Completing the Pilot Logbook

Your Pilot Logbook is the record of all flights made by a pilot. 

Be sure that all entries are neat and accurate, and this is especially the case if you are planning to pursue a career as a professional pilot (your Pilot Logbook may be audited by Transport Canada when you apply for your Commercial Pilot Licence and will be audited when you apply for your Airline Transport Licence, and any errors or omission can hold up your application). 

For each flight you must note the date, the aircraft type and identification, the Pilot-in-Command (your Instructor—until you pilot the aircraft by yourself as a student pilot), your status as “Student” if applicable (in which you write “Self”), the airport of departure and landing, the flight time, the exercises flown, and any relevant details of your flight—that portion of the flight time that was cross-country, conducted during the day or night, or conducted under the hood (instrument flying). 

For the exercises, use the number code that appears in the Pilot Training Record, and they are typically printed at the front or back of your logbook.

Be sure you go over with your Instructor your first couple of entries to check that you are making the entries correctly. 

Also, it is a good idea to have your Pilot Logbook certified by a school when you have completed your training.

The legal requirements for Pilot Logbook entries are described in Canadian Aviation Regulation 401.08, which states as follows:

401.08 (1) Every applicant for, and every holder of, a flight crew permit, licence or rating shall maintain a personal log in accordance with subsection (2) and with the personnel licensing standards for the documentation of

(a) experience acquired in respect of the issuance of the flight crew permit, licence or rating; and

(b) recency.

(2) A personal log that is maintained for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) shall contain the holder’s name and the following information in respect of each flight:

(a) the date of the flight;

(b) the type of aircraft and its registration mark;

(c) the flight crew position in which the holder acted;

(d) the flight conditions with respect to day, night, VFR and IFR;

(e) in the case of a flight in an aeroplane or helicopter, the place of departure and the place of arrival;

(f) in the case of a flight in an aeroplane, all of the intermediate take-offs and landings;

(g) the flight time;

(h) in the case of a flight in a glider, the method of launch used for the flight; and

(i) in the case of a flight in a balloon, the method of inflation used for the flight.

(3) No person shall make an entry in a personal log unless the person

(a) is the holder of the log; or

(b) has been authorized to make the entry by the holder of the log.