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EASA Journey Log requirements

I have just read elsewhere that this is mandatory for France.

Does anybody know anything about this?

The EASA "OPS" regs (see e.g. here) also require a "journey log", so maybe France has implemented this ahead of time.

As it happens, I have been keeping such a logbook since 2002. It lists all flights, brakes off to brakes on times, airborne time, fuel added, oil added, the airports, the FAA VOR checks, 50hr and Annual service points, and the PIC. I use this logbook as the source for writing up the three maintenance logbooks (airframe, engine, prop). But I don't carry it in the plane...

But it is self evidently obvious to anybody with more than 2 braincells that you could write anything in there you like (e.g. arriving at say Libourne (no Customs) from Le Touquet when in fact you flew there from Kathmandu) so what is the point, and much more to the point what are the police expecting to see in such a logbook?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Such a logbook has been required by German law ever since.

Of course you can put in wrong information just like you can rob a bank and speed in your car. The log allows you to show exactly who was piloting the aircraft where at any time. The same journey log is required for cars if you charge the costs to a company or deduct it from your income tax.

so maybe France has implemented this ahead of time

The requirement for a journey log for international flights has existed since 1944 when the Chicago Convention was signed.

Article 29

Documents carried in aircraft

Every aircraft of a contracting State, engaged in international navigation, shall carry the following documents in conformity with the conditions prescribed in this Convention:

(a) Its certificate of registration;

(b) Its certificate of airworthiness;

(c) The appropriate licenses for each member of the crew;

(d) Its journey log book;

(e) If it is equipped with radio apparatus, the aircraft radio station license;

(f) If it carries passengers, a list of their names and places of embarkation and destination;

(g) If it carries cargo, a manifest and detailed declarations of the cargo.

Is this log just for that international journey? Or including all previous journeys, even if separated by long spells of flying within one nation?

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom

All Dutch registered aircraft have such a log book - contains details of every flight as well as maintenance records and must be carried on board. There are also engine and airframe logs which normally live with the maintenance organisation. It would be almost impossible to sell a PH aircraft if the complete journey log was not available.

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

Almost no N-reg has one. I actually do maintain an electronic one which would always be available on my devices if needed. As far as I know there is no real prescribed format or requirement for paper (at least for n reg).

EGTK Oxford

contains details of every flight as well as maintenance records and must be carried on board. There are also engine and airframe logs which normally live with the maintenance organisation.

That's not a good combination, because you lose the maintenance records in a crash (+fire) and you lose them if (actually when!) the CAMO goes bust.

It would be almost impossible to sell a PH aircraft if the complete journey log was not available.

Why would that be?

Surely what matters is maintenance records (showing servicing, AD compliance, lifed component action, etc) not a journey log.

And how can you know the journey log is complete? There is no way to detect a missing entry.

As with so much in aviation, the legal need is clear but I am genuinely puzzled as to what is the point of it.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Holland is the same as Germany. A missing journey log is a red light, it means something is wrong and such aircraft will yield a lower resale value. I have every flight of my aircraft since 1979 with time, name of pilot, airfield, etc.

Maintenance is entered into the journey log, usually in the form of a printed sticker with either a description or a reference to a work order.

There are also engine and airframe logs which normally live with the maintenance organisation.

That depends. If you're in a CAMO+ (nonsense as a private owner), then yes. In my case every document is with me, the shop has nothing I wouldn't have and no originals at all. This goes for Form 1, work reports from 3rd parties, etc.

And how can you know the journey log is complete? There is no way to detect a missing entry.

It's a legal obligation and students get trained from their first lesson to do this diligently. You can break the law but the incentive is not very high.

You can cross check entries with the airport journals. At least in Germany, every airfield (even a private grass strip) is required to have a journal with all landings and takeoff, containing the time, registration, previous/next airfield. I rent out a C172 and rely on my customers maintaining a correct journey log for invoicing (no Hobbs etc.). I do phone up airfields and verify the numbers are right for periodic checks.

The airfield journey log was introduced by the Nazi government which wanted to have insight into the movement of its citizens and saw private aviation as a threat. One of the not so few things that remain in place until today.

Here in the UK, only ATC airports are required to keep movement logs. The others have a "visitor book" but if you don't write your flight in there nobody is likely to notice.

Also isn't there a reg stating that maintenance records should never be carried aboard an aircraft? I even recall seeing fancy "JAA approved" fireproof containers for doing so. If your journey log contains the primary "pointers" to maintenance work, and without that it is not possible to locate the ultimate records, you are creating exactly that situation.

But then EASA Part M makes the owner responsible for maintenance, whereas in reality the vast majority of owners do not get involved at all......

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

If your journey log contains the primary "pointers" to maintenance work, and without that it is not possible to locate the ultimate records, you are creating exactly that situation.

You still have the maintenance logs in a separate folder at home, they contain everything. However, at least in Germany every maintenance operation requires an entry in the aircraft journal. Nowadays with computer generated forms, it's usually just a sticker saying that maintenance was performed according to work order 12345 and the aircraft was released to service (that's the name of the sticker, "release to service").

In real life, those stickers have a fixed size and when something simple was done (e.g. replace tyre), they state that, if more was done they state "according to work order 1235".

What is a bit time consuming is having to fill out a personal journey log and the aircraft's journey log and in addition to that enter it into a software application for additional functionality (currency, statistics, etc.).

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