Captain s Log Airline Edition

Transcription

1 Captain s Log Airline Edition Version , 2007, 2008 (c) D Lambeth

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3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... 3 INSTALLING AND UNINSTALLING CAPTAIN S LOG... 3 USING CAPTAIN S LOG FOR THE FIRST TIME... 5 PRESENTATION OF DATA... 6 WORKING WITH DATES AND TIMES... 7 THE CALENDAR VIEW... 9 YEAR VIEW MONTH VIEW DAY VIEW ADDING OR EDITING A DUTY ADDING OR EDITING A SECTOR SUPPORT DATA ENTERING AIRCRAFT INFORMATION ENTERING APPROACH TYPES ENTERING CREW INFORMATION ENTERING DATA GROUPINGS ENTERING PORTS ENTERING CREW POSITIONS ENTERING REMINDERS ENTERING PREVIOUS TOTAL TIMES VIEWING DATA USING FILTERS VIEWING FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS CHANGING USER PREFERENCES EXPORTING DATA ARCHIVING DATA VIEWING DATABASE STATISTICS LOADING DIFFERENT DATA REGISTERING CAPTAIN S LOG Page 1

4 CHECKING CAPTAIN S LOG INSTALLATION DETAILS DECODING DATA EXITING THE PROGRAM USING SPREADSHEETS TO GENERATE LOGBOOK REPORTS USING APPROACH RECENCY THE CAPTAIN S LOG DATABASE DATABASE PERFORMANCE IN CAPTAIN S LOG TECHNICAL SUPPORT INDEX Page 2

5 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the first release version of Captain s Log. Captain s Log is a full flight and duty time database that runs exclusively on Windows Mobile devices. It allows pilots to maintain and carry with them an up to date logbook of their experience, and, when used in conjunction with a desktop computer and attached printer, generate hard copy of the logbook in a professional and neat format. The need for Captain s Log arose from the scarcity of logbook programs available for Windows Mobile that were fully featured yet still quick and simple to use. Some programs require companion software on a desktop computer in order to obtain totals or logbook views, others allow users to customise everything making them powerful but difficult and slow to use. Some programs simply do not allow entry of all the data required to be maintained by a professional pilot. To fill this void in Windows Mobile logbook software, Captain s Log was developed based around a powerful yet simple to use calendar view. The calendar view maintains the look and feel of Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile, a program installed on all Windows Mobile devices, and one well-known to most users. This minimises the time required to learn the intuitive and familiar interface, and simultaneously allows the results of data queries to be summarised and displayed in an easy to read format. At a glance, users can see how many hours they flew in a given month, where they overnighted, or when they had days off. Captain s Log tracks both flight and duty times, and through advanced customisation features, totals for each over three different time periods can be calculated. Approach recency, day and night takeoffs and landings, and instrument time are also available over user-selected periods. Logbook reports can be generated on demand, and because previous total hours are entered into Captain s Log, all aggregated totals are correct up to the minute. These reports can then be formatted using spreadsheet software in any way desired, including with the use of colour and graphics, to generate logbook pages that can later be bound together to produce a professional looking logbook. This manual describes all of the functionality of Captain s Log, and includes information on the database and performance. Part of the power of Captain s Log is in its flexibility, and so there may be ways of storing and accessing information that were not considered in the authoring of this manual. You are encouraged to use whatever means available to best track the information you are interested in. If you have any queries about Captain s Log that are not answered by the user manual or other documentation, please danlambeth@hotmail.com. INSTALLING AND UNINSTALLING CAPTAIN S LOG Captain s Log requires.net to be installed on your Windows Mobile device. More recent versions of Windows Mobile have.net installed as part of the operating system. If your version of Windows Mobile does not have.net already, it is freely available as a download from the Microsoft website. Simply browse to and search for.net compact framework redistributable. Captain s Log is compatible with all versions of.net, although a significant amount Page 3

