The Log tab is your logbook. It lives on your device, it works without a connection, and every total it shows can be traced back to the entries behind it. The line at the foot of each screen, "Personal record only.", is the module's standing framing: this is your personal record, not your operator's system and not a legal document.
Find your way around
The Log tab has one segmented control at the top:
| Segment | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Totals | Your hours - overall, by window, by type, by category - plus milestones |
| Entries | Every entry, grouped by month, with search and filters |
| Currency | Recency rules with their live status, and the record health check |
| Map | Your flying as a route map, with distance and records |
The header holds the rest: your all-time total under the title, the career
summary (trophy icon), logbook settings (gear icon), the entry menu (the
... button, shown on the Totals and Entries segments) and the +
button that starts a new entry.
How to log a flight
- On the Log tab, tap +. (For an empty form instead, open the
...menu and choose New entry (blank form).) - Check the Sector line. With smart defaults on, the date, aircraft type, registration and route are pre-filled from your recent flying; your recent types sit one tap away as chips.
- Enter the Times: off-blocks and on-blocks. Tap Now (Z) to stamp the current minute. Add wheels-off and wheels-on if you record air time. Block and air time are worked out as you type, and the readout at the top of the form keeps a running block and landing count.
- Count the landings and approaches: take-offs and landings with day and night separate, full-stop landings on their own line, and instrument approaches with holds. A suggestion chip offers the day/night split for your route and time.
- Add conditions and crew: night, IFR, cross-country and instrument time, your role (PIC, SIC, PICUS and the rest), and who you flew with.
- Tap Save entry.
How to log a multi-sector day faster
- Save & new sector. At the foot of the form, tap Save & new sector instead of Save entry. The leg is saved and the next form opens with the arrival airport, aircraft and crew already filled in.
- Templates. On the form, tap Save as template to remember an aircraft, route and role you fly often. Next time, pick the template at the top of the form.
- Log again. In the Entries list, swipe an entry to the right to start a new one pre-filled from it.
How to log a simulator session
- Tap + to start an entry.
- At the top of the form, switch Flight to Simulator.
- Enter the training location, the device type (FFS, FTD, FNPT or ATD), the device identity and what the session covered.
- Tap Save entry.
Simulator time totals separately: the SIM tile counts it and the flight totals exclude it.
How to change which fields the form shows
The first time you log, a layout picker asks whether you fly airline, general aviation or want everything. To change it later:
- Open Settings > Logbook & currency > Logbook settings.
- Under Entry form, tap Entry fields and pick the field groups you want.
When some field groups are hidden, the foot of the entry form says how many, with Configure entry fields, which opens the same screen.
How to read your totals
- Open the Totals segment.
- Pick a window pill: 7 days, 28 days, 6 months, 12 months or all time. Every tile recomputes for that window. Pro The rolling windows are Pro; all-time is free.
- Scroll the stat tiles. A tile appears only once it has something to count: night, IFR, approaches, holds, autolands, instrument time, multi-engine and turbine time, and more.
- Further down, Hours by type Pro draws one bar per aircraft type, and the analyze card breaks time down by operation type and airframe class. Entries missing a field show as "Not recorded" rather than being guessed.
- The milestone row in the hero is a button. Tap it to aim the dial at the next career rung, one of your saved goals, a custom hour figure, or to hide it.
How to add hours from before Pilot EFB
- Open the Totals segment and scroll to the foot.
- Tap Add pre-Pilot EFB career totals.
- Enter your carried-forward hours by category and save.
These hours join your totals but never your currency windows: the app cannot know when each pre-app landing happened, and says so rather than guessing.
How to find, filter and edit entries
The Entries segment lists every entry by calendar month, newest first.
- Search the box at the top. It reaches aircraft, airports, crew names and remarks.
- Filter from the
...menu with Filter entries (date, aircraft, airport or role). Tap Save current filter to keep the set as a Smart Group chip above the list. - Edit by tapping an entry to open its detail view, then the pencil. Locked, signed entries say so on the row.
- Bulk edit with Select entries in the
...menu: edit, duplicate or delete several at once, with a preview of what changes before anything is written.
How to restore a deleted entry
- Open the
...menu on the Log tab. - Under Recover, tap Recently deleted.
- Tap Restore beside the entry.
The list shows what you deleted in the last 30 days. Right after a delete, the undo toast is faster still.
How to undo an edit or restore an earlier version
- Save an edited entry. The confirmation, "Entry updated", carries Undo for five seconds.
- To go back further, open the entry and scroll past its signature section to Version history. Each row shows when the change was made, whether it was Edited or Restored, and which fields changed.
- Tap Restore on a row and confirm. The version you replace stays in the history, so you can put it back the same way.
A locked, signed entry refuses a restore until you unlock it. The history stays on this device and keeps at least the newest 50 versions of each entry.
How to check your recency
- Open the Currency segment.
- Read the hero: it names your most urgent rule and whether you are current.
- Each rule card shows its count, status and next expiry. Tap a card to see the entries that qualify.
The built-in rules count take-offs and landings over the last 90 days and night landings over the last 90 days; the FAA set adds instrument approaches over 6 calendar months. A rule the app cannot evaluate reads Not tracked and says why, for example when none of your flights carries an aircraft category and class. A rule that does not apply to you reads Does not apply, such as the EASA night rule when you hold an instrument rating. To add your own rule, for example a type-specific landing rule, tap Add currency rule.
Pro Your most urgent rule is always in view. The full grid of rules, the full list on the Recency horizon and the health check findings are Pro.
