Foreflight logbook review

[jsgro]

I have recently been searching for a good electronic logbook to use instead of hassling with my very messy paper logbook. I also felt having an electronic logbook would be an added layer of protection in case my paper one is lost or destroyed. I know there are many free versions out there that still "get the job done" but I wanted to choose something a bit more professional looking. When it comes down to it the simplest solution for an electronic logbook would to just create an excel spreadsheet and upload that to google drive or some other cloud service. During my search I briefly tried LogTen and another small provider that I cant remember which I liked but kept having trouble with cloud sync (which kind of defeated the purpose of electronic logbook imo). Earlier this year Foreflight released their version and since I hadn't 100% committed to any provider yet I decided to give it a shot. I already use foreflight pro for work so it seemed like a no-brainer. Over the last couple weeks of using it I have tried to build a list of things I liked and disliked about it. Thought I would share with you some of those thoughts later in the comments session.

I would also like to add before I start that I am no expert on ForeFlight so if you have a fix for something Icomplained about then share

 

[RV8JD]

Actually, ForeFlight’s logbook feature has been out for many years now. I use it and like it.

 

[jsgro]

The Good

By FAR my favorite part of having my electronic logbook with ForeFlight is the consolidation. I now can take recorded flights or flight plans and import them directly to my logbook. After a few adjustments to maybe aircraft specifications (which it will remember later) or the type of time I can put approve and go. I do have some small grievances with this feature that Ill touch on later. LogTen does have a similar features with the ability to locate you via the device you're using but like I said, consolidation. Being able to do that without changing programs is a plus for me. It is likely not much of a plus for the ATP crowd because they don't have a need for Foreflight. With how the Foreflight team has made it part of the PRO subscription it doesn't seem like pilots flying at the level are really the target audience of Foreflight yet.

The logbook does offer several different options for dividing up the time that you have in their Experience reports. Between ASEL and AMEL or between types of engines. It does show you how much you have of PIC in each of those categories too. All of these are nice things but I think we can agree its expected for a product like this to have these kinds of things.

I also enjoy how they have a certain "catalog" for options when inputing different items such as Approach type and being able to "tag" flights as things like checkride IPC or otherwise. That does make things a lot easier for choosing things.

There are several other small things that I really like but I wont go over them one by one I just wanted to emphasize some things I liked..

Overall I feel like it satisfies the major requirements in order to be a good competitor in the electronic logbook market. Things like having lots of options while filling out log entries and being able to add certifications are things that I expected from this and it completely fulfilled them. That being said I don't think they are utilizing their full potential so I do have some suggestions.