FCL.050 certified pilot logbooks
What does it mean for a digital pilot logbook to be FCL.050 certified?
A certified digital logbook meets the requirements of an official standard established and assessed by EASA. It must be accepted by national authorities as proof of experience.
The certification process must be carried out by an officially competent authority and in accordance with an established standard.
This required standard result from the consolidation of various regulations such as Part-FCL, Part-SPO, Part-NCO, Part-NCC, to name the most important.
An FCL.050 certified logbook can replace your paper logbook.
It is from a legal perspective equivalent to a classic paper logbook and may therefore be kept as a stand-alone record.
Is your logbook compliant? Get the checklist and find out
The trend in pilot logbooks is towards digitalization. Use our checklist to see if your current logbook is ready for the future. Or simply test capzlog.aero and become future-proof immediately.
Logbook Compliance Checklist
This checklist allows you to see how your current logbook format complies with legal requirements.
It works for sheets such as Excel, electronic tools, paper logbooks or extracts from your operator's system.
What are the benefits for a pilot to use a certified logbook?
An officially certified logbook provides legal validity and credibility, ensuring compliance and smooth license renewals.
Simplifies processes with insurance and minimizes potential problems or queries in the event of an incident, as insurance companies and investigators prefer the presence of official proof of flight experience.
It demonstrates professionalism, accountability, and adherence to regulatory standards, fostering trust.
An officially certified logbook follows a standardized format, reducing errors and ensuring consistency.
It helps to maintain organized records of flight experience for easy reference and verification.
Which regulations form the basis for this standard?
Some of the fields to be recorded are listed explicitly in AMC1 FCL.050 Recording of flight time. In addition, there are a number of data elements that are implicitly defined by conditions in Part-FCL, Part-SPO, Part-SPA, Part-ORO, Part-NCC, Part-NCO and Part-CAT.
The rules, specifications and recommendations for this can be found in the following regulations:
Commission regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (Air crew) incl. 2018/395 & 2018/1976
- Part-FCL - Flight Crew Licencing
- Part-SFCL - Sailplane Flight Crew Licencing
- Part-BFCL - Balloon Flight Crew Licencing
Commission regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (Air operations)
- Part-SPO - Specialised Operations
- Part-SPA - Specific Approvals
- Part-ORO - Organisation Requirements for Air Operations
- Part-NCC - Non-commercial operations with complex-motor-powered aircraft
- Part-NCO - Non-commercial operations with other than complex-motor-powered aircraft
- Part-CAT - Commercial Air Transport Operations
Included are any amendments, national attachments and assessed Alternative Means of Compliance (AltMoC).
Additionally, EASA has established and assessed a standard for digital pilot logbooks. It contains rules for granularity, modelling, safety, integrity and security of data.
What must a FCL.050 certified digital pilot logbook contain?
Here is an overview of the standard in short.
Basic requirements
Your logbook will need a very high standard of data security and storage to adequately protect it from data loss (more than one copy and secure servers are just two examples). It is also important to specify the generality of entries across different aircraft categories and simulators.
Format of the record and supported values
Each FCL.050 certified logbook requires specifications for structured data collection for electronic processing. It is also important to have definitions of the relevant data elements for the complete collection of data for the processing of licence entries and endorsements in accordance with the above regulations.
Integrity of the record
Specifications for automatic calculation and structured input of aircraft registration, FSTDs and aerodromes must be included in every certified logbook. All data must pass rigorous validation for plausibility, completeness and accuracy when entered by the user, when imported from external sources such as files, and when stored in the data repository.
Entry signatures
Logbook entries that require signatures and allow instructors, examiners, ATO, DTO, HoT, airports and other parties to sign records must be automatically identified by the logbook. It's important that the signatures cannot be manipulated by the user and that changes to the underlying data are prevented.
Exports / print outs presented to the national authority or its representatives
Certified logbooks must comply with the precise definition of the ability to export a pilot's entire experience in a printable format for licence and endorsement evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any questions about capzlog.aero and its functionalities?
Ask our support teamIs capzlog.aero the only certified logbook?
No. As of today (4/1/2024), there are two FCL.050 certified pilot logbooks worldwide. One is capzlog.aero and the other is the dLogbook provided by FOCA for Swiss licence holders.
Can I easily transfer my data from another digital flight log into capzlog.aero?
Yes and no. We cannot give you a general answer to this question, as it is strongly dependent on the data quality. However, we will be happy to check your data and tell you what adjustments you need to make such that an import is possible. And from that moment on, you no longer have to worry about whether your data is correct or not.
Do I have to keep a logbook as professional air transport pilot?
Flights performed as part of commercial air transport may be recorded by the operator. However, the recording must meet the same requirements, and often companies do not pay much attention to this concern. However, since you are obliged to provide a clean record, it is worthwhile to keep a reliable, independent record yourself.