How to Fill Out a Logbook for Flying

Record the date, route of flight, aircraft type and aircraft identification number in the appropriate columns. Use three-letter codes to indicate departure and arrival airports. List the make and model of your aircraft.

Record flight hours under the appropriate aircraft category and class. General aviation pilots usually calculate flight time as the duration between engine start and shutdown. Aircraft used for training often have a meter that displays elapsed time for each flight.

Record flight hours under the appropriate type of pilot training or experience. Log hours you fly with a flight instructor as dual time. Log pilot-in-command time when you are the only person manipulating the flight controls. Log flights in which you land at an airport at least 50 miles away as cross-country time.

Record time flown under simulated instrument conditions. Include the hours you fly while wearing a hood or goggles that restrict your view of the flight instruments.

Log night flying time. For the purpose of meeting certificate requirements, the FAA defines night as the time between evening civil twilight and morning civil twilight. Obtain the official times for your location from the website of the United States Naval Observatory.

Ensure that your flight instructor completes and signs a logbook entry after each dual instruction flight. This must include a description of the training session, your instructor's certificate number and the certificate's expiration date. Complete your own logbook entries when you fly solo as a student pilot.

Create a flying diary by recording personal details of your flights. Include information on passengers, weather conditions and what you did at your destination. Use the empty space on your logbook page for this information, or add a note to your electronic records. Bring your logbook to life with photos and other mementos of your journeys.