Log Book - Yawn!

On Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 11:52:27 AM UTC-6, Jeff Bures wrote:
For SCUBA I use my the paper log book for planning and recording details on-site before/after my dive. It is the 'permanent log' that I keep. At the end of my day or week, I upload my dive data (similar to IGC file from dive computer) to my digital log book and fill in details and notes. They both co-exist nicely together.

I was always under the impression that our paper log book was a 'legal document', containing necessary and required information.

I ask all this out of curiosity:

Do people not keep paper flight logs anymore?
What about students? Don't they need to record training notes, solo endorsements, etc?
What about a legal record of flight hours (in type, model, location, etc)? Do insurance companies, FAA, and commercial operations just trust us? They never say 'show me your log book'?
What about proof of BFR and other endorsements (like motorglider)?
Is IGC flight logging ubiquitous? Or just among rec.aviation.soaring participants?

Anyway, back to my original question. If you were to have a paper log book, what other pages might it include? What details on the 'flight log page' have I forgotten or be handy to add?

One of the thinks I've considered doing is to write important numbers/info on the front inside cover of my SSA log book, like important speed numbers for the different gliders I fly:

SGS 2-33 stall speed single place, best L/D single place, Vne
stall speed double place, best L/D double place
Grob 103 stall speed single place, best L/D single place, Vne
stall speed double place, best L/D double place
etc.

If you had a page that had something like that, I'd use it. Nice to have a quick reference you can look at before flying, without having to go through the POH to find and look it up each time you fly a different glider. This obviously would be more handy for those flying in a club environment where they weren't always flying their own glider all the time, but multiple different gliders.

I've been using a spread sheet for over 10 years and it holds everything
that I want and nothing that some designer wants me to have. It does
not have a pretty colored cover and no pages for a so called "cheat
sheet" since I don't carry a log book with me.

Oh, and I'm not from part of the "sensible world".

Dan
5J

On 5/7/21 9:42 PM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 5/7/2021 7:45 PM, Jeff Bures wrote:
Hi all.Â* Over the years I've always been disappointed by my soaring
log books.Â* I have the standard SSA long/skinny with 10 flights per
page, and tiny little spaces to write details.Â* The print is so small
I can barely read most it.Â* Forget trying to read the notes and
signatures of my instructors.Â* Yuck.

I'm not a professional pilot, and I don't fly thousands of hours a
year.Â* A compact log book that holds 400 flights is totally unnecessary.

I love my SCUBA log book.Â* I can do planning, keep track of my
equipment,Â* weight choices, weather, dive buddies, locations and
interesting happenings.Â* Filling out my SCUBA log book was part of the
fun.Â* It's time our log books become part of the experience.

I'm not a professional pilot, and I don't fly thousands of hours a
year.Â* A compact log book that holds 400 flights is totally unnecessary.

I'm designing a new log book interior.Â* I plan to have different
attractive covers, and will have them available to everyone.
Currently the design is 6" x 9" (15cm x 23cm for the sensible world).
Right now, I'm using a very large font, so there is room to add
additional features.

Layout:
Page 1 - Contact and Emergency Information, home field or club info
Page 2 - Ratings and FAI awards
Pages 3 & 4 - Endorsements
Page 5 - Cheat sheet with speeds and notes for different models (club
pilots)
Page 6 - Notes
Pages 7 through 156 - 150 flight log

Questions:
Are there other pages I should add, such as quick reference guides,
popular frequencies, etc.?
Feedback on the flight log page? https://flic.kr/p/2kXipYk

Thanks!

I'd prefer an electronic one where the data can be easily entered
(including a flight log), displayed/printed in several "logbook style"
formats, and searched. The entries should be easy to do on a smart
phone, though I'd probably use a computer to display/print, search, etc.

I think there may be logbook programs that do this. Have looked for them?