For every pilot, the logbook is not just a legal requirement. It is also your professional résumé in aviation. While certificates and licenses show what you are allowed to fly, your logbook tells the full story of your experience. Airlines, authorities, and examiners all rely on it to verify that you are qualified and current.
If your logbook is complete, clear, and professionally presented, it can open doors to new opportunities. If it is sloppy or inconsistent, it can hold your career back. In this article, we explain how to use your logbook as a career tool and how a digital solution like Wilco can make the difference.
Your logbook and license progression
When applying for new ratings or higher licenses, your logbook is the main evidence of your experience:
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Instrument Rating (IR): examiners will check that you have the required instrument time and approaches logged.
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Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL): you must prove specific totals for PIC, cross-country, and night flying.
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Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL): the highest licence requires exact hours in multi-engine, instrument, and multi-crew environments.
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Type Ratings: before starting a course, you may need to prove minimum experience or recent flying on similar aircraft.
Without a clear and consistent logbook, demonstrating these requirements can be difficult and stressful.
Logbook checks during airline recruitment
For airline job applications, recruiters often request a logbook extract. They want to see:
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Total time and breakdown (PIC, SIC, multi-engine, jet, night, instrument).
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Experience on specific aircraft types.
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Currency on line checks, operator proficiency checks, and medical validity.
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Endorsements for simulator training and checkrides.
If your logbook does not match your CV or your totals are inconsistent, recruiters will question your reliability. A professional logbook can strengthen your application, while a weak one can damage your chances.
Common mistakes that hurt pilots in career checks
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Inconsistent totals – logbook summaries not matching individual entries.
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Unclear structure – making it difficult for recruiters to find key information.
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Missing endorsements – training or check flights without signatures.
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Unorganized presentation – scanned pages in random order instead of a clean extract.
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Backlog entries – filling in hours months later, creating suspicion of inaccuracy.
In competitive airline recruitment, these mistakes can be the difference between success and rejection.
How to present your logbook like a professional
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Keep it structured – clear categories for PIC, dual, instrument, simulator, and checks.
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Maintain up-to-date summaries – show totals per aircraft, per year, and per category.
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Highlight key qualifications – make instrument, multi-engine, and type-specific hours easy to find.
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Use audit-ready extracts – provide recruiters exactly what they ask for, nothing more and nothing less.
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Be consistent – always log in the same format and with the same level of detail.
How Wilco gives you a career advantage
Wilco is built to make your logbook not just compliant, but also career-ready:
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Automatic tracking of currencies – Type Rating validity, Operator Proficiency Checks (OPC), Line Checks, and medicals are all in one place.
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Instant reports for job applications – generate tailored summaries showing exactly the breakdown recruiters want to see.
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PDF logbooks compliant with EASA FCL.050 – a professional, print-ready version that matches regulatory expectations.
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Custom filters – summary of last 12 or 24 months of flying, or filter by aircraft type for type rating applications.
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Professional presentation – clean digital layouts that impress examiners, recruiters, and authorities.
With Wilco, your logbook is no longer just a compliance document. It becomes a professional tool that showcases your experience and readiness for the next step in your career.
Conclusion
A well-kept pilot logbook is one of the most powerful tools you have for advancing your aviation career. It proves your hours, supports your license progression, and strengthens your job applications.
By switching to a digital solution like Wilco, you can generate reports, track currencies, and produce a complete FCL.050-compliant logbook in seconds. That means less time worrying about paperwork and more time focusing on flying and building your future.
Your career deserves a logbook that works as hard as you do.