To see what lapses next: scroll to the Recency horizon card and drag the handle to any day in the next 12 months, or type a date under Or jump to any date. The card shows how many rules are current, expiring or lapsed on that day, with count chips such as "already lapsed" and "beyond 12 months", and marks each rule lapse (a bar) and each licence or check expiry (a diamond) on the track. Pro Below that, the rules on that day, Licences & checks on that day and the lapse timeline for the next 12 months.
How to run the health check
- Open the Currency segment and tap Logbook health check.
- Read the summary: how many entries were scanned and how many findings there are, split into contradictions, review suggested and incomplete records.
- Switch between By issue and By entry to work through the findings. Each one says which field is wrong and what to change.
- Tap Fix to open the entry at that field, or tap the checkmark to mark a finding as reviewed.
The check looks for gaps and contradictions: a landing with no landing time, night time longer than block, a field left empty that your other entries record. It is advisory only and the screen says so.
How to see your flying on the map
Open the Map segment. Every logged route is drawn as a great-circle track around your home base, with nautical miles flown, airports and countries visited, and records such as your longest leg and busiest route.
How to import from another logbook
- Export a CSV from your current logbook app or spreadsheet.
- In Pilot EFB, open Settings > Logbook & currency > Logbook settings and tap Import CSV.
- File: tap Pick CSV file and choose it (up to 10 MB). ForeFlight, LogTen Pro, mccPILOTLOG and Pilot EFB's own export are recognised automatically.
- Map: check that each column matches the right Pilot EFB field and fix any that did not match.
- Review: read the dry-run summary. Duplicates are flagged and nothing has been written yet.
- Done: confirm. The import is committed in one transaction, and a receipt counts what the file held and what was imported, skipped as a duplicate or rejected. Every receipt stays under Import receipts in Logbook settings, with Correct and re-import if a file needs fixing.
How to build entries from your duties
If you already keep your duties in the Duty tab:
- Open Settings > Logbook & currency > Logbook settings.
- Tap Build from duties.
- Review the draft entries built from your duty sectors, adjust any you need to, and confirm. Nothing is created until you do.
How to export or share your logbook
- On the Log tab, open the
...menu. - Under Add & export, pick a format:
| Export | What it makes |
|---|---|
| Export CSV | All entries or a filtered set, in Pilot EFB, ForeFlight, LogTen Pro or mccPILOTLOG dialects - free |
| Export PDF Pro | A formatted logbook in the layout you pick - Standard (FAA / EASA), which matches your duty regime, Professional (airline-style) or US professional (the 61.51 column layout) - printed as one book: a cover with a contents list, a running head with "Page n of N" counted across the whole document, and the ledger filling each sheet edge to edge |
| Experience report Pro | A career summary for job applications, section by section |
| Report profiles Pro | A PDF shaped for its reader - Airline application, Insurance renewal or Authority recency - checked for missing evidence first; render anyway and the gaps are listed in an Evidence gaps appendix |
| 8710 summary Pro | Category and class experience arranged for the FAA 8710-1 form |
| Share summary Pro | Plain text totals for a message or email - your name excluded by default |
- Share or save the file from the iOS share sheet.
How to track goals and career stats Pro
- From the Totals segment, tap Insights.
- Tap Add goal, set an hours target, and watch your pace toward it.
- Scroll for the career-total chart, hours by role, fleet mix, conditions and approaches by type.
The trophy icon in the Log header opens the career summary: the same record condensed into stat tiles, milestones and a year in review. Near its foot, Qualification pathways sets your logged experience against a licence's published experience rules - FAA Private Pilot - Airplane Single-Engine Land so far. It quotes the regulation, shows which flights count, and never tells you that you are eligible.
On iPad
The Totals segment deals its cards into a multi-column board: the hero, window pills and tile grid lead full-width, and the per-type bars, records and milestones sit beside each other. The other segments keep the iPhone layout at full width.
Free vs Pro in the Logbook
The right-hand column is included in the free allowance until you have logged 300 hours in the app while signed in. After that, or when you are signed out, it needs Pro.
| Always free | Free up to 300 logged hours, then Pro |
|---|---|
| View and edit your entries, with version history | Logging new entries |
| All-time totals and stat tiles | Rolling 7-day to 12-month windows, hours by type |
| Your most urgent currency rule and the Recency horizon scrubber | The full currency grid and the Recency horizon's full list |
| Search, filters, Smart Groups, Recently deleted | Health check findings |
| CSV import and CSV export in every dialect | PDF logbook, experience report, report profiles, 8710 summary, share summary |
| The Map segment | Insights, goals and career charts |
Troubleshooting
A rule shows lapsed but I flew recently. Check the entries carry the evidence the rule needs. Under the FAA rules that means full-stop night landings for the night rule and approaches with holding and course tracking for the instrument rule. Carry-forward totals never count toward currency.
A rule says Not tracked. The card names what it is missing, for example an aircraft category and class on your flights, and where to set it. Once your entries carry it, the rule counts.
My hours from before the app do not change my currency. That is by design: the app cannot know when each pre-app landing happened, so carried-forward hours join your totals only.
Tapping a rolling window shows a locked preview. You are signed out, or past the 300 logged hours of the free allowance. The 7-day to 12-month windows are then part of Pro; the all-time window is always available.
I reached 300 logged hours. Existing entries stay viewable, editable and exportable. Logging new entries, and the features marked Pro in this chapter, need Pro.
Where next
- Duty & FTL - log duties and read your flight time limits; Build from duties connects the two.
- Home - the Flight hours card and the logbook health nudge on the dashboard.
- Free vs Pro - the exact caps and what the subscription unlocks.