An EASA logbook on your iPhone.

Blades logs every flight with the columns an EASA logbook asks for, and lays the pages out like the book you already keep. Copy them across by hand, or export them as a PDF.

Blades follows the published layouts; it isn't an approved or certified logbook. Check with your authority what they accept, and keep your paper logbook for signatures if they need them.

What the rules ask for

Part-FCL puts it in one sentence. FCL.050: The pilot shall keep a reliable record of the details of all flights flown in a form and manner established by the competent authority. What a record holds is set out in AMC1 FCL.050, the acceptable means of compliance. It is not binding in itself, and your authority decides the form. For each flight it lists:

• the name of the PIC, the date, and the place and time of departure and arrival, all times in UTC;
• the aircraft type (make, model and variant), its registration, and whether it is single- or multi-engine;
• single-pilot or multi-pilot time, the total time of the flight and the accumulated total;
• day and night landings, and night and IFR time;
• your function: PIC (including solo, SPIC and PICUS), co-pilot, cruise relief co-pilot, dual, or instructor or examiner;
• remarks, such as skill tests and proficiency checks.

Times may be written in hours and minutes or as decimals. A series of flights on the same day that return to the same place, with no more than 30 minutes between them, may be one entry. Paper entries are made in ink or indelible pencil.

An electronic logbook is acceptable under AMC1 FCL.050 when it holds everything above, is certified by the pilot, can be shown to the authority on request and is in a format the authority accepts.

How to log each pilot function

PICUS counts as PIC only when your authority accepts the way the flight was supervised, and the PIC did not have to step in (AMC1 FCL.050). Co-pilot and PICUS time count in full towards the total flight time for a higher licence (FCL.035).

The single-pilot or multi-pilot column says how the flight was operated and, for single-pilot, whether the aircraft was single- or multi-engine. A multi-pilot operation is one that requires at least two pilots using multi-crew cooperation (FCL.010).

Simulator sessions

Time in a flight simulation training device (FSTD) is not flight time. Flight time runs from the moment the aircraft first moves to take off until it finally comes to rest (FCL.010). Sessions go in their own column: the date, the device type and its qualification number, and the total time of the session, including the checks before and after.

• FFS, full flight simulator: a full-size replica of one aircraft type's flight deck, with a visual system and a motion system.
• FTD, flight training device: a full-size replica of a type's instruments, panels and controls. It needs no motion or visual system, except in helicopter FTD levels 2 and 3.
• FNPT, flight and navigation procedures trainer: represents the cockpit of an aircraft type or class, with systems that work as in the aircraft. An FNPT II adds an enclosed flight deck, realistic control forces and a visual system, and an FNPT II MCC what multi-crew training needs.
• BITD, basic instrument training device: a ground trainer for aeroplanes, for the procedural side of instrument flying.

A session counts towards a licence only where a rule says so. For the ATPL(A), up to 100 of the 1,500 hours may be flown in an FFS and FNPT, of which no more than 25 in an FNPT (FCL.510.A).

Signatures and remarks

• Every skill test and proficiency check goes in Remarks, with the examiner's name and signature.
• SPIC and PICUS time carries the name and signature of the PIC or instructor.
• Instruction you receive is certified by the instructor.
• The training flight for revalidating an SEP or TMG class rating, and LAPL recency training, carry the instructor's name and signature.
• At the end of each page, you certify the totals.

Signatures are one reason many pilots keep a paper logbook alongside a digital one. Blades lays its pages out like the book, so you can copy each page across and have it signed.

Hours towards an ATPL(A)

FCL.510.A asks for at least 1,500 hours of flight time in aeroplanes, including:

• 500 hours in multi-pilot operations;
• 500 hours as PIC under supervision, or 250 hours as PIC, or 250 hours of which at least 70 as PIC and the rest as PIC under supervision;
• 200 hours of cross-country flight, of which at least 100 as PIC or PIC under supervision;
• 75 hours of instrument time, of which no more than 30 hours instrument ground time;
• 100 hours of night flight as PIC or co-pilot.

Blades keeps these totals for you, and Insights shows how far you are from your next licence.

The columns in Blades

Date, aircraft type and registration, departure and arrival with UTC times, single-pilot time (single- and multi-engine), multi-pilot time, total time, name of the PIC, day and night landings, night and IFR time, PIC, co-pilot, dual and instructor time, FSTD sessions and remarks. Totals for the page, brought forward and to date are added up for you.

Layouts

• EASA AMC1 FCL.050
• Professional Pilot Logbook
• Pilot logbook
• FAA 14 CFR 61.51

Pick one per logbook. Or photograph a page of your own logbook and Blades builds a layout from its columns.

Night time

Blades follows your route from departure to arrival and counts the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the start of morning civil twilight, as EASA defines night. Take-offs and landings are marked day or night by the sun at each airport. It's filled in for you and you can always change it. How to log night time.

Currency

Passenger currency by day and by night, instrument currency, and expiry dates for your IR, medical and ratings, under EASA, UK CAA or FAA rules. Simulator sessions count where the rules allow: FFS for landings, and FFS, FTD and FNPT II for approaches.

Multi-pilot and simulators

• Pilot flying or monitoring, multi-pilot and SIC time, and the second pilot by name.
• 2D and 3D approaches, holds and NVG time.
• Simulator sessions in an FFS, FTD, FNPT I or II, BITD, CPT/PPT or CBT.
• Log straight from a photo of the ACARS flight log: the route and block times come in by themselves.

Bring your logbook

Import from ForeFlight, LogTen Pro, mccPILOTLOG, MyFlightbook, Logbook Pro, APDL or eFlightbook, or any CSV or Excel file. You can also start from the totals in your book. Imported flights don't count towards the 20 free ones. Importing uses Blade-coins; you get 100 to start.

Price

Free for 20 flights you log in the app. Premium is €2.99 a month for unlimited flights and 250 Blade-coins a month. No account, and your logbook stays on your iPhone either way.

Questions

Can I keep my EASA logbook only in an app?

AMC1 FCL.050 allows an electronic logbook if it holds all the required details, is certified by you and is in a format your authority accepts. Ask your authority, and keep your paper logbook if you need signatures in it.

How long must I keep my logbook?

Part-FCL sets no period for a personal logbook. AMC1 FCL.050 describes it as a permanent record of your flying. Check whether your authority sets a period.

Should times be in UTC?

Yes. AMC1 FCL.050 asks for all times in UTC, and Blades logs block times in UTC.

Does simulator time count as flight time?

No. It goes in its own column, and counts towards a licence only where a rule allows it, such as up to 100 hours for the ATPL(A).

How do I log PICUS?

As PIC, with the PIC's name and signature in Remarks. It counts as PIC only if your authority accepts the way you were supervised.

Sources

• EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011): FCL.010, FCL.035, FCL.050, AMC1 FCL.050 and FCL.510.A
• Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, the legally binding text, on EUR-Lex

This guide sums up the rules as of October 2026. The rule text and your authority decide.

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