FLIGHTLEDGER / PRACTICAL GUIDE
Paper logbook to digital logbook: a practical spreadsheet workflow
FlightLedger does not read scans or transcribe handwriting. For a paper logbook, create a checked spreadsheet first or hire a transcription service.
By Zijian Xiao · Updated November 7, 2026
Use one row per flight
Download our example CSV from the conversion page and replace its synthetic records. Enter dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Keep aircraft registration, aircraft type, route, total, PIC, SIC, night, actual instrument, simulated instrument, cross-country and landings in separate columns. Leave unknown values blank rather than guessing.
Keep totals outside the flight table
Do not copy page totals as flights. Reconcile each paper page independently while transcribing, then compare the combined spreadsheet subtotal with your paper running totals. Retain references to the original pages in Remarks if that helps you resolve a discrepancy later.
Use a second pass for transcription errors
Compare dates, decimal separators and aircraft registrations back to the paper source. Check 1:30 versus 1.30 carefully. The automated report can flag malformed values, but a plausible-looking typo such as 2.1 instead of 1.2 may require manual comparison to find.
Convert only after checking
Save a single-sheet XLSX without formulas, or UTF-8 CSV, and upload it. Review the free report and mapping. A human conversion service can be the better choice for large handwritten collections; our tool starts with an existing digital table and never claims to have verified your handwriting.
Start with your own file.
See the full automated report and 20 converted rows before paying. A complete export starts at $19. Files expire after 24 hours.
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