6 of testing has been performed using version 2.0 in particular. Click on the link to the version you wish to download, and follow the instructions to install.net on your Windows Mobile device. Once.NET is installed you can install Captain s Log. Depending on which operating system you are using, Captain s Log can be installed in two different ways: using an automated setup process, or by doing a manual install. Both methods provide exactly the same functionality. The automated process is performed using the file Captain s Log Setup.zip, while the manual process uses Captain's Log Setup Cab.zip. Automated Setup 1. Extract all files from Captain s Log Setup.zip. 2. Run the setup.exe file. 3. This installs all relevant files to your Windows Mobile Device, and adds the shortcuts shown here to the Start menu on your desktop PC. Manual Setup 1. Extract all files from Captain's Log Setup Cab.zip. 2. Copy the file captlog_ppc.arm.cab to your Windows Mobile device. This may be done via a memory card, Bluetooth, or using ActiveSync (or Sync Center in Windows Vista). If you are using ActiveSync, click the Explore button to open a Windows Explorer window and paste captlog_ppc.arm.cab to your Windows Mobile device. 3. On your Windows Mobile device, use File Explorer (Start Programs File Explorer) to navigate to captlog_ppc.arm.cab, and tap it to install Captain s Log. 4. If desired, you can manually create the same Start menu shortcuts on your desktop PC that are created in the Automated Setup for Captain s Log. If you do not have a Windows operating system on your desktop PC, you can still install Captain s Log to your Windows Mobile device using the manual setup method. Instead of using ActiveSync to copy captlog_ppc.arm.cab to your Windows Mobile device, you could use Bluetooth or a memory card. Page 4

7 As shown in the automated setup method above, Captain s Log creates several shortcuts on your desktop PC. Logbook: Logbook Data Folder: ReadMe: User Licence: : A shortcut to logbook.xls. A convenient shortcut to a folder where you can store all your exported logbook reports. Use ActiveSync or another method to copy them from your Windows Mobile device to this folder. A shortcut to the Captain s Log readme.rtf file that may contain relevant recent change information. A shortcut to eula.rtf that contains information relating to the ownership of the Captain s Log program. A shortcut to manual.pdf. If you need to uninstall Captain s Log, you can do it from your desktop PC if you used the automated setup method. Simply click Start Control Panel Add or Remove Programs, select Captain s Log from the list of programs, and click Remove. If you used the manual setup method, uninstall Captain s Log from your Windows Mobile device by tapping Start Settings System Remove Programs, selecting Captain s Log from the list of programs, and tapping Remove. Data files are not removed from your Windows Mobile device when uninstalling Captain s Log, and must be removed manually from the folder \Program Files\Captain s Log\. USING CAPTAIN S LOG FOR THE FIRST TIME If you have successfully installed Captain s Log and are using it for the first time, you will probably find that there is no data in the database. Some custom databases are available for particular airlines with support data such as aircraft and ports already added to them. If you have one of these custom databases you will need to make sure it is in the \Program Files\Captain s Log\ folder of your Windows Mobile device. Otherwise, you will have to start by adding some support data before you begin adding sectors. At a minimum, you will need to enter an aircraft, a port, and a position. You will probably also want to enter crew and approaches. - To enter a position, tap Menu Data Positions. Tap and hold in the positions table, and then tap Add. Enter CA-PF (meaning Captain, Pilot Flying) for the Position and select P1 (which indicates that time logged in this position is as pilot-in-command) for the Type. Other examples of positions are FO-PM (First Officer, Pilot Monitoring), TVL (for a positioning sector), or CA-CHK (Check Captain). Tap the ok button in the top right of the screen when you have entered the information. Enter aircraft and ports following the same procedure. Page 5

8 - Common approaches that you may want to enter would be ILS, LLZ, VOR, NDB, and Visual. You may also want to enter approaches for GPS or RNAV, or any other custom approaches that you want to keep a track of. - You do not need any groups to get started, although later you may want groups such as Charter, RPT, Flight Instruction, Aerobatics, Checking, etc. You will also need to enter your previous logbook totals prior to exporting data or generating logbook reports. This is to ensure your total times are all correctly aggregated and displayed. Once the minimum support data has been entered, you can begin adding sectors to Captain s Log. PRESENTATION OF DATA Due to the screen size restrictions of Windows Mobile devices, abbreviations are used to describe the data that is displayed on the various screens. Tapping Menu Help Decode presents a screen displaying the meaning of the various abbreviations. B: Block time. Calculated for each sector as the difference between In and Out times. P: Supernumerary time. Calculated in the same way as block time and appears by default in cases where the block time is zero. N: Night time. I: Instrument time. T: Takeoffs. The total of day and night takeoffs. L: Landings. The total of day and night landings. S: Sectors. The number of sectors flown in the given period. Note that on some devices with even smaller screen sizes the abbreviations may not be displayed. However, the data is presented in the same format. For example, block time is always displayed in the top left position in a month on the year view. Sectors are always shown in the bottom right position. On the month view, only two items of data are displayed at a time. Initially the block time and the overnight port are shown. The overnight port is determined as the destination of the last sector of that day. Further data is shown by successive taps of the button. When block time and overnight port are displayed, tapping changes the data to night time and instrument time. Tapping again displays takeoffs and landings, and one more time gives sectors and supernumerary time. Tapping more will return the display to block time and overnight port. once The supernumerary time is only shown in the year view if the block time for that month is zero. On the month view, if the block time for a particular day is zero, the supernumerary time is shown with the overnight port, and the block time is displayed with the number of sectors. Page 6

