At 45, I’ve been around aviation for a while. These days, it’s rare for me to meet younger pilot colleagues who still use a paper logbook. Most pilots entering the cockpit today don’t even question it. They just go digital from day one — and that’s a smart move. Paper logbooks still have a certain charm, but they’ve become more of a nostalgic thing than a practical, everyday tool.

So how should you think about your logbook in 2025? Well, that depends on what kind of pilot you are. If all you care about is the essentials, then go ahead and keep it simple. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But if you want to turn flight logging into something more than just a chore, there’s a lot of satisfaction in doing it well. I gladly spend an extra minute to log my landings, my approaches, and sometimes a small comment about something that happened on the flight. I like to upload images of my colleagues and the aircrafts I fly. That’s storytelling. That’s my career in the making.

For many of us, flying isn’t just a job or a hobby. It’s a big part of who we are. So logging isn’t just about staying legal or building hours. It’s also about building a personal history. When you look back in 10, 20, or 30 years, your logbook will be one of the best things you have to remember the journey. Mine already is.

If you’re new to flying, the choice is easy: go digital from the start and begin logging your future history today. But if you’re already a few thousand hours in, you’ve got two options. The hard way is to go back and enter every single flight manually. That can take time, sure, but it could be time well spent for the completeness and clarity it gives you. You’ll be surprised how much you remember just by going through old flights.

The easy way? Log your previous flying in blocks. Add your hours, landings, and approaches per aircraft type as a single entry. You won’t get the fine details, but you will get a realistic overview and solid statistics. For many pilots, that’s more than enough, and it’s a smart way to transition without burning too many hours of your life in data entry.

And once you’re flying digital, the benefits really show up. Your hours are always up to date. Your totals are correct. Stats are just a click away. Reports for interviews or medicals can be downloaded in seconds. You can’t lose your logbook to spilled coffee or a boating accident. You can access your entire flying history from any device and trust that it’s backed up. And just as important: a good system should always let you import your old data and export everything later. Never lock yourself in. That’s a rule worth sticking to.

The biggest advantage, though? It’s that feeling when you walk around knowing you’ve got your logbook under control. That you’re organized. When your logbook gives you that sense of clarity and confidence, then you know you’re doing it right.

And that’s the vision we built Vogel Log around. Flight logging should feel good.