Pilot EFB is a personal, informational flight companion for iPhone and iPad. It keeps weather, NOTAMs, flight time limits, your logbook, briefings and a set of flight-deck utilities in one offline-first app. This chapter takes you from installing the app to a working Home dashboard.
How to install and set up the app
- Install Pilot EFB from the App Store. It is a free download.
- Open the app. The first screen is the safety disclaimer. Read it, tick the acceptance box underneath it, then tap Accept & continue (it stays disabled until the box is ticked). Acceptance is recorded once, with a timestamp, and does not reappear unless the terms materially change.
- On the welcome screen, choose how to continue:
- Get started continues as a guest. Everything lives on your device and you can add an account any time later.
- Sign in connects an existing account: your data backs up to it and restores on any device you sign into, and your free allowance follows the account.
- Create account, the link under the two buttons, sets up a free account straight away.
- Pick your role: airline, commercial, general aviation or student, or Mixed / not sure for the shortest path. It shapes which modules lead on your Home screen.
- Answer What would you like to do first? Pick one:
- Bring or start my logbook, then Import my existing logbook, Enter my opening totals or Start fresh.
- Set up my duty or roster. If you picked airline or commercial, one more screen asks for the duty rules the calculator needs.
- Check weather or use a tool, then Weather briefing or Tools desk.
- Just let me look around opens Home.
Everything else the app used to ask on day one - home base, your name, flying profile, licence and medical dates, carried-forward hours, theme and app lock, reminders - waits for you on Home (see the tip below). - On the You're ready screen, take the short guided tour of the main tabs, or tap the button that names where you are going: Open logbook import, Enter opening totals, Open Logbook, Open Duty, Open Weather, Open Tools, or Open Pilot EFB if you chose to look around. As a guest the button reads Continue and leads to a one-time Create account screen; Not now, open Pilot EFB declines it.
- You land on the screen you chose. Starting a logbook from scratch or setting up duties needs a free account; importing a logbook file does not.
Find your way around
The app is organised around five tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Home | Your dashboard: what is live now (an active flight or duty), weather at your home base, currency at a glance, and quick tools |
| Flight Brief | A briefing built around a flight: weather, NOTAMs and route information in one place |
| Duty | The flight time limitations module: duty log, live limits, calendar and planning. See Duty & FTL |
| Log | Your electronic logbook, hours and currency |
| Tools | Everything else: airports, converters, checklists, descent planning, reference material and more |
Everything not on a tab - airport detail pages, weather stations, the NOTAM workbench, settings - opens from inside these five. The gear in the Home header opens Settings, and the help menu in the Home header replays the guided tour.
How to set your home base
- Open Settings (the gear from Home).
- Go to Settings > General > Home base.
- Search for your default airport and select it.
Your home base drives the Home weather card and a lot of sensible defaults. You can also set it from the Make it yours checklist on Home.
How to choose your duty rules
- Open Settings > Pilot & aircraft > Your flying profile.
- On the Duty rules (FTL regime) card, pick EASA (ORO.FTL) or FAA (Part 117). The same card sets your usual crew complement, which pre-fills new duties.
The Duty tab also offers this the first time you open it.
Troubleshooting
I want to read the disclaimer again. The full text stays available at the foot of Settings and under Settings > Help & about > About Pilot EFB. It does not reappear at launch unless the terms materially change.
I skipped the tour. Replay it from Settings > Help & about > Help & onboarding, or from the help menu in the Home header.
I skipped setup steps and want to finish them. Open the Make it yours checklist on Home; each skipped item is listed there.
I cannot find the duty rules in Settings. Open Settings > Pilot & aircraft > Your flying profile and scroll to the Duty rules (FTL regime) card. With a general aviation or student profile the row's subtitle leaves duty rules out until you turn on Show all settings at the foot of the Settings hub, but the card is there either way.
Logging a flight or a duty sends me to sign in or to Pro. The free logbook and duty allowance needs a free account. Sign in or create one; anything you set up as a guest stays on the device.
Where next
- Duty & FTL - log duties and read your limits.
- Free vs Pro - what the subscription does and does not gate.
- The chapter list on the guide index covers every module as chapters are published.