Scudrunners

Updating my logbook today* and appreciating the Colonel’s tip to start a new page at the beginning of each year so I can easily calculate hours flown per calendar year. Yes, excel or something could do it but I like having a physical logbook.

*and yesterday. Jesus this is a lot of work when you leave it over a year and fly for at least three organizations to have to reconcile. Learn from my fail.

I use a free excel I grabbed from a guy about 20 years ago. I’ve largely modified it using simple calculations.
With that said, I stopped recording in the paper logbook for a few reasons (Middle East deployment). Didn’t want to bring it with me, it would have been destroyed or nearly so when hauling it across the Heaven scenes in my sea-bag. 2. Operational security… I didn’t want Johnny Jihad stealing my stuff and finding a pattern of where and when I fly.

I could keep up with my excel logbook, so to your point, when I got back I didn’t bother with the paper logbook anymore. Because it’s a pain in the ass to go back a year.



Now I will say this:
When I die either a timely or untimely death, I’ve always thought it was cool the idea of passing flying logbooks down to the kids. I’m not shit hot, and I’m not saying I deserve a slice of a corner in a museum; but the logbook could display a few stories.
Like when I delayed the Iraqi PM from landing at an LZ to declare victory over ISIS. He was supposed to be on site for a live news broadcast in the streets of Mosul, for the evening news. Well, dear ol’ Nark’s flight was delayed and the PM hand to circle overhead until we departed.
Hilarious, at least on my end, radio traffic during that one…

Others, more personal to me. Medical Evac’s or chatting with a CF General about when he commissioned a 2LT at CFB Chilliwack, at the time I was in Middle School across the street. (Aerial chats while flying over the Iraqi desert)
It’s really hard to bring those stories through, from the computer screen.

Striking off the page at the end of December works for me. I take a picture of
that and email it to myself. I have 25 years of that and could easily reconstruct.

I know I'm a luddite but I still use paper logbooks. I have a shelf of them. What
I found helped was when I got busy, was daily totals. Ok, maybe weekly totals.
Try not to slip to monthly totals.

I keep them in my gun safe. Some of the photos I stapled into my logbooks
decades ago, of planes and friends that are no longer with us, are some of my
most precious possessions. I've gone back and taken photos of them.

Like this one. Flying the P-51D (TF-51) in FL in 1992



On my way to OSH, around the same time.



Delivering a C-185 to Colorado, just south of Leadville.



Gary Ward and the monks on the ramp at Key West



My grandfather's logbook from War One. Glad he didn't use a spreadsheet.



He and his brother were in the RFC. The RAF was formed April 1, 1918
and combined the RFC and RNAS. Ever wonder where their brilliant blue
uniforms came from? Well, the Russian Czar ordered a bunch of linen
for the Cossack uniforms but that purchase went south after the Romanovs
met their end in a basement. So, the thrifty English government gave the
undelivered blue linen to the RAF. Next time you see one, be sure and
compliment him on his Cossack uniform :^)

I’m with Nark on using a paper logbook to pass on to your descendants; I remember a buddy of mine showing me his grand dad’s log book from back in the 40’s and 50’s.

I like to record the details of interesting flights in mine in the hopes that one day my kids or grand kids will read it. I usually record a fair bit of detail (2-3 lines worth) for each SAR mission; Things like the search object, Lat/Long where it was found, what was dropped to them in terms of personnel/supplies, and number of people eventually extracted. If nothing else it jogs my memory when I read it and brings back some good memories.

When you start flying, your pilot logbook is for the purpose of other people, so that they will sign off on your PPL, IFR, CPL, etc.

But after you get your ATP and what you think is your last job (ho ho) then your logbook is for you alone.



Many people stop logging at this point, and that’s ok. But I’m kind of fond of the memories. Good times with good people.

My Dad’s older brother didn’t have any kids. He died years ago. The only thing remaining in this world of him, is his logbook which I have and will keep forever.

Keep a paper logbook. Every once in a while staple a really great photo into it. After you’re dead, it will tell your story.



Scribble a note on the back of the photo with the date, place and people. That's Dear Old Dad
(in his 90's now - TC said he should have died 20 years ago) in the left seat of his M20J with
Lorna DeBlicquy in the right seat. Me flying formation in the Maule.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorna_deBlicquy

I liked Lorna, and we got along great, despite the fact that one of my ancestors killed one
of her ancestors. Oops.

I really should start sticking pictures in my logbooks. While I’m boring, I’m not as boring as some of my peers.

Hey. You fly cool airplanes. The really great thing about cool airplanes is the weird characters you meet flying them.

Be sure to get both in your pictures.

I remember meeting Oonagh Elliot at the TC district office. I wan in there with my logbook getting a type rating signed off. She looked at my logbook and said, “Ooh - I’d like to get my hands on that”. I think she was joking, so I asked her what I’d been up to lately.