Checking the Logbook

We all probably know somebody who did it and didn't get caught, and that sucks I guess, but my logbook is the story of my life, so there aren't any lies. Ask away!

Now if I could just figure out the .2 discrepancy in my cross country time though.

Lol I hear that!
 
At my Skywest interview, I had two or three guys look through my logbook. Only one asked me questions on some flights. Specifically, I remember him asking me about 121 duty regs, and then saying "So what happened here?" and pointing at a day I had logged 8.2 hours.
My response: "Well, as I said earlier, I've only ever done Part 91 flying, so that's completely legal as duty regs don't apply. It was just a long day with bad winds."
His response: "Oh. Right." *flip...flip...*

To be honest, I was actually kind of surprised he caught even that. I had just expected them to look at the last page, flip to a few random pages to make sure nothing glaringly obvious was wrong, and be done with it.

I'm surprised he asked. 8.2 hours plus is completely legal in 121 flying. Legal to start, legal to finish. You don't have to do a leg by leg check of your daily flying as it occurs to ensure 8 hours is not exceeded.
 
I'm surprised he asked. 8.2 hours plus is completely legal in 121 flying. Legal to start, legal to finish. You don't have to do a leg by leg check of your daily flying as it occurs to ensure 8 hours is not exceeded.

An augmented crew can well exceed 8 hours scheduled block as well. I make a note in my logbook whenever we're augmented in order to avoid those questions down the road in case I run into an interviewer who's unfamiliar with how that all works. :)
 
My take on the logbook thing is this:

1. The interviewer has to hire someone who meets their mins and has no idea where you've been (everybody has letters and numbers in there).

2. Most places want specific experience mins and will use a simple formula to quickly subtract the time you marked that is useless to them. The most common is PIC. I mark PIC in my logbook as when I was actually in charge. I assume most interviewers either don't care and/or already know that I fly half 121 legs.

Most people will have small errors. That shouldn't be a big deal. When a hiring official finds a big issue when they apply their formula, they will want to find out why the math isnt right. Beyond that, I think the "check your logbook" thing is a lot of worry for nothing for those who have checked their math.
 
My take on the logbook thing is this:

1. The interviewer has to hire someone who meets their mins and has no idea where you've been (everybody has letters and numbers in there).

2. Most places want specific experience mins and will use a simple formula to quickly subtract the time you marked that is useless to them. The most common is PIC. I mark PIC in my logbook as when I was actually in charge. I assume most interviewers either don't care and/or already know that I fly half 121 legs.
Who the F logs PF time differently than PM time?
 
When you start the the Eagle interview, you hand over your logbook along with all your paperwork.One guy will go through your logbook, and you get it back at the start of the tech portion.

One of my buddies had a replacement logbook (original was lost) and was questioned extensively about that.

They also don't seem to like printouts from electronic logbooks, although they grudgingly accepted mine.
 
I remember that most pilot jobs were never to interested in the specifics of every page of my logbook. The important items were the checkride dates and different aircraft I'd flown.
 
2. Most places want specific experience mins and will use a simple formula to quickly subtract the time you marked that is useless to them. The most common is PIC. .

Interesting. I don't recall the companies off the top of my head, but I definitely recall several of them recently listing a minimum of 500 hrs PIC with either 1000 or 1200 TT. I didn't apply with them because I'm still well short of the 1000 TT.
 
When you start the the Eagle interview, you hand over your logbook along with all your paperwork.One guy will go through your logbook, and you get it back at the start of the tech portion.

One of my buddies had a replacement logbook (original was lost) and was questioned extensively about that.

They also don't seem to like printouts from electronic logbooks, although they grudgingly accepted mine.

Well, I'd suggest they get with the times. The 80's are long gone and electronic logbooks are FAR superior, in just about every way....more accurate, neater, much easier to break down times, etc.....

