Flight Training - October 2013 - 8

CENTERLINE

By Adam Smith

LOGBOOKS

WHAT A STORY AN EBOOK CAN TELL

illing out my pilot’s logbook has always provided a warm,
happy feeling. Neatly inking the various columns into place
provides a nice sense of emotional closure to each flight.
When I was just getting started, I remember how slowly the
logbook totals seemed to move as I progressed toward my private pilot
certificate. Back then, it felt like reaching the mighty landmark of 100
hours would take an eternity.
Within my first few entries, I realized
that the logbook would become much
more than an official record of flights
and hours. Like a secret diary written
in aviation code, it’s a detailed archive
of personal experiences—the different
places visited, passengers carried, events
attended, crosswinds negotiated, and so
on. It must surely be the same for every
pilot; open your logbook and the memories tumble from every page.

ADAM SMITH'S logbook on Google Earth.

Last year I had a fascinating dinner with Eric Berman, developer of an
electronic logbook app called MyFlightbook. In a long and distinguished career
at Microsoft and Expedia, Eric managed
large software projects such as Outlook
Express, Internet Explorer, and the Expedia website. He’s also a keen aviator, flying
with the Caballeros Flying Club at Paine
Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington.
Eric started MyFlightbook in 2006 as
something of a side project, to keep his
coding skills sharp after leaving Expedia.
But he also was nurturing an interesting

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

The first thing that grabbed me was
deep integration with my smartphone.
I fell instantly in love with attaching
photos to each entry, and posting flights
directly to Facebook and Twitter. Over
time, I realized that having all my data
in a spreadsheet held huge advantages.
Even the most complex currency calidea—that our logbooks could be made
culations are a breeze and all kinds of
social. Eric imagined a scenario in which
interesting information can be extracted
aircraft and airport data could be “crowd- that’s simply not possible using a paper
sourced” from a broad community of
logbook. The ease of making copies
users, and flights and photos could be
means that logbook-loss anxiety is a
shared with others.
thing of the past.
His timing was perfect. The next few
A recent poll in AOPA’s eBrief newsyears saw an explosion of social networks, letter showed that, today, 82 percent
smartphones, tablet computers, and app
of pilots prefer a paper logbook, and 18
stores—all of which created fertile ground percent prefer electronic. In the future,
for Eric’s vision. Helped by the fact that
I guarantee these percentages are only
it’s absolutely free, moving in one direction.
MyFlightbook has
For new pilots, I wouldn’t recommend
attracted a loyal
you start any other way, especially now
base of more than
that instructors can digitally sign your
25,000 members.
logbook on a phone or tablet screen.
Together they have
For experienced pilots it’s a slightly
recorded more than tougher proposition. You can use your
50,000 different
existing totals to get started with an
aircraft, and logged electronic logbook, but to reap the full
several million
benefits of modernity you’ll need to rehours of flight time. enter all your old data. Reckon on it taking
As we chatted
a couple of hours of data entry for every
over the dinner
100 flights you’ve logged. I know this,
table last year, I
because over a few long winter evenings,
promised to down- I reentered my entire paper logbook into
load Eric’s app and give it a try. But I also MyFlightbook.
said—in no uncertain terms—I will never
But I knew it was time well spent the
stop using my paper logbook. I love my
moment I imported my spreadsheet into
paper logbook!
Google Earth and saw a visual display of
Eric gave me a knowing look and simply every flight I’ve ever made, along with the
said, “You might be surprised at how
instant calculation that I’ve completed
quickly you’ll change your mind.”
63,776 nautical miles of cross-country flyAnd how right he was. I would never
ing. Wow—that’s, like, three times around
have believed it, but in less than a month I the world!
had become a total convert. The electronic
format was providing exactly the same
Email Senior Vice President Adam Smith at adam.
emotional satisfaction as my cherished
smith@aopa.org. Learn more about the Center to
paper logbook, but had also put an array of
Advance the Pilot Community (www.aopa.org/
cool new features at my fingertips.
CAPComm).

http://www.aopa.org/CAPComm http://www.aopa.org/CAPComm http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - October 2013