Pocket Flight Log Help
Pocket Flight Log or PFL is the quickest and most efficient way to electronically track your flying. Whether building a resume, tracking your flying requirements, ensuring you don’t fly more than the legal limits, or just tracking your pay, PFL is up to the task.
PFL is organized into five major screens as listed below:
| Totals | Track flying hour totals and find legality conflicts |
| Data Entry | Main screen for viewing and entering flight records. Also, there is a Crew Duty Calculator. |
| Find Data | Search database for important events |
| Preferences | Preset your user info for faster data entry |
| About | Enter your registration code and see version information |
| Utilities | Add/Delete Aircraft and Airports. Manage aircraft and set initial flight times |
| Support | Email tech support |
This screen is where you will spend most of your time in PFL. It is organized into three major tabs: "Main," "Aux," and "Crew Duty."
The Main tab is the default input display for records. It contains a quick format for entering the most used data points for your flying. Records are saved automatically anytime you move to a different record or select the “Totals” or “Find Data” screens. The grey items in the table below show which data fields are required to save a record. The Main tab is the default input display for records. This tab contains a quick format for entering the most used data points for your flying. See the table below for details on reach control:
| Item | Description |
| Date: | Simply click on the triangle to show a pop-up calendar to choose the take-off date of the flight. The calendar’s default setting is the current UTC date. Normally, you will not have to edit this field if you are entering records as you fly them. |
| Flight: | Automatically calculated using the US
Military formula. Shows time from “Off” to “On” in hours.tenths or
hours:minutes. Display preference settings and branch of service
selections are available on the Tools>Preferences Screen. Caution.
Changing either of these settings will affect how you flight time is
totaled.
For example, if you logged 60 4hour and 59 minute flights in the hour:minutes format, you would get 299 hours total. If you logged 60 4 hour and 59 minute flights in the hours.tenths format you would have 300 hours logged total. This is just plain math. These differences occur due to rounding the flight time to 5.0 hours when you only flew 4:59. There is nothing inherently wrong with rounding. In fact, many companies/the military require you to round. If you continually switch between the formats, you could have some inconsistent results. |
| Block: | Automatically calculates the hours and
minutes from “Out” to “In” Display preference settings and branch of service
selections are available on the Preferences Screen. Caution.
Changing either of these settings will affect how you flight time is
totaled.
Caution: See Caution above about changing settings. NOTE: All total times are calculated using block times. If you must enter "Out" and "In" times for each flight to have PFL calculate your Total Flight Time on the Totals screen. |
| Flight/ Msn#: |
Enter the flight, mission number, or other designation for this flight. |
| From: | The ICAO airport code of your departure airfield. Either type the four-letter code or click on the triangle to see a list of choices. You can add new airports on-the-fly. The program will just confirm that you want to add a new location and then add it to both the “From” and “To” dropdown pick lists. A user option to make your last destination your next record's departure point is selected from the Preferences Screen. Note: Although ICAO codes are used, any airport ID or your choice can be used. You may delete unwanted airports from the Utilities Screen. |
| To: | The ICAO airport code of your destination airfield. Either type the four-letter code or click on the triangle to see a list of choices. You can add new airports on-the-fly. The program will just confirm that you want to add a new location and then add it to both the “From” and “To” dropdown pick lists. Note: Although ICAO codes are used, any airport ID or your choice can be used. You may delete unwanted airports from the Utilities Screen. |
| Type: | This is the aircraft’s short name as listed on the Tools>Utilities>Manage Aircraft screen. Select the type either by clicking on the triangle and choosing from the list or write in the space provided. A new aircraft type can be entered on-demand simply by typing the name of the new aircraft. A special screen will pop-up to allow details on the new aircraft type to be added. Ensure that all military airplanes have the Military check mark enabled and that the proper seat configuration is selected as well. |