Also, in my most recent interviews, one company reviewed my logbook (neatly printed electronic) and asked a few questions about specifics contained within. The other didn't even want you to bring a logbook. So, I'd say it varies by company.... By the time you reach this level, it's obvious you can pass a checkride; and it seemed to me they're more interested in the "who are you" type of interview anyway. Numbers in a book are just that, numbers, and they don't really say much about the person. YMMV
 
Well, I'd suggest they get with the times. The 80's are long gone and electronic logbooks are FAR superior, in just about every way....more accurate, neater, much easier to break down times, etc.....

No doubt. I haven't logged any real totals in my paper logbook since 2007.
 
Interesting. I don't recall the companies off the top of my head, but I definitely recall several of them recently listing a minimum of 500 hrs PIC with either 1000 or 1200 TT. I didn't apply with them because I'm still well short of the 1000 TT.

Why not? If you are physically and electronically (the software will accept your application) able, why not? Do it! Let the hiring officials decide what to do with you. Like Doug and others say, start NOW!
 
Up till now, I've been doing that-and on the rare occasions when I'd get a response, it would be "Please keep your resume updated and reapply when you meet our 1000 (or 1200) hour TT minimums". Gee, only 400 hours to go.
 
Up till now, I've been doing that-and on the rare occasions when I'd get a response, it would be "Please keep your resume updated and reapply when you meet our 1000 (or 1200) hour TT minimums". Gee, only 400 hours to go.

400 hours won't take long once you get going, trust me!
 
I remember those days. 400 hours almost doubled my time. I didn't go to a quickie school, so the idea of flying more than 3 hours a week was down right alien to me. Eventually, that will change for you. The thing about flying is, the more you get yourself out there, the more people you meet and you can get more opportunity. When I got out of the Air Force, I was lucky enough to have someone mention my greased elbow to a colleague and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in my future boss's office, talking about how to keep a King Air 200 and Citation VII clean. That led to a right seat opportunity, which led to some contacts 500 miles away, which led to more contacts and an impromptu interview later on. Now, on paper, all I have is some bills I paid off and 30 hours of King Air PIC, but I met some people that I still keep in touch with today. Most of them are still in aviation. Heck, a couple weeks ago a chief pilot I know asked me to find someone to "look at" for a possible hiring. Right away I knew who could fit in there. The guy had no idea why I was calling. I would have never called him had he not gotten the courage to introduce himself to me when he was working on his private. We probably never would have met. Now, he has an opportunity with a fortune 500 company all because he made me a contact. I had no clue who he was. He wasn't a student of mine. He just came up and started talking to me one day. I moved on to a different job and when I came back to visit, HE was working as a flight instructor. We reconnected and that propelled him into "I'll remember this guy" status with me. We've been friends ever since. It doesn't happen overnight. Sorry for the thread drift but I kinda feel like it needs to be said by more people around here. Get yourself out there. Apply earlier than you think you should. Like Doug and others say on here, follow up and get your mug out in public. People will remember you. It's been proven time and time again that if you keep up with the right people, they will seek you out when they need to fill a vacancy. One step at a time. Start with that application and maybe a walk-in follow up. Maybe that will only lead to a moppin of a hangar floor and not 1,000 TPIC Multi, well not directly, but maybe you'll impress someone else or meet a future boss or something.
 
I went through the long process of getting the 8710 hours columns right each time given the logbook columns and the FAA categories differ, but figured out that DAY+NIGHT airplane time should equal total time, as should ASEL+AMEL, and now keep track with that as a backup. Currently on 747 landings as it happens...

Alex.
 
The only place that checked my logbook was ExpressJet. Everywhere else has had at least some level of professionalism.
 
Somewhat related, I was wondering how all the other RJ pukes (or others who do many flights in one day) organize their logbook.

I recently went into my ATP ride and both of the instructors I showed my logbook to said I was "doing it wrong" yet I ended up getting my ATP. Most of the people in my groundschool were like "I do that too...never heard any issues."

I organize mine by date or by ship, whichever changes first. I'll have one entry with the tail number, multiple flight numbers, and destinations listed XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX.

Has anyone ever had any issues like this? I have a feeling its just people in the training department who don't get out much.
 
Back
Top