build log

[EdW]

What are people using to log their build? What's available besides Kitlog?

Ed

[T41pilot]

I just use Microsoft Word that is already on my computer and insert pictures with the text. I resave the pictures after they are taken as jpegs to reduce their file size.

[Sonex422]

I made notes directly on the drawings . I initialed and dated all of the instruction steps within the drawings once completed. I also took a lot of pictures. Date and time is automatically recorded with digital photos, so that makes a good record. Be sure that you are in some of the pictures.

I took my laptop with the photos to FSDO to get may repairman certificate.

[Bryan Cotton]

My kid and I have notebooks we log our time in. Old skool.

[x3 skier]

Since I couldn’t find a build log that works well, if at all, on a MAC, I just created a document in pages with photos and comments.

Cheers

[NWade]

I went with a Google Sheets spreadsheet (so its available on a computer or smartphone no matter where I am or what I'm working on) to document my hours.

For photos I just use Flickr (again so the photos are available anywhere and I can upload them directly from my smartphone) and every few photo batches I go into the album organizer and sort the photos by date taken. That way the photos are in chronological order and can be matched up with my build log.

Good luck in your project!

--Noel
Sonex #1339

NOTE: I started 7 years ago; nowadays I might look at Office 365 to decide whether to use the Web/App version of Excel. Google Sheets is fine but has stagnated, while the online/mobile versions of Excel have gotten better and better...

[Rynoth]

I have a folder with all my photos, and log my daily details into a google sheets spreadsheet (basically Excel.)

When I'm not being lazy, I'll use my log and my photos to jog my memory and I'll post to a Wordpress blog at http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/
This last step is for fun/sharing, I think that taking a lot of photos (some would say you need some photos of you actually doing the work) and updating a spreadsheet with progress is enough to satisfy any requirements.

[DCASonex]

Also old school, not on-line, just a table created in MS word with columns for date, activity, and 4 columns for time spent on Design(custom tweaks) , Fabrication (making parts), Assembly (Including dis-assembly) and Other, With one line for each day of the month. Having a computer in shop for CAD work, was a natural to update this daily. Also lot of photos in separate file, filed by dates which makes it easy to correlate the two. With recent comments on keeping logs, just went back and looked at mine (Finished in 2012) and realized an advantage to not having the log on line and public display. When not working I plane, I entered reason for whatever else was going on and it is sort of a diary of major events during the build period.

David A.

[kmacht]

I just had a simple excel spreadsheet that showed date, what I worked on and how many hours. I took lots of pictures along the way and just printed them out when I went for the airwortyness certificate. You don't have to get fancy if you don't want to. Lots of planed were built and registered before the digital age of kitlog and blogs.

One thing to remember is that pictures of just a part aren't worth much. You need to show pictures with you in it making the parts to prove you built the plane.

Keoth

[Gordon]

Build log.........Old School

I have a calendar hanging right beside the door and light switch in my work shop. As I leave the work shop and shut off the lights I am looking right at my calendar..........oh.......almost forgot to write down a work time number.....write a 2 or 4 or how ever long I was in the shop. Only takes a second to record that.
At the end of the month when I turn the page to the next month I take a minute and add up the hours and write that at the bottom of the page.......at the end of the year I add up 12 numbers for the years hours.

I did this on all my previous RV builds......then I stack those calendar in my work shop cupboard. My first RV-6 took 4489 hours (flew in 1992)......my last RV-7 took 2372 hours (flew in 2009). My Onex is now at 891 hours...working on the last 10 percent, it will fly in 2018.

Old school still gets the job done.

Gordon.........Onex........Hummel 2400