9 Where displayed, P1 is used to represent command and P2 represents co-pilot. ICUS is in command under supervision, and Dual is used during time spent with an instructor. There are also icons that are displayed on the month and day views that indicate duty time, reminders, and notes. Further explanation of these is given later. WORKING WITH DATES AND TIMES Duty times and sector block times may be entered either in local or zulu (UTC or GMT) time. Initially when the Duty form or the Sector form is displayed, the input method is local time, as denoted by the button. Tapping the will change the entry mode to zulu time, and the button becomes. The time displayed at the top left hand side of the form also confirms the entry mode for the data. The displays when entering data on the 10 th September, 2006, in a GMT+10 timezone (such as Sydney) are as follows. Local Time: Zulu Time: Captain s Log uses the timezone that is set on the Windows Mobile device. To change the local timezone, go to Start Settings System Clock & Alarms. Once times have been entered into the Duty or Sector forms, everything on the calendar view is displayed relative to local time. If the timezone is subsequently changed on the Windows Mobile device, the data displayed in the calendar view will also change (although you must restart Captain s Log to update it). For example, a sector that begins at 0100 on the 10 th of September Sydney time would be shown at 1500 on the 9 th of September if the timezone was changed to London. When entering local times, it is important to note that the times are local to the timezone that is selected on your Windows Mobile device. So if the timezone is set to Sydney, when entering data for a flight from Sydney to Perth, times must be entered either with reference to Sydney (if the input method is local time) or in zulu time (if the input method is zulu time). For this reason, when flying sectors across several timezones, it is often more convenient to enter all times in zulu. Times are entered using the SIP (soft input panel). The SIP is displayed by tapping the icon. Information can be entered using any of the usual methods for Windows Mobile devices: the Block Recognizer, Keyboard, Letter Recognizer, or Transcriber. Times should all be entered in 24-hour format, and may be entered with or without a colon between the hours and minutes. Other textual data is also entered via the SIP. Page 7

10 To speed up data entry, certain abbreviations may be used. Entering a value of 435 translates to a time of 04:35. Entering just 35 will give 00:35. When entering start and end times, you are also given the option of entering the total time. In this case, if you enter the Off time, the total time will change to reflect the elapsed time period. If you enter the total time, the Off time will change to the sum of the On time and the total time. If you enter the On time, the total time changes to reflect the elapsed time period. Page 8

11 THE CALENDAR VIEW The calendar view is the focal point of Captain s Log, allowing you to view and edit data and see the results of changes automatically. It consists of three different views: day, month and year. The day view displays the duty period and individual sectors for that day, the month view shows the totals for each day of the month, and the year view further summarises the data to give totals for each month. On the month and year views, the current date is highlighted in blue. In the example screens shown, the current date is 23 September On the day view, the selected sector (or duty) is highlighted in blue. The left soft menu changes depending on which of the views is currently active. The presentation of the calendar view may change slightly depending on your screen size and orientation (portrait or landscape). Page 9

12 YEAR VIEW The year view summarises data on a per month basis. Tapping the left soft menu Day will take you to the day view for the active day. Tapping on a month will take you to the month view for that month. You can tap on the year displayed at the top left of the screen to display a popup menu allowing you to easily jump straight to a particular year. This menu will display from two years before the currently selected year to two years after. Tapping on the previous and next buttons allows you to change years by one year at a time. While on the year view, Menu Add, Menu Edit, and Menu Delete are disabled. MONTH VIEW The month view summarises data on a per day basis. Tapping the left soft menu Year will take you to the year view for that month. Tapping on a day will take you to the day view for that day. You can tap on the month or the year displayed at the top left of the screen to display popup menus allowing you to easily jump straight to a particular month. The popup year menu is the same as the one on the year view. The popup month menu allows you to select any month. Tapping on the previous and next buttons allows you to change months by one month at a time. Page 10

