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Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 2:04 pm
by ibgarrett
I'm probably (sadly) still a few months out from my Tsi showing up, but I'm spending the time getting prepped so everything is ready to just start the build.

One area that I'm amazed by is the lack of structure there around any kit build documentation process. This obviously is my first airplane to build and I've spent hours (way way too many hours) watching videos of folks building their airplanes and figured that was more or less the roll up of the process vs. any paper documentation.

I keep an electronic log book in parallel with my written log book and I really wasn't planning on approaching this project any differently. I'm working on laying the groundwork for my website and have been looking around for guides on how to document the build process. It just seems so very free form to me vs. everything else in aviation in which there is a structure in place.

Does anyone have any suggestions/reading material on how to best document the build of an aircraft?

Thanks - Brian

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 2:47 pm
by PhilipRueker
From a requirements perspective it is very freeform, a key thing is that you prove that you built it, so having some pictures or videos of you building can be helpful.

As for your options, there's a few online platforms specific to build logs, I have a list of options on the website here if you scroll down - https://www.slingpilots.com/builders/

I have set up my own blog on my domain using wordpress and structured the categories into the different sub-sections of the airplane, which is what most people do.

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:08 pm
by ibgarrett
Thanks Philip. I guess I'm just looking for something that's handwritten - or do people still even do that? The online part I've got down, so that part shouldn't be a problem. I'm also pretty familiar with the Sling landing page for the builders - its been a great resource for me so far. I'm also really looking forward to Evan's step-by-step video guide once he has that underway as I'll likely be building mine pretty close to his. Since he'll be building pretty much full time that will get eclipsed quickly though.

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:21 pm
by PhilipRueker
There are still some(many?) people who just document it by hand with pictures taken, but if you're going to document your build online, you don't really need a handwritten log.

If you want a hardcopy you can just print out the whole online build log at the end. I make a pdf copy of my blog every few months backed up to my OneDrive and if the inspector wants a hardcopy I'll just go print it out. But otherwise I'll just open up the computer for him and he can browse through the blog and see my timelapse videos for proof that I build it.

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 2:54 pm
by MTJ
I use the EAA builders log. It's free & easy to use but not much when it comes to bells and whistles. I have a time lapse camera with a photo every 3 minutes when I am there. When I am done I'll put all the video files together for one overall build video. I also keep a daily log in a Year at a Glance type book with simple entries.

When DAR comes I'll print out the EAA log and have the paper log and all reference material (i.e. AC43, TAF build manuals, etc.) available. I'll get the DAR popcorn if they are interested in watching my blockbuster film, "Sling Tsi: The Movie" !

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 3:47 pm
by PhilipRueker
MTJ wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2020 2:54 pm When DAR comes I'll print out the EAA log and have the paper log and all reference material (i.e. AC43, TAF build manuals, etc.) available. I'll get the DAR popcorn if they are interested in watching my blockbuster film, "Sling Tsi: The Movie" !
Love the popcorn, that will definitely score bonus points during the inspection :)

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:28 am
by wiseguy59
I've been using the EAA log since April, and it works well.
I write down my starting and finishing times, take photographs, and write a quick synopsis of what was done during the session.
I then login, enter the session description, and add the photos.
It's quick, easy to use, free(if you're an EAA member), and I think the chances of it disappearing overnight are quite slim. :)
There are also reports that you can run, you can check the number of views your log is getting, and you can download the hourly information into Excel.
Not bad for free.

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:09 am
by gaking
Hi all

Does anyone know if Kitlog Pro is being actively supported? I see they refer to Windows 11 on their site so they must have been active fairly recently, but my emails to them are going unanswered and I'm not able to buy the software due to an issue with their credit card site. There are one or two errors in their system which I've tried to let them know about too with their demo version. So if they don't respond it doesn't seem like it's worth (and in my case, impossible) to continue with them as a viable option.

Cheers
Gary

Re: Best way to do builder logs?

Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:25 am
by Joe Azzarelli
We are using this bound "diary": https://a.co/d/akXf8M5

Handwriting into this for each day is a great way to document the build. Super simple and no computer required. Of course we take lots of photos as well.

Best
Joe