How to switch pilot logbook apps without losing your data

How do you switch pilot logbook apps? Export a CSV from your current app, import that file into the new app using its column-mapping step, verify that your category totals match, and keep a backup of the original export. Digital logbooks are legal under 14 CFR §61.51, which specifies what you must record — not the app you record it in — so the switch itself never affects the legality of your record.

The rest of this guide walks each step in order: getting a clean export out of your current app, importing it with correct column mapping, the one-way import path from MyFlightbook, what transfers versus what you should double-check by hand, verifying your totals, and why a digital logbook satisfies §61.51.

Almost every serious logbook exports to CSV — a plain, columnar text format that travels between apps. In ForeFlight, LogTen, and most others, the export lives under a settings, account, or logbook menu, often labeled "Export" or "Export CSV." Choose CSV rather than a PDF report: a PDF is a snapshot for reading, while a CSV carries the structured, per-flight data a new app can actually import.

Export the full history, not a filtered view. If your app lets you set a date range, choose the earliest date so no flights are left behind. Open the resulting file once to confirm it has a header row and one row per flight — that is the shape the destination importer expects.

Coming from paper?There is no export step — you'll enter flights by hand or start from a carry-forward totals entry. Either way, keep the paper logbook; it remains a legal record of your time and endorsements.

Importing is where a careful five minutes prevents a corrupted record. When you upload the CSV, the destination app shows a mapping step: a list of the columns it found in your file next to the fields it wants to fill. Your job is to line them up.

• Date — confirm the format (MM/DD/YYYY vs. DD/MM/YYYY) matches what the importer expects, or dates can shift.
• Aircraft — registration (N-number) and type/model.
• Route — departure and arrival identifiers.
• Total time— your source may label this "Total," "TotalTime," or "Flight Time"; map whichever one holds the flight duration.
• PIC, SIC, Night, Cross-Country, Instrument — map each category column to its matching field. These are the buckets your currency and experience totals are built from, so a mis-mapped column here is the most common cause of wrong totals after import.

AeroCopilot's importer accepts common header spellings for the same field (for example, "Total," "TotalTime," and "Flight Time" all map to total time) and lets you adjust any mapping before you commit. Import into an empty or test logbook first if you want to inspect the result before it becomes your record.

MyFlightbook is a partner AeroCopilot supports a one-way, read-only import from. If your history lives in MyFlightbook, you can bring it across without exporting and re-importing a CSV by hand — AeroCopilot reads your MyFlightbook flights and maps them into your logbook here.

Be clear about what this is and is not. It is a one-time, one-direction import, not a sync. AeroCopilot does not write anything back to MyFlightbook, and it does not keep the two logbooks continuously mirrored. After the import, flights you add here stay here; flights you later add in MyFlightbook do not automatically appear. Treat the import as a migration of your existing history, then log new flights in one place going forward.

A clean import moves the structured, columnar data reliably. A few things deserve a manual look afterward:

Transfers well: date, aircraft type and registration, route, and the numeric time categories — total, PIC, SIC, night, cross-country, instrument — when the columns are mapped correctly.

Double-check these:

• Endorsements and signatures. Instructor endorsements often do not carry across as verifiable signatures in a CSV. Your original logbook (paper or the prior app) remains the legal record of those endorsements — keep it.
• Custom or app-specific fields. Approaches, holds, remarks, and any custom columns may need remapping or re-entry.
• Simulator vs. aircraft time. Confirm training device time landed in the right bucket and did not inflate aircraft totals.
• Rounding and time format. Decimal hours vs. hours:minutes can differ between apps; spot-check a few flights.

Never trust an import you have not verified. Before the new app becomes your working logbook, reconcile it against the source:

• Compare grand totals.Total time in the new app should match your prior app's total time to the same precision. A gap usually means a mis-mapped column or a skipped date range.
• Compare each category. PIC, night, cross-country, and instrument totals should each match. These are the numbers currency and experience requirements are checked against, so they matter most.
• Spot-check the extremes. Open your earliest and most recent flights and confirm the dates, aircraft, and times read correctly — errors tend to cluster at the boundaries of the import.

AeroCopilot's logbook totals each category automatically, which makes this reconciliation a side-by-side glance rather than a hand tally. You are solely responsible for confirming the totals are correct before you rely on them for currency or an application.

Yes. 14 CFR §61.51 requires each pilot to document and record the aeronautical experience used to meet a requirement or show recent experience — it specifies what you record, not the medium. The regulation never mandates paper or any particular app, so an electronic logbook that accurately captures the required information and can be presented on request satisfies §61.51.

That means switching apps — or moving off paper entirely — does not affect the legality of your record, provided you can still produce it for an examiner, inspector, or authorized instructor when asked. AeroCopilot's logbook is built to be compliant with 14 CFR §61.51; it is not an "official FAA logbook" — there is no such thing — but the record you keep is the record you present.

One standing caveat through all of this: the pilot is solely responsible for their own currency and legality under the applicable regulations, and for the accuracy of every entry. A migration tool moves data quickly; it does not relieve you of verifying that the result is correct and complete.