Logbook Software

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Mr. North
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Logbook Software

Post by Mr. North »

Anyone tell me what logbook software is the best? why? Thanks
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200hr Wonder
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Post by 200hr Wonder »

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Lands Like Brick
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Post by Lands Like Brick »

if you have the knowledge of microsoft excel and have the patience it can be easily created in excel, i made one that shows everything, PM me if you would like a copy
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Guido
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Post by Guido »

I made one in Excel as well... as Lands Like Brick said, it just takes a little patience, and you can get it set up to do anything you'd like. Mine tally's hours by type, by registration and by the various columns... kinda neat to see it in action!
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Vmo
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Post by Vmo »

Lands Like Brick, please check your pm. Thanks.
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Wasn't Me
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Post by Wasn't Me »

Always wondered how a electronic log book get certified and if it does what keeps the owner from Parker Pening his entries after the certification. Electronic logs have no quality control, at least when a page is taken out of a book it's its easy to spot. Also when someone takes an electronic print out to job interview does he take the computer, some or all of the print out. Just curious.
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Guido
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Post by Guido »

Wasn't Me wrote:Always wondered how a electronic log book get certified and if it does what keeps the owner from Parker Pening his entries after the certification. Electronic logs have no quality control, at least when a page is taken out of a book it's its easy to spot. Also when someone takes an electronic print out to job interview does he take the computer, some or all of the print out. Just curious.
Good questions... I keep both a paper and electronic version for safekeeping. That way I know if I lose one I'll still have the other.
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Vmo
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Post by Vmo »

Lands Like Brick,

Any chance of checking your PM?
Or just plainly, I would like a copy of your eletronic log book program is it's alright with you.

Thanks in advance.
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TTJJ
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Post by TTJJ »

I have been using Logbookpro for 10 years now. It is great. It is especially good for time breakdowns for resumes/applications.

You can print it out (Jepp. style) or customize it for Canadian standards.

In the 10 years since the original purchase, every single upgrade has been free.

http://www.logbookpro.com
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N2
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Post by N2 »

I too have been using Logbook Pro for years and never paid for a single update either. Support is fantastic and the program is loaded with features. The one drawback if there is one is that it's based on the bloatware called Microsoft so it has a rather large file size for what it is.

I also have Aloft which is a Canadian product and I like it alot. It's very quick to launch takes up very little room on my drive however the support is so so. If you post a question in the support forum it can sometimes take days to get answers and I've already been hit with an upgrade charge in just a little over a year and a half.

Both are good products and if possible I would continue to support the home town effort but .......

http://www.skymarktechnologies.com
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Rubberbiscuit
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Post by Rubberbiscuit »

Benn discussing electronic logbooks with a couple of guys at work and they both use logbookpro. They also strongly recommended it for anyone considering one. In other words, a couple of happy customers!
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Post by Canus Chinookus »

Guido wrote:I made one in Excel as well... as Lands Like Brick said, it just takes a little patience, and you can get it set up to do anything you'd like. Mine tally's hours by type, by registration and by the various columns... kinda neat to see it in action!
can you explain how you can manipulate the data with excel? I have no problem tallying up a column, but to get specific data I'm lost.

Also, I've been using 1 document for every month, and I want to merge them into one. How do I do that??
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Jaques Strappe
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Post by Jaques Strappe »

Another option

http://www.dauntless-soft.com/PRODUCTS/Safelog/

Used by many airline types, not geared just to the U.S and allows photo upload to make things more interesting.

Question though, for those using electronic logbooks. Do you ever worry about what would happen if say 10 years from now when Microsoft has gone through another 5 versions of Windows and your logbook is no longer compatible, what you would do if updates were no longer available?

Do most keep a paper log anyway? If you do, what is the point in an electronic one?
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Guido
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Post by Guido »

Canus Chinookus wrote: can you explain how you can manipulate the data with excel? I have no problem tallying up a column, but to get specific data I'm lost.

Also, I've been using 1 document for every month, and I want to merge them into one. How do I do that??
It's a little complicated to explain in words.. suffice it to say that I used a lot of if statements to break things down by registration. If you'd like to take a look, I've put the template up on my website for download - http://gord.is-a-geek.net/files/LogbookTemplate.xls the breakdowns are at the right in the top 30 rows or so. That's probably the easiest way to explain it.

