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Logging a Flight

This is the canonical end-to-end walkthrough for logging a flight in the pilot logbook. For the higher-level overview see Pilot Logbook.

When to log

Right after you tie down. While the flight details are still fresh. The form takes 30–60 seconds for a typical entry; if you're disciplined about doing this immediately you'll never have a "what airport did I land at last week" moment.

Getting to the form

  • Web: Pilot Logbook tile → + Log Flight in the top-right
  • Mobile: Pilot Logbook tile → + floating action button (bottom-right)

Required fields

Date

Defaults to today (local time). Adjust if you're back-logging.

Aircraft (N-number)

Type to autocomplete from your aircraft list. The dropdown shows your favorites first (starred), then recently flown aircraft, then alphabetical.

If the aircraft isn't in your list, Add Aircraft opens the aircraft profile form. Add it once; it's there for every future flight.

Aircraft Type (Make/Model)

Auto-populated from the aircraft. Override only if you really need to (e.g., you're logging a flight in someone else's aircraft that isn't in your profile).

Route

Free-form, but the convention is KZPH-KORL (departure, dash, arrival) or KZPH-KSPG-KZPH for a triangle.

You can use either ICAO (KZPH) or local IDs (ZPH). AZSuite normalizes them to ICAO behind the scenes. Don't mix and match within one route field.

Total time

Block-to-block in tenths of an hour. The Hobbs reading at engine-off minus Hobbs reading at engine-start. Not the same as flight time (wheels-up to wheels-down) — Total Time is what the FAA wants in your logbook.

If you're using engine-monitor data (or a track recorder), AZSuite can suggest a Total Time from the engine-on duration. You can accept the suggestion or override.

Landings

Day landings + night landings as separate fields. A "landing" by FAA definition includes go-arounds and touch-and-goes. A full-stop counts the same as a touch-and-go.

For currency tracking (3 takeoffs and landings within 90 days) AZSuite uses these fields directly.

Time distribution

Total Time is the umbrella; the following are subsets of it:

  • PIC (Pilot-in-Command) — when you're acting as PIC under FAR 1.1
  • SIC (Second-in-Command) — non-PIC required-crew time
  • Solo — required for some certificates and currency
  • Dual Received — instruction received from a CFI
  • Dual Given — instruction given (CFI logging)
  • Cross-Country — by FAA definition, > 50 NM straight-line departure to destination (different rules for ATP and CFI minimums)
  • Night — sunset + 1 hr to sunrise - 1 hr (most jurisdictions)
  • Actual Instrument — IMC time
  • Simulated Instrument — under-the-hood / sim with safety pilot
  • Hood — synonym for simulated instrument in some logs

These overlap. Total = 1.5 hr, PIC = 1.5, XC = 1.5, Night = 0.4 means you were PIC the whole time, the flight was cross-country, and 0.4 hr of it was after sunset.

AZSuite never adds these together for you — they're all different views of the same Total Time block.

Approaches and holds

For instrument pilots, log:

  • Approach count — number of instrument approaches flown
  • Approach type — ILS, LPV, LNAV, RNAV (RNP), VOR, NDB, GPS, etc.
  • Approach result — full stop / circling / low approach / missed
  • Holds — number of published holds entered

The 6-month currency window (6 approaches + 1 hold within 6 months) auto-tracks based on these fields.

Conditions

VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR. If you attach a track and AZSuite can match the arrival METAR, this auto-fills.

Remarks

Free text. Use it for:

  • Things you want to remember: "First flight after annual; new fuel filter"
  • Lessons learned: "Bounced the landing — flare too early"
  • Tags: #crosswind #ifrtraining #scenicflight — searchable later

There's no length limit but practical guidance: keep it tight enough that you'll actually re-read it years later.

Save vs. Save and Log Track

Two save buttons at the bottom:

  • Save — saves the entry, returns to the list
  • Save and Log Track — saves the entry, opens a track-upload modal so you can attach a recorded flight

Use Save and Log Track when:

  • You flew with a Stratux + track recorder running
  • You logged the flight in ForeFlight and have a KML to upload
  • Your aircraft has a Garmin G5 / G3X / Dynon HDX from which you have a CSV

Use Save when:

  • You don't have a track for this flight
  • You're back-logging from old paper records

The track is optional — entries are perfectly valid without one. Adding a track later is easy via the entry detail page.

Saving — what happens

When you save:

  1. The entry is INSERTed into flight_entries
  2. Per-flight totals roll up into your career totals (visible on the totals card)
  3. If a track was attached, the track file goes to object storage and a flight_track_points row chain is created
  4. The entry appears at the top of the logbook list

Editing later

You can edit any field on any entry at any time. Click the entry, then Edit. Same form, pre-filled.

The system tracks updated_at per entry — useful for diagnosing sync conflicts on mobile.

Bulk operations

For mass back-logging (e.g., transcribing a paper logbook), AZSuite has a CSV import in the admin/owner area. Format: one row per entry, columns matching the form fields. Saves you typing 200 entries one at a time.