Helicopter utilisation: checking the numbers in a logbook
You transfer the hours from a logbook into a spreadsheet, and the total does not match. The cause may be a missing page, a minutes conversion or a cumulative reading entered as a daily increment. Here is a useful order for checking the records.
Keep the page before changing the number
Retain a readable scan, the page number, date and aircraft registration. If a PDF combines logbook pages with utilisation certificates, preserve the original page numbering when splitting it. You will need that reference when a value is questioned later.
Check the heading separately. It may contain the cumulative reading before the flight, rather than the time for that day. Keep opening readings separate from subsequent increments.
Hours, minutes and blank fields
For example, 2:30 means two and a half hours. Decimal 2.30 hours means two hours and eighteen minutes. Treating them as the same value introduces an error every time a record is added.
Flight time, ground operation, landings, engine cycles and APU starts are separate counters. A dash is not evidence of zero. Check how ground operation contributes to each item against its applicable documentation; do not extend one counter’s conversion factor to every component.
When the page gives two different answers
Suppose the flight intervals add up to 1:40, but the written flight-time total is 1:35. Do not pick the number that makes the running total look right. Give the engineer both values and the source page, and ask for the correct value with evidence for any correction.
Keep crossed-out entries and missing-page references visible as well. Record the uncertainty, request clarification and continue with the rest of the file. A disputed field need not stop the whole review.
Checking records in CAMOLOG
Open the aircraft record and its Utilisation section. The engineer compares prepared values with the source documents before accepting them. A discussion question can refer to the disputed entry and include the relevant page.
When transferring an archive, agree the opening date and readings first, then add events in order. Linking each value to evidence and a decision makes later checks much easier.
This article describes a records workflow. Applicability, maintenance limits and airworthiness decisions require engineering review against the applicable documentation.
See the workflow in action
Discuss your source package and see how CAMOLOG organises the work.
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