Copy and paste is probably your best bet if you want to merge them in excel. As long as you've used the same column order it should come over quite nicely.




Msr. Strappe: That's probably the beauty of the web-based logbooks... the Internet doesn't become obsolete. I think with things like Excel, that is one of the disadvantages, but I print mine off every so often and store the paper copy somewhere safe. The electronic version is backed up on my home computer, onto CDRW and onto a remote server every time I update it... just to be on the safe side, I also continue my paper log. The advantage is - as you can see in my template - you can manipulate the data any way you like with very little effort... make new columns if you want, count how much time you have of night x-country in C-FXXX... it's truly limitless.
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Canus Chinookus
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Post by Canus Chinookus »

guido! you da man! thanks! :D
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Post by Louis »

Another thing to consider in relation to obsolescence is that programs like Excel can export your raw data in comma separated variables or other text-based formats you can load in just about anything that handles columns.

Can your dedicated logbook programs do that as well?

Goodbye,

Louis
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Post by goldwing »

I found a Canadian product called Aloft v.4. Can be found at http://www.skymarktechnologies.com. Works great for me.
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Post by ski_bum »

http://www.mycanadianlogbook.com

Its online, easy to use, and cheap...
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Post by 200hr Wonder »

OK so I feel the need to jump into this subject. I am a computer geek and here are a few of my thoughts and ideas

Excel

Excel is not really suited to a log book as it will get entirely too large to work with. For example say you fly 1000 hours a year. Each flight is about 2 hours, so you end up with about 500 lines in your log book per year. This is not unheard of in bush operations or so on. 500 lines a year for say 5 years, and you are up to 2500 lines. This suddenly becomes very hard to manage. Really you want to use a database for this type of thing. They are a bit tricky to deal with but really once they are up and running they are great. This is how all the packages you buy are done.

LogBook Pro

I use it is great. At one point was based on MS Access database but I am not so sure now. The only issue is that there are no plug-in for Canadian regs. I am looking into as a side project when I am bored. PM for more info. Though no one hold your breath as I am not exactly made on of free time. The being said it was brought up about obsoleteness. Well so long as you update your Logbook software with windows that should not be an issue. At any rate in a worst case scenario you may need to step through a pile of updates, but even at that rate nothing that is impossible.

Backup Backup Backup

Make sure you back it up. I recommend burning a CD once a year and put it in your safe deposit box, moms house, dads house or anywhere that is not with your computer. Do not use floppy disks, they are unreliable. And be sure to update your CDs fairly often. A Burnt CD has a shelf life of about 10 years, though I think it is much less with cheap CDs that are out.

Any other questions just pm me 
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Post by Blue Yonder »

200hr Wonder wrote:Backup Backup Backup

...Do not use floppy disks, they are unreliable. And be sure to update your CDs fairly often. A Burnt CD has a shelf life of about 10 years, though I think it is much less with cheap CDs that are out.
With this in mind, ensure you are using the CD/RW discs not the CD/R ones.

CD/Rs can have a shelf life of no more than a year; the RWs last much longer. Or, if yer a high time pilot, DVDs have the same longer life as the RWs.

Blue.
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Post by Juggs »

Excel is not really suited to a log book as it will get entirely too large to work with.


I just created different sheets for each year, seems to work out all right.

I made a duty time tracking part too which was pretty good using the date and time conversion functions in Excel.
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Post by 200hr Wonder »

Fair enough but what if you wanted to do a break down by type? Or total multi time, or total PIC etc.

A database is idealy suited is all I am saying. Using Excel is perhaps not using the best suited piece of software
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Post by Louis »

200hr Wonder, what I meant about obsolescence is what happens if the company making your logbook software discontinues it or shuts down.

New hardware and OSes come out over the years (ie: Windows 2010 running on a 64 bit 15 GHz processor entry-level desktop machine :P) and all of a sudden what used to work does not anymore.

Which is why having a raw, separated-variables output option and using it is vital. Every spreadsheet and database program I know of does it. Does your logbook program?

