> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.flylogs.com/fcom/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.flylogs.com/fcom/aircraft/aircraft-logbook.md).

# Aircraft logbook

Every aircraft in Flylogs keeps an automatic, read-only audit trail of its cumulative flight hours and landings. This is the **Aircraft Logbook**, made up of individual **aircraft log** entries.

You can find it on the aircraft detail page, under the **Logbook** tab.

### What is an aircraft log entry?

Each aircraft log entry is a snapshot of the aircraft's total flight time and landings at a point in time. Entries are never edited or deleted — they form a permanent history of how the aircraft's total time has progressed.

There are three types of aircraft log entries:

| Type                          | Created                                                                                                   | What it means                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Setup / Logbook reference** | Manually, when the aircraft is created (or via "Reset aircraft hours")                                    | Establishes the aircraft's baseline hours and landings, e.g. "this aircraft has 1234.5 hours and 567 landings as of today" |
| **Flight**                    | Automatically, every time a pilot saves a completed flight                                                | Records the flight's block time and landings, and the aircraft's new cumulative totals after that flight                   |
| **Maintenance**               | Automatically, when a maintenance job affects aircraft totals (e.g. an overhaul or component replacement) | Adjusts the aircraft's hours/landings to reflect the maintenance event                                                     |

You never create Flight or Maintenance entries by hand — they appear automatically as flights are flown and maintenance is recorded.

### What you see in the Logbook tab

For each row in the logbook table:

* **Date** — when the log entry was created, shown in your company's timezone and date/time format.
* **Flight reference** — for Flight-type entries, a link to the flight (callsign and route, e.g. `ABC123 KJFK → KLAX`). For Setup entries, a "Logbook reference" badge is shown instead.
* **Time** — the flight's block time added by this entry (only for Flight-type entries).
* **Total time** — the aircraft's cumulative flight hours after this entry. This column is always filled in.

Landings and cumulative landings are tracked the same way, alongside hours.

Hovering a row shows extra detail: flight rules (IFR/VFR) and PIC for flights, or the logbook reference timestamp for Setup entries.

### Downloading the logbook

Use the **Download** button on the Logbook tab to export the full logbook as an Excel file, with the same columns as the on-screen table.

### Setting up initial hours

When you [create a new aircraft](/fcom/aircraft/create-your-aircraft.md), you enter its current flight time and landings — this becomes the first Setup log entry.

If the aircraft's totals ever need correcting later (for example after a data entry mistake), staff/admin users can use the **Reset aircraft hours** button on the aircraft edit page. This creates a new log entry with the corrected totals; it does not alter or remove previous entries.

### Entering an old (backdated) flight

Flight log entries are placed in the logbook by the flight's date, not by the order in which you save them. If you save a flight dated earlier than flights you've already logged for that aircraft, Flylogs automatically recalculates the cumulative totals for that flight and every later entry, so the **Total time** and **Total landings** columns stay correct and in chronological order.

What this means in practice:

* **Final totals stay accurate.** Even if you log flights out of order, the logbook ends up consistent — nothing is silently left wrong.
* **It can be slow.** On an aircraft with a long flight history, saving one backdated flight forces a recalculation of every log entry after it. The save may take noticeably longer than logging a normal, current-dated flight.
* **No warning is shown.** Flylogs does not currently warn you that a flight is out of chronological order, or tell you how many later entries will be recalculated — it just happens silently on save.
* **The logbook block window can be bypassed by admins.** Companies can set how many days back a flight can be dated (`flights_block_days`). Regular pilots are blocked from entering flights older than this window, but admin/staff users (`user_group_id` ≤ 110) are exempt and can enter flights from any date in the past.

**Recommendation:** only enter backdated flights when necessary (e.g. importing historical data or correcting a missed entry), and avoid doing so on aircraft with very large flight histories during busy operational periods, since the recalculation runs synchronously when you save.

### Aircraft log vs. maintenance jobs

The aircraft logbook is not the same as the **Maintenance** tab:

* The **Maintenance** tab tracks actual maintenance work orders/jobs (open, completed, history).
* The **Logbook** tab tracks the resulting changes to the aircraft's cumulative hours and landings.

A completed maintenance job that adds hours (e.g. an engine overhaul) will produce a Maintenance-type entry in the logbook reflecting the aircraft's new totals — but the job itself lives in the Maintenance tab.

### Who can see and create log entries

* **Viewing** the logbook is available to anyone with access to the aircraft.
* **Creating** Setup or Maintenance entries manually (via aircraft creation or "Reset aircraft hours") is restricted to staff/admin roles.
* Flight entries are created automatically for any pilot saving a flight — no special permission needed.