Electronic Logbook

[Livin'Something]

Any recommendations for and Electronic logbook App for an Android user?

I don't mind paying a few bucks for one, I just want to make sure it's worth it!

Also, I have a few thousand hours already in a paper logbook that I have no intention of transferring (other than just the totals). Are you able to just transfer your totals and continue on?

Thanks in advance!

[Gilles Hudicourt]

I just purchased mccPLOTLOG. I am new to it but it seems ok so far. I had two major requirements. It had to be able to import my old electronic logbook from my old software (really old non-windows database) which contained my all hours from 1980 to 2002 (at which time I had to stop using it since it could not run on anything more recent than Windows 98), and it had to be able to sync with an android version of the same to be installed on my phone. This does both very well.

You enter your data to day data on your Android, and as soon as you have a data connection, the logbook is synchronized with mccCloud and to the main logbook on your home PC.

What I also like about it is you don't have a licence with an expiry date. You are not forced to pay these people for the rest of your life.....

Everyone sings the virtues of Log Ten Pro but I don't have a Mac or an Iphone......

After not keeping a logbook for more than 10 years, I decided I better be ready to look for a job, just in case foreign pilots take my 15 year job away from me.

[Livin'Something]

I'll check that one out! Yeah, not a mac user myself but it would be nice to have one that automatically backs up the data.

Thanks Gilles

[complexintentions]

A couple of corrections about LogTen Pro. I've used it for years, but have no association with the product otherwise.

-You don't need a Mac or iPhone to run LogTen Pro. There is a standalone version for the iPad. Which gets backed up every time you back up your iPad with either your Mac or PC. But it's true, there is no Android or PC version. In other words iHaters are outta luck.

-The license doesn't expire. "Forced to pay these people for the rest of your life" is just plain nonsense. I use an older version I purchased several years ago, just fine. If you want the newest version with new features, you have to pay for it. Like, uh, all software. It's possible that in the future mine or any version could cease to run on newer hardware, but Gilles isn't that exactly what happened to you with your non-LogTen Pro software?! I find the real reason people bash on LT Pro is because a. it isn't cheap and b. they actually have to buy it, not pirate it.

I definitely would recommend an electronic logbook of SOME kind for all pilots, though. I'd also recommend all pilots (hell, this could apply in any field) to always be aware of their industry and where their next job might be. But then, I haven't had the stability of cruising in any job for 15 years, so I can't miss what I never had.

[Gilles Hudicourt]

-The license doesn't expire. "Forced to pay these people for the rest of your life" is just plain nonsense. I use an older version I purchased several years ago, just fine. If you want the newest version with new features, you have to pay for it. Like, uh, all software. It's possible that in the future mine or any version could cease to run on newer hardware, but Gilles isn't that exactly what happened to you with your non-LogTen Pro software?! I find the real reason people bash on LT Pro is because a. it isn't cheap and b. they actually have to buy it, not pirate it.

Just to be clear, I wasn't specifically writing about LogTen Pro when I wrote that comment but about others which required annual payments for a licence.
I downloaded and tried severeal non Mac softwares before I settled on this one. Several of those I tried required an annual payment. LogTen Pro was not one of them, I have a PC.
I did buy mccPILOTLOG meaning I paid for it. It cost 69 Euros online. The free version was fine and mostly did the same but would not sync with the Android app unless you paid for it.

My old software was written with a database software called Filepro16Plus. It still runs fine on an old Windows 98 based laptop I have at home, but nothing else will.

[Louis]

My old software was written with a database software called Filepro16Plus. It still runs fine on an old Windows 98 based laptop I have at home, but nothing else will.

Ever though of setting up a virtual machine on whatever other computer you're using right now?

Here's the Excel file I use. Not necessarily the easiest thing to work with on an Android phone, but it should do the trick.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/yy84tkpl6 ... -_Vide.xls
http://www.mediafire.com/view/5j32xq2ex ... mplate.xls (This one's an older version and I don't recall if the features all match up. Not bothering to look now, it's late enough as it is.)

[Wayans]

I can also attest that mccPilotLog is a good buy. I've had it now over a year and it does a good job at what you'd expect it to. It also has a good airline time keeping interface, and a great support team. My company had not been added to their database, and in order to do so it was a simple question of emailing them, giving them a couple details and within 48 hours an update to the program had been released and I could log in and download my times basically the same day I did my flight.

I also had a couple little software snags over the last year and again their support team was always very quick to reply and was very helpful. They roll out updates very frequently, and as mentioned before, it's a one-time fee. I would definitely recommend it.

[wrongway]

I have been using mccPilotLog for about a year also. I love it! The airline importing function makes life so much easier. Customer service is great also.

[YVRDroider]

I haven't used it myself, but when I was researching this a while back http://www.safelogweb.com seemed to have a very extensive program.

[Panama Jack]

I hate to sound like a Luddite but I wanted to offer some food for thought as a counterbalance to the craze for e-logbooks.

Back in the mid- 90's I had an electronic logbook on my then PC. This was pre-Windows, internet-in-every-household era. The thing that annoyed me that I maintained a paper logbook at the same time and sometimes I would end up spending my days off trying to find where the 0.3 discrepancy came from between one log and another.

Then I got an overseas job where I went through a couple year period of not owning a computer, so I stuck stuck to purely paper. I still do. I don't believe my old logbook software is still supported or would work on modern PC's (maybe it is). That was 15-20 years ago. I caution younger pilots that by going with an e-logbook that they are essentially assuming that these products will be supported until at least the end of their careers, if not longer. It is hard to imagine what technology we will be using in 2 decades from now in our daily routines.

At least I don't have to worry so much about my old logbooks and it is nice to occasionally look through their aging pages, which have some character to them and reconnect me to memories.