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16 Answers

How can I keep track of my student’s progress online?

Asked by: 13156 views Aviation Headsets

Is there a way i can keep track of my flight lessons with my students online? I have been using onlinepilotcourses.com to give out the ground schools to my students, but i was wondering if anyone is aware of a way to keep track of our flight sessions too so the students can't say "oh my instructor did not teach me that!" thank you in advance!

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16 Answers



  1. Gary Moore on Apr 02, 2014

    That’s a great question – and hopefully there is product out there to solve this.

    One option might be something simple like Google Docs. You could share a document or spreadsheet that you and your student would both have access.

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  2. pandcfii on Apr 02, 2014

    I see, but I just need a way of the student accepting that we did go over the material too so he can’t put his failure on me. So far i have resolved this issue by uploading the flight lesson plans on OPC and have him login prior to each flight so he gets the “idea” of what we are about to do in the air. Then the system just checks that he opened my file so it’s recorded as completed. I guess that will have to do for now!

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  3. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 02, 2014

    How about if you write an entry in his logbook that conforms to 61.51 (b) and (h)?
    You are logging a description of the training given and signing it. Your student should sign each page of his logbook attesting to its accuracy.

    Why does the accounting for training need to be online?

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  4. pandcfii on Apr 02, 2014

    Well I want to be able to put detailed descriptions of what we have accomplished during each flight and there is not enough space in the logbook to do so. When a flight lesson plan includes 8-10 items, I really doubt I can fit those in! Plus logbooks get lost, damaged etc and it’s always good to have an electronic backup. But as I mentioned before, I solved my small issue. I appreciate the input though!

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  5. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 02, 2014

    You can color outside the lines.
    You can use more than one line in a logbook to record a lesson.

    I always logged what had happened during a lesson in my logbook as well as the student’s.
    That way if he lost his, I could recreate it.

    As time went on and I ran 141 and 61 flight schools, I had a printed syllabus with plenty of room to document what had happened on a given lesson. When an instructor flew with a student, he logged what had happened on a lesson in enough detail so that if another instructor flew with the student, everyone knew what had been taught and how the student performed. It may have taken more than one session to complete a lesson, but everything was documented.

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  6. pandcfii on Apr 02, 2014

    As a personal preference i would not fill out my student’s logbook with comments. All flight schools require us to keep the written reports but i was looking for something online so my students can look them up at any time and review and in case of an argument i can simply pull them out and show we actually went over the material. on the spot. Which was the point of my post in the first place

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  7. Clark Hall on Apr 02, 2014

    Are you sure it is legal to not put in a paper log book what you covered with the student?

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  8. pandcfii on Apr 03, 2014

    I did not say not to make the entry, i simply said i dont want to extend to multiple fields to write everything we did in full details with comments on his performance as the suggested. The discussion is based on an extra tool to be able to record the flight lessons online so both the instructor and the student can retrieve at any time, please follow the sequence.

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  9. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 03, 2014

    You seem to be more interested in covering yourself or resolving an argument with a student than anything else (as you stated in your original post and a later post).

    An entry in a logbook must document the training that was received. Duplicating that info online would do nothing to further showing what had been taught.

    Whether we like it or not, we as instructors do have some responsibility for the “failure” of our students. We are bound to teach them everything they need to know as pilots. We are also responsible for evaluating their performance and determining that it at least meets the minimum standards outlined in the PTS. That is something to which we attest when we endorse them for solo, solo X-C or a practical test.

    We can’t just sign them off and wash our hands of them.

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  10. pandcfii on Apr 03, 2014

    I agree with you and i don’t know how you formed this wrong impression of me, but the point of my question was to see if we can track the student’s performance online. The same way we do at the flight school’s students report, but instead of paperwork, simply online. All of my fellow instructors want to have the ability to review whay they did with the students at any time. No need to be agressive on this it is a simple matter of convenience that many many many many instructors i know -including me- would like to have the option of using. And as far as the “washing off” our hands, it has nothing to do with that. On the contrary, it will be extremely beneficial when a student does not recall something, we can log online and show him i which flight lesson we covered the material along with everything else we did that day. This way, he can review it and perhaps resolve any upcoming misunderstandings. I feel this is totally acceptable and i don’t see how me asking for advice on something that could only make our jobs better and more efficient turned out to be an attempt to wash off my hands. If anything, that would be a very smart and updated tool for all of us!

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  11. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 03, 2014

    “I see, but I just need a way of the student accepting that we did go over the material too so he can’t put his failure on me.”

    “in case of an argument i can simply pull them out and show we actually went over the material.”

    These are your words. I merely read them and formed a conclusion based on them.
    If you have or anticipate an adversarial relationship with your students, then there is something wrong which is not related to record keeping.

    Keep whatever records you choose to in addition to what is required by 61.51. I would have some sort of backup plan in case the web site goes down for some reason. A program which you control (rather than a web site) would make more sense.

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  12. pandcfii on Apr 03, 2014

    yes my point exactly. there is always a need for backups! the argumentative part was based on a single occurrence i encountered with one of my students and i would like to prevent that from happening again, but from my talks with various faa examiners the majority of students tend to put the blame of a failure to their instructor (defense mechanism). it would really be useful to be able to show them when and how said material was covered so they pay more attention to it next time!

    now i would prefer a very stable website over the software because softwares tend to run more expensive, plus they have compatibility issues and get out of date easily whereas (thank for technology) you can back up a website content in lots of places. Which is why I thought of simply putting the flight lesson plans in the same program i use to teach my ground lessons online. so far im very happy with what im using (OPC) they have been very consistent and it seems to be working great for my students. i was just wondering if other instructors use any variations of such program or have come across something different. i have the same issue with my logbook, i have an electronic version too, but i need to pay subscriptions and I wish we could have the same flexibility through a website too.

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  13. Mark Kolber on Apr 03, 2014

    pandcfii,

    To answer your question, there are online logbooks for pilots that also have the ability for instructors t log into the student’s logbook and endorse activities and lessons. I think MyFlightBook has that capability although I haven’t used it for the purpose.

    And then, there are sites like CloudAhoy which will, when using an iPad with GPS capability, will track the flight from takeoff to touchdown and even recognizes maneuvers. A CFI I know used it during my annual checkout with my flying club and I was very impressed with the result.

    The concern is still, of course, the degree to which electronic records are acceptable from a practical, and to some degree legal, standpoint. And it still doesn’t necessarily answer the “completeness” issue you raise about when the CFI and student disagree on whether something was covered. For my own CFI records, I use a check-the-box form that contains all PTS tasks (and space for comments) that both the student and I sign. It used to be paper; now it’s a pdf file.

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  14. pandcfii on Apr 03, 2014

    thank you so much, i will check the logbooks out today! i am not sure whether there is a legality issue arising or not because this is for this “something extra” an instructor may or may not do for his students. someone may simply do the basic record keeping and be just as fine… (by the way, last time i had a conversation with an faa examiner about electronic logbooks, he was in favor)

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  15. Brian on Apr 03, 2014

    Pandcfii,

    If you’re still reading this shoot me an email — admin@evolutionaryflighttraining.com — I may be able to set up a solution for you using my website. No charge, your testing and letting me know if you stumble onto any bugs (I don’t think you will) would be enough.

    -Brian

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  16. skycanyon1 on Apr 07, 2024

    Check out Instructeeze on the App Store for iPhone & iPad.

    https://apps.apple.com/us/app/instructeeze/id6480014693

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