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EASA FCL.050 Logbook Oddities

Due to lockdown boredom I have been backing up my logbook onto an Excel spreadsheet over the last days and consulted the FCL.050 rules on flight time logging to ensure my spreadsheet would comply. I found some “oddities” which I’d like to share with you and hear your input.

By the way, the EASA FCL.050 logbook template is the same as the CAP804 template for the UK CAA.


  1. Field 9, operational condition, I am missing a “X-Country” column as there are minimum XC time requirements towards EASA licences/ratings.
  2. Field 5, single- and multi-pilot times. Why does it differentiate between SE and ME for single-pilot but not for multi-pilot? Arguably there are (or could be) multi-pilot aircraft that are single-engine?
  3. Field 5 again: with the SP column the example only includes ticks under SE or ME. But with the MP column it writes down the actual time rather than a tick, why is this not consistent?
  4. In general, shouldn’t there be a column for each thing that needs to be tracked when applying for a rating or licence, for instance, X-Country PIC time, Distance Flown (for the PPL and CPL 150/300 NM flights etc.) or anything else?
Last Edited by Alpha_Floor at 29 Jan 17:55
EDDW, Germany

@Alpha_Floor Part-FCL defines a lot of conditions for which data is needed. Your examples (X-Country, distance, etc.) are only a couple of a pile of cases: check flights, special flights, special pilot functions, etc.. Thus a table having all columns would be unmanageable.

The paper solution is “write everything you want to keep track of in the remark field”. This includes the above mentioned values as well as signatures and info from examiners, confirmations of completed trainings, etc.

We’ve been working very hard to cover exactly these conditions in a way that is electronically available and that allows the automatic evaluation of the conditions in Part FCL. You can sign up and see the result under https://capzlog.aero. Note that capzlog.aero is officially recognized by FOCA, the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation and pilots using it are freed from the requirement to keep a written record (i.e. paper logbook). More information can be found under https://www.bazl.admin.ch/bazl/de/home/fachleute/ausbildung-und-lizenzen/Piloten/digitalisation.html (unfortunately German only). We are currently working towards the same result in other EASA countries (and the UK).

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

1 – no because it is a transient time requirement just for specific courses so just line in an extra column or use remarks

2 – multi pilot would go in multi pilot regardless of type

3 – because the operating time could be different to flight time, for example a cruise relief pilot

4 – no see (1)

Posts are personal views only.
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

MattL wrote:

1 – no because it is a transient time requirement just for specific courses so just line in an extra column or use remarks

Arguably the only “real need” of a logbook is to demonstrate compliance with requirements towards the application for licences/ratings?

3 – because the operating time could be different to flight time, for example a cruise relief pilot

But this works for SP as well, right? One could fly in a single-pilot aircraft with another pilot at the other seat and interchange the PIC function during the flight…

EDDW, Germany

No not really – maintaining a record of flight time is a legal requirement, not just to do with training

In a single pilot scenario like you described, the flight time would be your time as PIC, but the take off and landing would be the whole flight. In the multi pilot situation you are part of the crew for the whole flight time but operating for a part of it.

Posts are personal views only.
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

XC time is pretty much only used for licencing. As said above, use remarks or (as I did) re-purpose a column that you aren’t yet using for it. It will be irrelevant after a certain point anyway.

There is nothing to stop you ticking SE and adding time to the multi pilot column, albeit it is pretty uncommon to be logging multi pilot single engine hours (but it does happen!).

I personally don’t like the ‘tick’ system. Instead I write down the hours in these columns. Ticking is all well and good until you need a running total of SE and ME time, then it becomes bothersome.

The probably (as mentioned above) with including a column for everything is that is impractical. It would be a massive logbook if you included a column for to cover every licencing eventuality. As such it covers what most licenced holders will be logging, and anything else can be confined to remarks (or as I mentioned other columns). For example, my jepp logbook (as below, sorry for poor quality) has spare columns under the SP header, so I have cordoned one of these off and use(d) it for PICUS time. For XC time, I simply wrote “XC” in the remarks section, I totalled it electronically but never on paper, and it was never questioned by any of three different authorities I have held licences under.

United Kingdom
6 Posts
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