| Tail: | Enter the aircraft identification number/letters. This field holds up to 10 characters to identify the aircraft. The last six aircraft flown are automatically stored in a dropdown list for easy access. The tail number of the last aircraft flown is carried forward to new records. |
| Out: | The Zulu time the aircraft left the blocks. To enter this time just type from one to four digits using the 24-hour clock format and when you are done typing, the field auto-formats with a colon (or other regional formatting) for a proper time. Only numbers can be entered into this field. |
| Off: | The Zulu time the aircraft became airborne. To enter this time just type from one to four digits using the 24-hour clock format and when you are done typing, the field auto-formats with a colon (or other regional formatting) for a proper time. Only numbers can be entered into this field. |
| On: | The Zulu time the aircraft made its final landing. To enter this time just type from one to four digits using the 24-hour clock format and when you are done typing, the field auto-formats with a colon (or other regional formatting) for a proper time. |
| In: | The Zulu time the aircraft entered the blocks. To enter this time just type from one to four digits using the 24-hour clock format and when you are done typing, the field auto-formats with a colon (or other regional formatting) for a proper time. yes Only numbers can be entered into this field. |
| Crew: | Any crewmembers you want to track can be entered here. If you desire, you can automatically have the crew carried forward to new records by selecting the “Use Last Crew” option in the preferences section. Alternatively, you can use the edit menu to select/copy the entire crew (or any text for that matter) for use later. |
| Notes: | Ummm, you know…notes. |
| Events: | Events are activities that take place when
you fly. Most crewmembers need to track many events to maintain flying
currency, such as landings. Events are divided into four categories:
Take Off, In-Flight, Approach, and Landing. These groupings are for
convenience and for programming logic. You can add any events to any
list simply by typing the event into the dropdown list and clicking the red
+ symbol next to the drop
down box you entered the new event into.
The two grey boxes with letters in them are used to toggle between the seat you logged the event in and day or night. The seat configuration is based on the aircraft type you have selected. For example, a T-38 has a Front/Back configuration and a C-5 has a Left/Right configuration. A T-38 would show and F or a B in the top grey box and a C-5 would show an L or R. The bottom indicator toggles between N and D (Night and Day). The current position of these toggles will determine the label that is applied to events you log on your flights. Seat configurations can be changed on the Tools>Utilities>Manage Aircraft Screen. |
| Subcategory Flight Time Displays | The flight time spent in a particular
subcategory of flying such as Night or Instrument Flying. Only numbers
can be entered. The decimal point or colon (or other regional
formatting) is automatically added once you finish typing. For
example, to log 0.3 of IFR time, simply enter 3 and the rest of the
formatting is added for you.
Time display preferences can be set on the Tools>Preferences Screen. Please pick a display preference and stick with it. If you choose to log flight times in hours:minutes format and then change to hours.minutes rounding will occur (4:59 would become 5.0 for example). If you subsequently change back to hours:minutes the new value is going to be 5:00. As you can see, if you continually flip-flop between methods, your data could become inaccurate. |
| IFR: | The flight time spent in instrument flight rules. Note: See Subcategory Flight Time Displays information above. |
| Night: | The hours and tenths spent flying at night. Note: See Subcategory Flight Time Displays information above. |
| PIC: | Enter a check if you are the Pilot In Command |
| SIC: | Enter a check if you are the Second In Command |
| Deadhead: | Enter a check if you were a deadhead crewmember. |
Aux Tab
| Item | Description |
| Subcategory Flight Time Displays | The flight time spent in a particular
subcategory of flying such as Formation or Solo Flying. Only numbers
can be entered. The decimal point or colon (or other regional
formatting) is automatically added once you finish typing. For
example, to log 0.3 of IFR time, simply enter 3 and the rest of the
formatting is added for you.
