On Friday, March 6, 2015 at 12:32:38 PM UTC-5, Bob Pasker wrote:
thanks, most helpful answer yet. i'm not ready to do distance, just altitude gain and duration, so I don't yet have to worry about the declaration.

I'd recommend that you get used to doing declarations on every flight; then, when Silver Distance day comes, it will be a habit, and not another detail on what will be a hectic day. If you get in the habit of inserting declarations and downloading the files, you will be able to analyze your flying against others ("how did she stay up when I could not?") and gain OLC points (OLC is a great place to store flights for later).

Paper declarations are good for initial attempts; however, the table in Appendix 2 to Annex C of the Sporting Code indicates you don't need one for Silver Height or Duration - just fly the flight and download the file for the Height, and use either the file or a Certificate of Continuous Observation for the Duration...

Annex C is very readable. Recommended reading.