13 While on the month view, Menu Add, Menu Edit, and Menu Delete are disabled. Also displayed for a given day on the month view are icons that denote a duty period or a reminder. The icon indicates that there is at least one duty period for that day. Hence a day with no duty period is displayed as. A day with a duty period but no sectors is displayed as for that day.. The icon indicates that there is at least one reminder DAY VIEW The day view summarises data on a per sector basis. Tapping the left soft menu Month will take you to the Month view that includes that day. Tapping on a duty or a sector will highlight the duty or sector in blue, allowing you to edit or delete it using Menu Edit or Menu Delete. You can tap on the date displayed at the top left of the screen to display a popup calendar allowing you to easily jump straight to a particular day. The current date is displayed and also highlighted on the calendar. Tapping on the previous and next buttons allows you to change days by one day at a time. Tapping on a sector or duty period selects it. Only one duty is displayed on the day view. If multiple duty periods exist for a day, tapping the previous and next buttons cycles between duties. When a duty is displayed on a day with multiple duty periods, only the sectors associated with that duty are displayed with it. Sectors are associated with a duty if they start after the end of the previous duty period for that day. For example, if the first duty period ends at 1500 and the second one begins at 1600, a sector starting at 1530 is assigned to the second duty period. If the first duty period is the only one for the day, the sector starting at 1530 is assigned to it. Page 11

14 If there are more sectors than can be displayed together on the day view, the previous and next buttons will also cycle between sectors. Note that they will display additional sectors within a duty period before displaying the next or previous duty period. If no duty periods exist for a day when sectors were flown, the duty period will be displayed as. Two icons are used on the day view: the reminder icon and the notes icon. Respectively, they denote a reminder is active for that day, or that there is a note attached with the indicated sector. The information displayed for a duty period is the number of the duty period (1 for the first duty of the day, 2 for the second, etc.), the date on which the duty period began, the duty times for the displayed day (with the total duty time in parentheses), and the number of sectors for the displayed day associated with the duty period. ADDING OR EDITING A DUTY When the day view is the current view, it is possible to edit a duty that already exists or to add a new duty. Tapping the right hand soft menu Menu presents the options available. You can only edit a duty period if you first select it by tapping on it. Several different duty periods can exist on one day. When you have tapped Menu Add Duty or Menu Edit (with a duty selected), you are presented with the Duty form. You enter details for a duty period by specifying On and Off times, and any notes that may apply to that duty. After the data has been entered, tap the ok button in the top right hand corner of the form to accept the changes and return to the day view. If you do not want to keep the changes, tap Cancel. If you tap ok and the form does not close, it is because there is an error in the data that has been entered (for example, a nonrecognisable time may have been entered). In this case, Captain s Log places the cursor in the field that has the problem so that it can be corrected. Note that a duty period may be automatically created when the first sector for a day is entered, if you have selected the appropriate preferences on the Options form. Page 12

15 ADDING OR EDITING A SECTOR When the day view is the current view, it is possible to edit a sector that already exists or to add a new sector. Tapping the right hand soft menu Menu presents the options available. You can only edit a sector if you first select it by tapping on it. Several different sectors can exist on one day. When you have tapped Menu Add Sector or Menu Edit (with a sector selected), you are presented with the Flight Details tab on the Sector form. All the information that must be entered for a sector is displayed on this tab. The fields on the Flight Details tab are as follows. A/C FLT DEP DES OUT IN IFR Day TO Day LDG NGT TO LDG Position Crew 1 Crew 2 Aircraft Callsign Flight Number Departure Port Destination Port Off Blocks Time On Blocks Time Instrument Time Day Takeoffs Day Landings Night Time Night Takeoffs Night Landings Crew Position 1 st Other Crewmember 2 nd Other Crewmember The button is for a sector that was all night time. When tapped, it makes the NGT time equal to the total time for the sector, and if the Day TO and Day LDG fields have values, they are put into the TO and LDG fields. When you are adding a new sector, certain fields default to the same values as existed on the previous sector. The A/C, Position, and Crew 1 fields all retain their previous values. The value DEP defaults to the value of DES from the previous sector. You should not enter yourself in the Crew 1 or Crew 2 positions. These are for the other pilot or pilots in a multi-crew aircraft. If there is only one other crewmember, enter them into the Crew 1 position, and enter (None) for Crew 2. When you enter crewmembers into these positions, their Number appears alongside their name. As with the Duty form, tap ok or Cancel to close the form. If you tap ok and the form does not close, it is because there is an error in the data that has been entered, or some data (such as DES) was not entered. In this case, Captain s Log places the cursor in the field that has the problem so that it can be corrected. Page 13

16 Tapping on the Recency tab allows you to enter the approaches that were flown on this sector in order to keep track of their recency. You can check any or all approaches that apply to this sector. The Groups tab is similar to the Recency tab, although is used for grouping sectors rather than checking when they were last done. The Notes tab allows you to enter notes about the sector. When you enter the first sector for a day, a duty period may be created by default depending on the options you have selected on the Options form. The times for the duty period are calculated based on the OUT and IN times entered for the sector. Entering a second sector for that day does not change the duty period if changes need to be made, you will have to edit the duty. Page 14

17 SUPPORT DATA Captain s Log maintains a database of things like aircraft, crew, and ports so that entering sector information is made easier by simply selecting items from lists. All other data is accessed by tapping Menu Data, and then tapping on the appropriate item. This then presents a form which displays, in list format, the relevant data, and allows you to add to, edit, or delete from the list. The only exception is the Totals form, which does not contain a list of data, merely your flight totals previous to using Captain s Log. Shown here is the Ports form. In this case, tapping on the column headings such as Name or ICAO will sort the list by that field. If you tap and hold on the list, you will open a popup menu, allowing you to add, edit or delete information. Once you are finished reviewing the data, tap the ok button to close the form. ENTERING AIRCRAFT INFORMATION Tapping Menu Data Aircraft will open the Aircraft form. You can sort the aircraft list by tapping on any of the three column headers: Callsign, Type, or Category. If you tap and hold on the aircraft list, you can choose to add an aircraft, edit the currently selected aircraft, or delete the currently selected aircraft. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Aircraft form is displayed. The Callsign, Type, and Category fields are all plain text, and any information may be entered into these fields. The Callsign and Type appear on logbook reports. The Category field is used predominantly for sorting. Page 15

18 The Multi-Engine option should be checked for multi-engine aircraft so that flight times on a logbook report are displayed correctly. If you assign an aircraft with Simulator checked to a sector, none of the times count towards flight time, and are instead designated as ground instrument time. The Notes field can contain any information required. ENTERING APPROACH TYPES Tapping Menu Data Approaches will open the Approaches form. If you then tap and hold on the approach list, you can choose to add an approach, edit the currently selected approach, or delete the currently selected approach. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Approach form is displayed. The only information required about an approach is it s name. This will appear in a list on the Limits form where approach recency can be monitored. ENTERING CREW INFORMATION Tapping Menu Data Crew will open the Crew form. You can sort the crew list by tapping on either of the two column headers: Name or Number. If you tap and hold on the crew list, you can choose to add crew, edit the currently selected crewmember, or delete the currently selected crewmember. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Crew form is displayed. Page 16

19 Crew names can be entered in any way desired, however for ease of use it is recommended they be entered as Lastname, Firstname. This ensures they will be sorted by surname. The Number should be a unique number assigned to the crewmember. This could be a licence number or staff identification number. Any information can be entered into the Notes field. ENTERING DATA GROUPINGS Tapping Menu Data Groups will open the Groups form. If you then tap and hold on the group list, you can choose to add a group, edit the currently selected group, or delete the currently selected group. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Group form is displayed. Only the group name is required to define a group. This will allow you to filter data by the group, and check total times that apply exclusively to that group. ENTERING PORTS Tapping Menu Data Ports will open the Ports form. You can sort the ports list by tapping on any of the three column headers: Name, ICAO, or IATA. If you tap and hold on the port list, you can choose to add a port, edit the currently selected port, or delete the currently selected port. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Port form is displayed. Page 17

20 To enter a port, enter its Name, ICAO code, and IATA code, as well as any notes that apply to that port. The ICAO code will be displayed on logbook reports, while the IATA code is used when editing sectors, and to show the overnight port on the month view. ENTERING CREW POSITIONS Tapping Menu Data Positions will open the Positions form. You can sort the position list by tapping on either of the two column headers: Name or Type. If you tap and hold on the position list, you can choose to add a position, edit the currently selected position, or delete the currently selected position. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Position form is displayed. Positions are used to represent the position a crewmember is designated as on a given sector. The position determines how the flight hours are allocated to total times. Supernumerary positions do not contribute at all towards total times, whilst P1 is logged as command, P2 as co-pilot, and ICUS and Dual are logged as stated. Further information though can be gained through the creation of specific positions. For example, a captain may fly as pilot flying or pilot monitoring. Whilst in both cases the total flight time is attributed towards command hours, having different positions for each case allows you to quickly check how many and when sectors have been flown hands-on. Apart from choosing the Type of position, only a name for that position is required to be entered. Page 18

21 ENTERING REMINDERS Tapping Menu Data Reminders will open the Reminders form. You can sort the reminder list by tapping on either of the two column headers: Name or When. If you tap and hold on the reminder list, you can choose to add a reminder, edit the currently selected reminder, or delete the currently selected reminder. If you add or edit, the Add/Edit Reminder form is displayed. To enter a reminder, enter its Name and the date on which the reminder should be displayed. You can also type in Notes that apply to the reminder. The icon is then displayed on the day view to represent that a reminder is active for that day. ENTERING PREVIOUS TOTAL TIMES Tapping Menu Data Totals will open the Totals form. You can then tap on any of the three tabs to enter the relevant information. Totals entered on the totals form should be prior to the start of use of Captain s Log. For example, if your first sector in Captain s Log is on 25 th August, 2005, enter your logbook totals as of 24 th August, Previous totals should be entered for singleengine experience, multi-engine experience, and instrument time. P1 times are for command time, and P2 times are for co-pilot time. The instrument times entered are for instrument time in Flight, and instrument time on the ground (denoted as Sim). The times entered here are added to your Captain s Log data when producing logbook reports, so that overall total times are accurate. Page 19

22 VIEWING DATA USING FILTERS Sometimes it is useful to view a subset of the data you have entered rather than the whole lot. You may be interested in sectors you have flown between two ports, or when you last flew with a particular pilot, or to check total times flown as a training captain. Captain s Log allows you to do this through Menu View Filter. Tapping this menu option will display the Filter form. You can select as many criteria for your filter as you like. Once you select all the criteria for your filter, tap the ok button in the top right of the screen. Only the information that matches the filter is then displayed on the calendar view, except that duty periods continue to be displayed in all cases. Note however that the filter has no effect on the values displayed on the Limits form. To clear the filter simply tap ok without entering any criteria. VIEWING FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS Captain s Log stores both flight and duty times, and allows you to check statutory totals for each over time periods that you can customise depending on the rules you operate under. To view current totals, tap on Menu View Limits. This will display the Limits form. Page 20

23 The Limits form is divided into two tabs Flight/Duty and Recency. The Flight/Duty tab is used to check flight and duty totals as well as total instrument time, and the Recency tab displays data on Approach recency as well as takeoffs and landings. On either form, tapping the date displayed at the top of the form will display a popup calendar, allowing you to jump directly to a particular day. Tapping the previous and next buttons change the date by one day at a time. The totals displayed on the Flight/Duty tab are calculated over the number of days entered on the Options form (Menu View Options). The number of days are displayed above the totals for reference. In addition to displaying total approaches and takeoffs and landings in the selected number of days on the Recency tab, the last time an approach or takeoff or landing was flown is also displayed in the Last column. Note that this value is the last time it was flown within the number of days given by the previous column. In the example shown, this is 90 days. If an ILS approach was last flown 100 days ago, the Last column would be blank. In that case you would need to use a filter (Menu View Filter) to determine when the last ILS was flown. Both takeoffs and landings are divided into day and night (denoted by D/N). In the example shown, there have been 18 day takeoffs and 6 night takeoffs in the last 35 days. In the same period, there have been 17 day landings and 6 night landings. CHANGING USER PREFERENCES To save time, Captain s Log stores your preferences and loads them automatically when the program starts. To view and change preferences, tap Menu View Options. You are then presented with the Options form, which contains three tabs. Page 21