Time display preferences can be set on the Tools>Preferences Screen. Please pick a display preference and stick with it. If you choose to log flight times in hours:minutes format and then change to hours.minutes rounding will occur (4:59 would become 5.0 for example). If you subsequently change back to hours:minutes the new value is going to be 5:00. As you can see, if you continually flip-flop between methods, your data could become inaccurate. |
| Edit Names: |
You can click on the “Edit Names” button to
choose names for the categories in the left column. Feel free to name
the columns to suite your needs. But once you log flight time in
a category you should not change its name because there is no way to log
more than one category of flight time in a single field. |
| Pax: | The number of passengers carried. Use this info for performance reports. |
| Block: | This button toggles between using "Flight" or "Block" times when using the Splits feature. |
| Instructor: | Logs the entire "Flight" or "Block" time into the Instructor category. |
| Evaluator: | Logs the entire "Flight" or "Block" time into the Evaluator category. |
| Splits: | Select the number of crew members
to split the "Flight" or "Block" time between. Note: If you are flying solo, no splits will be performed. If you are flying dual, no Other time will be logged. |
| P/S/O: | "P/S/O" stands for Primary/Secondary/Other. If you click on this button, it will split the "Flight" or "Block" times between these three categories. If you have more than three crew members, you only get a proportional share of Primary and Secondary time and the rest goes to Other time. This command will give you the maximum split that any single crewmember could log. Your actual split may be different and might need to be adjusted accordingly. |
| P/O: | "P/O" stands for Primary/Other. If you click on this button, it will split the "Flight" or "Block" times between these two categories. If you have more than two crew members, you only get a proportional share of Primary time and the rest goes to Other time. This command will give you the maximum split that any single crewmember could log. Your actual split may be different and might need to be adjusted accordingly. |
Crew Duty Tab
| Item | Description |
| Day Start: | Enter the UTC date and time your duty day starts |
| Now: |
Use this button to set the Day Start Time and Date to UTC Now. |
| Zulu Clock | A grey UTC clock located below the NOW button is updated in semi-real time. (every 15 seconds). This is for easy reference when you are tired and can't figure out the conversion yourself <grin>. |
| Time Aloft: | This is the maximum Time Aloft (Block Time) as set in the 1st setting in the FAR 121 or User settings on the Totals page. The default setting is 8 in 24 hours. Note that if your preference is set for US Mil, then this field does not show up. |
| Flt Duty Period | This is the maximum time in a duty day for performing flight duties. This setting is automatically saved. |
| Crew Duty Time: | The maximum time that you can perform duty around the aircraft. This setting is automatically saved. The Crew Duty Time forms the basis for the Day End calculation. |
| Update: | Refreshes the calculations to reflect any changes you may have made. Note that the screen automatically updates every 15 seconds whenever the calculator is visible. |
| Time Left: | These blocks tell you how much time remains before your day ends. These blocks are adjusted for any known ground or flight time values that are entered in the list below. |
| Value: | The Hours:Minutes of a known ground or flight time. These should be entered in chronological order. The Top value is automatically "eroded" as time passes. Once that entry reaches 00:00, then the next entry erodes, and so on. |
| Time At Value: | This value shows the calculated time if the associated value is added to the current time. It is useful for projected conflicts with airfield operating hours or daylight calculations. |
| + | Use this key to add values of know ground and flight times to the list. |
| - | 1st select the row in the list that you want to remove. Remaining times are automatically adjusted for the change. |
| Edit Selected: | This button is only visible when a row in the list is selected. Once this button is chosen, you can edit the time value in a selected row in the list. No other actions are possible until the "Done" button is clicked. |
| Clear: | This clears all list entries. |
| Day End: | This date and time are calculated by adding the Crew Duty Time to your Day Start time. |
The totals screen allows you to see cumulative flight times. These times are based exclusively on block times…actual flight time is not considered. Civilian rules are based on “Out” to “In” times. Military flight times are “Off” to “In” but no more than “On” + 5 Minutes (at least this is how the Air Force logs times).
| Base Totals On (UTC) | The times displayed are a based on the “Compare To” date and time listed. Just click on the little triangles of the date and time displays to set them to the desired value. If you want to add or filter Deadhead, Civil, or Military flight times, just select the appropriate check boxes and then click the update command button. In fact, anytime you change the basis of the totals, you can get the new totals by clicking the update button. |
| Edit Rules | You can choose how the totals are calculated
and displayed. Select the "Edit Rules" button and you can type in a Period
length, choose a Period type (Hour, Day, Month, Year), as well as select a
flag that determines whether the Totals get reset every time a new period
starts. Also, you can choose the Format of the times in the Totals page.
