Why and How to Collect Your Flight Data in a Flight Log Book

Log Book

There are many items you can keep as a memorabilia from your flights – boarding passes, safety cards, waste bags, and so on. Another collectible – an intangible one – is a log of data about the flights you take. Turn it into a tangible thing with a log book!

What is a Log Book and Why to Keep It?

Generally, log book is a notebook with data about a certain thing – in this case about the flights you take.

Pilots have log books where they record the flights they do and the flight hours they fly. Similarly, some enthusiasts make log books with flights they take.

In my case, I have a custom made log sheet that I print separately for each flight that contains basic flight data such as the departure and arrival airport, important times (scheduled departure and arrival, off and on blocks, take-off and landing), cruise altitude, etc.

There are two reasons I keep the log book – one is data. It is nice to have a log of flights that contains more than just the very basic information.

Another reason, arguably even more important one, is that it is a good way to start interacting with the crew and it often results in being given some extra perks such as receiving memorabilia to take home or even in cockpit visits. In extreme cases it can even help you get into a cockpit in-flight. (Yes, sometimes it still is possible!)

How to Fill Your Log Book?

Since the cabin crew is busy during the flight, fill as much of your log book sheet as possible by yourself.

You should be able to fill the date, departure airport, arrival airport, scheduled departure and arrival times, etc.

After you fill out the available information, it’s time to hand it to the cabin crew.

Taking a step back, do not forget to write your seat number on the sheet so that the cabin crew can bring it back to you.

While everyone takes a different approach, I suggest handing the log book to one of the cabin crew members, preferably the chief purser shortly after the meal service.

Explain to the crew member that you are an aviation enthusiast and as a hobby you collect data about your flights, and ask if the log book could be handed out to the Captain to be filled out. Also, mention that if the Captain is too busy it would be nice if the cabin crew filled in some of the details.

From time to time, the crew might not accept the log book, but in vast majority of cases, they will.

How to Make Your Log Book?

You can use Word or Excel or anything similar to make a form-like sheet that will contain the information you want to gather.

For some people, things like the number of passengers and crew member names are important while for others, technical data like take-off weight and V1 speed are important.

Below is a list of some fields that you might want to consider adding to your log book:

  • Off and on blocks time
  • Take-off and landing time
  • Take-off and landing runway
  • Departure and arrival gate
  • Cockpit crew member names
  • Cabin crew member names
  • Cruise altitude
  • Ground speed
  • Passenger count
  • Take-off weight
  • Message from the crew

Remember, though, the crew is busy, and so please be considerate and don’t put too many fields on the sheet.

KN Aviation Original Log Book

Over time, I have met many people that wanted to make a log book, but did not want to go through the hassle of designing the sheets or printing them.

As such, I prepared a special notebook – “My Flight Log” – which is a ready made solution for keeping your flight log.

One log book can fit 19 flights, and it has a title page that includes your name and contact information as well as as your message to crew. The last page is an index page where you can list the 19 flights in the log book as well as mention the number of the log book.

The log book is $10 including worldwide shipping. In case you fly often, you can also purchase them in a pack of three ($25) and five ($38).

You can find out more about the log book here.

…and a peek inside the log book…

Cover
Cover: If there is considerable interest in the first version of the log book, more options will be available.
First Page
Introduction: The first page has space where you can put your name and contact information as well as leave a message for the crew.
Log Sheet
Log Sheet: The main part of the log book – one spread per flight containing some of the basic flight data.
Index
Index: The last page has an index table to list all of the flights in the log book as well as a “Logbook No.” field so that you can keep track of your log books as your collection grows.

 

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