LogTen Mobile, in our opinion, is the best logbook application available for the iPhone and Touch devices. If you are a Windows Mobile user we recommend Airline Pilots Daily Logbook program (APDL) by Logbook Pro. Now on to the review!
LogTen offers a typical well rounded iPhone interface. (See screenshots) It is very easy to enter, edit and view data. Most of the limitations with the program are due to how Apple allows programs to run on the iPhone. The biggest wish list item I would like to see and is currently not possible is the importing of flights/schedule. Hopefully the new 3.0 software coming out this summer will resolve this.
Entering Data: While 100% manual is a pretty quick process. As you build aircraft and airports entry gets quicker. To enter a typical 4 day trip just enter the first few legs prior to starting your pairing and then catch up as the day goes on. If you have an ACARS equipped aircraft it is easy to pull all of the time reports from that. If not well log what you need and fly what you can. Uh just kidding…
You can track things like Out, On, Off and In times. As well as # of landings, approach type, if you were flying, etc. All of the common fields you would expect from a well designed program. If you have the Pro version you can add any field which you may deem missing. There is a section for notes as well. A screen shot for comparison of APDL is at the bottom of this review.
Some common 121 fields which are missing in the lite version are:
- Pairing Number
- Crew Information
- Hotel Information
- Delay Information
- Airport Notes (I like these for door codes, dining, van locations, etc)
Differences between the Pro and Lite versions: (From Coradine.com)
Complete Customization
Access to over 200 different fields and the ability to completely customize each section in the flight details view so you can track ANY type of flying
Real Time Duty and Rest Tracking
The acclaimed real time Current Status display that gives commercial pilots the information they need to stay legal with duty and rest requirements, and for pilots not tracking duty time it provides currency info about the number of day and night landings in the last 90 days and instrument approaches in the last 6 months.
Live updating totals for all your times, including time by Engine Type, Category and Class
Syncing of custom Smart Groups built in LogTen Pro
Build your own custom criteria to see totals for anything from tailwheel time in Alaska, to night landings in Aspen!
Track certificates such as medicals and expiring endorsements
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exporting Data: You can export data in .CSV format to then import into your favorite desktop application. This requires WIFI but sends the data as an email to the address of your choice. The steps involved in importing will vary on the desktop application you use. Importing into Logbook Pro was very easy. Just make sure you export the time as “minutes”. Once you have correctly imported data once you can save the import scheme as a template for future reference. If you have a Mac as your desktop I would recommend using LogTen. It is easy to play around with the import wizard several times to make sure you get things right. Start an export with just a few legs in it. That way any mistakes in the import routine can be easily corrected.
In Summary:
I can’t review the desktop application because I am a Microsoft Windows user. If you use LogTen for the MAC and would like to contribute to this review please fill out the Contact Us form in the About FLC section of the site.
The app store has spoiled us with lots of under $3.00 software. So when you look at the price of LogTen you might think it is overpriced. I disagree. It takes lots of time and money to develop a quality product and since this is a niche application Coradine’s target audience is limited. There is now a free trial version of LogTen Lite. Download that and give it a try. At least it will give you a personal feel for how the software operates. I don’t quite understand why there is a Captain and First Officer version. I think there should just be a field which you could toggle to lot time as PIC or SIC. If I can get a legal copy of the full version I will edit this review with a more detailed comparison.
Future Versions of the desktop application are supposed to be able to import schedules from a variety of 121 crew scheduling apps. However, Coradine has yet to figure out a way to get this into the iPhone version.
Pricing: Full version is $39.95 – Lite Versions are $19.95
To Learn More Visit: http://www.coradine.com
Screen Shots:
APDL Screenshot:
