FLIGHTLEDGER / PRACTICAL GUIDE
MyFlightbook file preparation: map fields and check a migration
Turn an existing CSV or XLSX logbook into a CSV that MyFlightbook's importer can read, without assuming that a named profile guarantees acceptance.
By Zijian Xiao
Start with a file and a destination checklist
For a MyFlightbook migration, begin with an unchanged export of your existing flight records and the fields requested by the destination's own importer. This independent guide covers file preparation only, not login, account recovery or changes inside MyFlightbook; FlightLedger is not affiliated with MyFlightbook. MyFlightbook imports CSV files and recognizes columns only by their header names, using its published column list and a set of common synonyms; a column whose header it does not recognize is ignored, so check your headers against that list before importing. For a small file, you can rename the headers in a spreadsheet to MyFlightbook's column names, such as Date, Tail Number and Total Flight Time, and save it as CSV (ideally CSV UTF-8) without buying a separate conversion service. Keep a backup and avoid using your only copy for experiments.
Match meanings rather than similar names
List each source field and what it represents before mapping. Aircraft registration and aircraft type are different, just as total time and a specific component are different. Generic instrument time should not silently become actual or simulated instrument time. Keep category and class values explicit rather than inferring them from an aircraft model. Mark fields that have no confirmed destination equivalent for review. A named export profile can arrange columns, but it cannot establish that your source definitions and the destination's meanings match for every entry in your history.
Normalize time with a known flight
Use a flight whose duration you know to verify the input convention. Decimal 1.50 and H:MM 1:30 describe the same duration; numeric 1.30 needs the source convention before it can be interpreted. Compare landings separately from time and keep empty values distinct from known zeros. Check a source date that resolves month/day ambiguity, and keep tail numbers as text with their full registration prefix, such as N for US aircraft, because MyFlightbook matches flights to aircraft by the complete tail number. Do this before reviewing grand totals, because a unit mismatch across many rows can produce a plausible total that is systematically wrong while individual entries still look familiar.
Retain records that need investigation
Compare duplicate-looking entries with the original export or supporting record. Two flights on the same day are not automatically duplicates, and similar routes and times do not prove repetition. Keep source-row references for any excluded or corrected entries. If a field is invalid, correct the source where possible rather than entering a replacement from memory. When you intentionally omit a row, keep the reason and count with your migration notes. A clean final table is insufficient if you cannot explain which source flights were left out or transformed.
Test the receiving import deliberately
Upload a small representative subset first and read MyFlightbook's preview, which lists the flights to be added and any errors before anything is imported. If you commit that test, delete those flights before importing the full file: rows without a MyFlightbook Flight ID are added as new flights, so a repeat import creates duplicates. After import, inspect dates, durations, aircraft, comments and landings. If a value is missing, first check whether MyFlightbook recognized that column's header. Compare both row count and known component totals with the source subset. If a field is not represented in a destination-oriented CSV, retain the complete normalized workbook or source export as a reference. Acceptance of a file does not establish that every field has been preserved. Do not present a generated profile as a live-tested integration or a vendor-certified migration.
Correct landing columns before using the current profile
FlightLedger's current export labels full-stop counts Landings (full stop) and Night Landings (full stop). MyFlightbook does not recognize those headers. Rename them to FS Day Landings and FS Night Landings respectively before submitting the CSV. The profile also omits total Landings, which includes day and night, full-stop and touch-and-go landings. Add that field from your original records when available; do not invent a total by assuming full-stop counts include every landing. Preserve unknown counts as unknown. Check the resulting columns in MyFlightbook's pre-import preview rather than treating the profile name as evidence that landing values survived.
Keep the destination flight identifier under its control
MyFlightbook assigns its own Flight ID; do not manufacture values for a new migration. A file without those assigned identifiers is treated as new flights when imported. Keep a record of any small test you actually commit, then remove those test flights before submitting the full new-flight file. Retain an unchanged export from the destination before later bulk edits, because editing existing flights with assigned identifiers is a different task from adding a new history. Compare Comments and the required Date, Tail Number and Total Flight Time fields against the published import list before you confirm the preview.
Where FlightLedger fits
FlightLedger checks one CSV or XLSX up to 8 MiB, 20,000 flights and 100 columns without signing in to MyFlightbook. Its complete report, first twenty converted rows and exclusion-list CSV are free without an account; full-file downloads need a file credit even below twenty rows. Its current MyFlightbook-oriented export needs manual landing-header corrections described above and lacks total Landings; use source evidence to prepare that column. Synthetic profile tests do not establish live acceptance. No flight, signature or legal-eligibility verification is provided. Uploads and outputs expire 24 hours after upload, even after payment.
Start with your own file.
Confirm your mapping and review the report before choosing an export.
Review my logbook free