Yes databases are likely more appropriate for managing an electronic logbook from a technical standpoint, but while most computers have Excel installed, the same can't be said of Access. Proficiency in Excel is also far more common than it is in Access as well.

In terms of functionnality the two are acceptable for logbook purposes, but the database wins on scaleability. But do keep in mind that I have seen Excel files with over ten thousand lines on a single sheet work well on computers as old as a pentium 150... Use of functions might influence this a great deal, so you mileage may vary.

Breakdowns in Excel are easy, by summing different columns (I do it on another sheet that summarizes my times). The SUMIF and VLOOKUP functions can be used as well depending on what you're interested in. AutoFilter is also a great tool for searches, (the SUBTOTAL function gives results based on its output unlike SUM)

There are also ways to combine Access and Excel and get the best of both worlds, but I have not looked into this much.

It might be pratical at that moment for me to build a web interface (in ASP/VBScript) to update my logbook from any location and still be able to have good looking printouts by having a fresh Excel file its needed. (For fellow geeks wondering how one could do this, PM me)

Executive summary

Here are three typical user categories and what I believe to be the better solution for each.

Do you plan to "carry" (diskette, USB stick, online hosting, self-e-mail) your logbook file around, but not the hardware?

Excel is most likely the better option since you might not find a computer with your database software installed or lack the time to install it.

Are you going to update the file on a given computer all the time (be it a desktop or laptop machine)?

Access if you know how to use it. Excel can do as well, dedicated logbook programs are an option in your case as well.

Are you frequently away from base in places that provide internet access?

A web-based solution might worth looking into, but there are factors to consider: mostly the ability to retrieve your data in "offline" electronic formats and whether your provider is going to be there for any foreseable length of time or not.

Hope the above was useful, goodbye,

Louis

(So... any operators out there interested in a pilot with extensive computer skills as a plus?)
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Post by Justwannafly »

OK what I don't understand is WHY are we pilots so computer illiterate?

Its nice to see here that there are some other computer savvy pilots around. Most Aviation websites are TERRIBLE…they have ugly early 90’s layouts & basic templates. Why can’t we have better websites? My theory is because we are too busy. Flying is not a 9-5 Monday – Friday job…Last spring I decided that I would make a great Canadian aviation website. It would be a portal with articles a gallery & a forum….I started it, but then my flying got in my way & I haven’t’ worked on it since spring. The site is just sitting there @ http://justwannafly.net/ waiting to be finished. But I don’t know when I will have time. (btw for an unadvertised, unused website, its amazing how many visits it gets by people just happening upon it.

BTW I agree that a web interfaced db system would be the best way to go…except I would go with php (personal preference)
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Post by TTJJ »

As for exporting LogBookPro, here is the HELP thingie about it.



Exporting

Logbook Pro ships with very powerful export features allowing many options for handling your data. Data can be exported into Microsoft Excel for advanced pivot-table analysis or custom graphing, exported to web pages for publishing to a web server, i.e. a corporate logbook portal, or to text delimited files, etc. The export options can be found under the export icon on the toolbar, or from the File...Export menu choice. Available exports depend on the working area within Logbook Pro; however, below is a list of the common export options per working area:

Data Entry Screens:

Microsoft Excel (.XLS)
Web HTML (.HTM)
Comma Separated Values (.CSV)
TAB Delimited Text (.TXT)

Reports:

Rich Text Format (.RTF)
Portable Document Format (.PDF)
Microsoft Excel (.XLS)
Web HTML (.HTM)
TAB Delimited Text (.TXT)
Logbook Pro Report Definition Format (.RDF)
Multi-Page TIFF Image (.TIF)

Graphs:

JPEG Bitmap (.JPEG)
Portable Network Graphic (.PNG)
Web Page HTML (.HTM)

For exporting to HTML (from Data Entry areas) that contain a large number of rows, i.e. logbook data, Logbook Pro will offer to break up the data into multiple HTML pages. This is recommended to reduce file size and low bandwidth viewing of data exported to large web files.




© 1998-2005 NC Software, Inc.
Click here for the most up-to-date help documentation online
Last Updated October 7, 2005



And that is about the limit of my tech savvy.
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