24 The first of the tabs, Time, gives you the option of displaying times in Decimal or Hours and Minutes format. An example of decimal would be 4.6, which in hours and minutes will be displayed as approximately 4:36. The selection here also affects how total times are calculated. In Decimal mode, times are all rounded off to one decimal place before being added together, while in Hours and Minutes mode they are added together as is. Therefore you could end up with a monthly total (for example) of 76.4, which when totalled using the Hours and Minutes mode comes to 76:11. The second tab, Limits, allows you to enter statutory requirements regarding your flight and duty limitations. The values entered here determine the number of days totalled by Captain s Log when displaying the Limits form (Menu View Limits). When entering values for Flight, Duty, or Approach, they should be entered in increasing order from 1 to 3 (or 2 for Approach). As shown in the example, the days for Flight 3 are greater than for Flight 2 which in turn is greater than for Flight 1. Flight 3 has an asterisk * against it as a reminder that, when archiving data (Menu File Archive Data), this is the value that determines up until when the data is archived. The third tab, Duty, allows you to select whether or not you would like Captain s Log to automatically create a duty period when you enter the first sector on a given day, and, if so, how many minutes before and after that sector the duty period should encompass. All values here should be entered as positive numbers, as shown in the example. If a sector has an OUT time of 16:40 and an IN time of 18:25, a duty period with these settings would be created from 15:40 to 18:40. Page 22

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26 EXPORTING DATA All data in Captain s Log is stored in XML format. XML is a text-based format based on international standards that can be read by many programs. Microsoft Excel 2007 is one example of a program that can read XML. When loaded into Excel in XML format, Captain s Log data is displayed with a separate column for each data field, and all the usual Excel functions, such as data filtering, are available. While advanced users may have the need to load the entire XML database in this way, most users only need to export data in order to print logbook pages. Tapping on Menu File Export Logbook gives you two ways of exporting data: to web page (*.htm) format or to comma separated values (*.csv) format. You would export to web page format if you wanted to immediately see the logbook page using Internet Explorer (or any other web browser) on your either your Windows Mobile device or your desktop PC. If you want to import the data into Excel or another spreadsheet to customise the formatting on the logbook page, you would export to comma separated values format. When you tap on Menu File Export Logbook, the data is aggregated up to the month that is currently selected, and the currently selected month is exported sector by sector. So if the date in the day view is 23 September 2006, when you export data you are really exporting sectors from the month of September 2006, as well as the totals from all data before the month of September The Name for the exported data file determined by Captain s Log makes clear the data that will be exported and the format in this case it would Sep2006.htm. Of course, you can edit the Name if you would like to call the file something else. ARCHIVING DATA Tapping on Menu File Archive Data allows you to remove old data from the Captain s Log database, storing it in a separate file and thereby increasing the performance of Captain s Log. Captain s Log takes the current date, and subtracts the number of days specified in Flight 3 on the Limits tab of the Options form, and archives all data before that date. Only archiving data before that date means that all flight and duty limits are still correctly calculated. The data is stored in the same Page 24

27 format as the normal database used by Captain s Log, and can be loaded again at any time. After archiving data, you should exit Captain s Log (Menu Exit) in order to save the current database before you load any other data (using Menu File Load Different Data), otherwise you may not remove the archived data from the default data files. Before archiving data, you should make a complete backup of the Captain s Log database. VIEWING DATABASE STATISTICS You can view some statistical and supplementary information about the Captain s Log database you are using by tapping Menu File Data Statistics. The Config, Details, and Flights Items show the path and filename for the current database in use. For each of the other Items, the Result displayed is the number of records of that type that exist. Tap the ok button to close the Data Statistics form. LOADING DIFFERENT DATA Captain s Log allows you to load a different database to the one that is loaded by default. You may have different databases stored for different airlines, or you may have previously archived data that you wish to view. In either case, you just tap on Menu File Load Different Data to open different data files into Captain s Log. Loading different data is an advanced function and you should be sure you are careful when selecting which data files to be loaded. If you mistakenly load flights data instead of details data or vice versa, there will appear to be no data loaded in Captain s Log. In this case, try to load the data again. Do not exit the program as it will have no data to save and will overwrite your files with empty data. If you have any doubts, simply back up your data files before using this function. Page 25