Choose HH:MM or Hours.Tenths. Choose the Edit Rules button and Check or
Uncheck the HH:MM button to set your preference. Choices are saved
automatically and a proper name is generated. Note: Grand Total times are in the HH:MM format for Civil and User. Military Grand total times are set as Hours.Tenths. Note: The 1st setting in the FAR 121 and User (24-Hour) setting holds the max time aloft that is used in the Crew Duty calculator. |
| Rules | This toggles between Civil, Military, and User displays. Your default choice is set/saved on the preferences screen. |
| Update | Updates the Totals for any changes made. |
| Now | Updates the clock and calendar to the current UTC day and time |
| Preference: | Choose Block or Flight times to be displayed. Your choice is saved automatically. |
| Calculate Totals: | When checked. Totals will calculate when the Update button is pressed. When unchecked, this calculation is skipped. Leaving the option unchecked will save time when doing multiple Totals calculations. As a reminder that the data is "stale," the Total background remains yellow until a calculation with the option checked is accomplished. |
Choose the search criteria by setting up the three boxes on the top. Notice that date searches use a pop-up calendar and other searches use dropdown menus or require you to type. The search comparisons (=, <,>, etc.) change based on the type of data being searched for. The following table shows the meanings of the symbols:
| Item: | Description | Notes |
| = | Equal | |
| < | Less Than | |
| > | Greater Than | |
| < = | Less Than or Equal To | |
| > = | Greater Than or Equal To | |
| < > | Not Equal | Returns everything but your search criteria. |
| LIKE | Pattern Matching | If you type "green" it will find every entry with "green" it it. For example, blue-green, greenwood, green, or Greene |
Once your search preferences are set, just click the Execute button to perform your search. The "Limit to last 20" check box will limit large searches to the last 20 occurrences. Uncheck this option if you need to see all occurrences of a search result.
Your search results are displayed in a grid. The grid contains some pertinent information about each flight listed. If you need to see more information about a particular flight, simply click on the grid and then choose the Goto Rec button to take you to the main Data Entry Screen.
Choose your defaults here. The civil or military pilot option will set the default for the “Totals” screen.
| Item: | Description |
| Primary Use | The civil or military pilot option will set the default for the “Totals” screen. If your FAR 121 or User is selected a "Time Aloft" element is added to the Crew Duty Display |
| Use Default Aircraft | Select this check box. Then, choose the default
aircraft for new records. Note: You can only choose records of existing aircraft types. To add a new aircraft type, just type the name into the “Type” dropdown menu in the “Data Entry” screen, and then move to a new record or save the current record. |
| Use Last Crew | If you fly with the same crew often you can choose to use the last crew as a default setting for new records. This feature can save you a lot of typing. Also, try using the “Edit” menu for copy and paste features. |
| PIC or SIC | Default new records to Pilot In Command (PIC) or Second In Command (SIC) |
| Auto Pop-Up Input Panel | Enable or disable the Input Panel auto-show/hide feature |
| Last "TO" is next "FROM" | Automatically have the last destination as the next departure point |
| Time Displays | This will allow you to choose the formats of the Flight, Block, and Subcategories time displays. Please pick a display preference and stick with it. If you choose to log flight times in hours:minutes format and then change to hours.minutes rounding will occur (4:59 would become 5.0 for example). If you subsequently change back to hours:minutes the new value is going to be 5:00. As you can see, if you continually flip-flop between methods, your data could become inaccurate. |
When you click “Close” your options are saved automatically.
| Item: | Description |
| Set Initial Times | Use this screen to choose the initial flight times for different Aircraft. Note that you must have entered the aircraft name in a record to have that aircraft show up in the list of aircraft. Once the aircraft name is selected, enter all of the initial flight times. Then, place a check mark next to the categories that you want to be used to form the Grand Total at the top of the screen. Items are saved automatically. |
| Manage Aircraft | Select the aircraft to edit with the drop down list. Items are saved automatically. |
| Delete Unused Aircraft | Click the command button to search for unused aircraft. Feel free to delete any ones you will not need. However, if you have used and aircraft type in the initial totals but not in any flight records, it will show as not being used. |
| Delete Unused Airports | This command will search for unused airports and allow you to delete them. |
| Delete Unused Events | This command will search for Flight Events unused airports and allow you to delete them. |
For tech support contact click here.
|
|