosspilot.com

In article ,
ospam (Rosspilot) wrote:

Where does this paranoia come from?



You know where ... I never list flights as aerial shoots


Edward
(Who will, to answer the question, go for the commercial as soon as he
gets close to the hours needed. 175 and counting)

Rich wrote:

For example, on a nice day I might make an hour or hour and a half
"grand tour" over several nearby cities, just for the pleasure of
looking at the changing countryside, and then land back at my home airport.

I will log it as 3N6 - Local. I may add a comment about the flight in the comments
section.

Second, what is your preference if you make a flight involving several
intermediate stops, all in one day? If it's a major cross country, I'll
log each leg on a separate line, but if it's just "A" to "B" to "C" to
"A"... do you log each leg separately or show it as multiple entries on
a single line with the grand total time for the trip?

If I remember to note down the tach time at each stop, I will log each leg as a
separate entry. If not, I'll put several on one line.

Third, I've been using a simple Excel spreadsheet to summarize the time
which is offically kept in a standard logbook. A formal computerized
logbook seems like "overkill" to me, but I'd be interested in comments
from people who have a favorite computerized logbook, and what features
they particularly like.

I don't keep my logs on a computer. I'm still in the paper mode.

George Patterson
In Idaho, tossing a rattlesnake into a crowded room is felony assault.
In Tennessee, it's evangelism.