28 REGISTERING CAPTAIN S LOG When you install Captain s Log, you are installing a fully functional version of the program. However, certain parts remain limited or locked until the program is registered. For example, you can only enter a certain number of sectors and duty periods. Most users will be able to use Captain s Log for at least one or two months before they need to unlock all of the functionality. This is to allow you to determine whether you are going to use Captain s Log for the long term. Purchasing a registration code will allow you to use the entire program without any limitations. Captain s Log generates a unique Installation Key based upon certain characteristics of the mobile device that it is running on. For each unique key, there is only one Registration Code that can be used to register the program. Tap on Menu File Register to get your Installation Key, and the key to the address specified on the Register form. Once your payment for the program is confirmed, the Registration Code that matches your Installation Key will be sent back to you by e- mail, allowing you to enter it on the Registration Form, and register the program. Page 26

29 CHECKING CAPTAIN S LOG INSTALLATION DETAILS Tapping on Menu Help About displays a screen giving you some details of the Captain s Log installation on your device. First is the version number. Updates may be provided to registered users, and each update will increase the version number so you can be sure you are using the latest version. The second important piece of information on the About form is the registration status of the program. If you are not sure whether or not you have registered Captain s Log, or need to confirm that your Registration Code has been entered correctly, you can check on this form. DECODING DATA In case you are still learning the abbreviations used on the calendar view to describe the data, you can check what they mean by tapping Menu Help Decode. This provides a handy quick reference so that you do not need to have the user manual available. EXITING THE PROGRAM When you exit Captain s Log using Menu Exit, all of the changes you have made to the data are saved. If however you do not want to save the data for some reason, you need to exit Captain s Log by another method. Windows Mobile allows you to stop running programs by tapping Start Settings System Memory, and then from the Running Programs tab, selecting Captain s Log and tapping Stop. In this case, Captain s Log will ask you for confirmation that you wish to exit without saving the data. Some Windows Mobile devices may also have a task manager installed that can be used to do the same thing. It is important to note that Captain s Log does not save data to permanent storage until you exit the program. That means that you should not let the battery on your device completely drain, or perform a system reset, while Captain s Log is running, as you will lose any unsaved changes you have made. Page 27

30 USING SPREADSHEETS TO GENERATE LOGBOOK REPORTS Captain s Log exports logbook data in comma separated values (.csv) format, a format which is compatible with most spreadsheet programs that run on a desktop PC. This allows you to customise your logbook pages to look exactly the way you want, by adding graphics, a company logo, or any other information. If you prefer, the Captain s Log setup program also includes an Excel spreadsheet that contains several pre-made formats that can be used to print logbook pages, including title and endorsement pages. This spreadsheet contains only basic formatting functions, and as there are no macros or Visual Basic code, it can be used in any spreadsheet program that is compatible with Excel. Before you can view or print a logbook page, you need to export the appropriate data from Captain s Log by tapping Menu File Export Logbook. If you are using a spreadsheet program to generate the logbook, most likely you will need to export in comma separated values format. Once the export has been completed, you need to copy the.csv file to your desktop PC. When your mobile device is connected to your desktop PC, this can be done by clicking the Explore button in ActiveSync, navigating to the.csv file on your mobile device, and copying it to the desktop PC. (Note that different operating systems will have different ways of achieving this: for example, Windows Vista uses Sync Center.) Depending on how Captain s Log was installed, you can either open the logbook spreadsheet on your desktop PC by clicking Start All Programs Captain s Log Logbook, or by using Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder where logbook.xls is stored and opening it from there. (Again, if you are not using a Windows operating system, there will be other ways to do this.) There are several worksheets in logbook.xls, and the first of these is titled paste your data here. This is the worksheet where you need to paste your comma separated values data that was exported from Captain s Log. The other worksheets then automatically format that data in different ways: the orientation (portrait or landscape), font size, and number of pages can differ between worksheets. You then select which format you prefer before printing the logbook page. The following points summarise the process of printing a logbook page using the formats provided with Captain s Log. 1. Export the month s data from Captain s Log on your Windows Mobile device in comma separated values (.csv) format. 2. Copy the exported.csv file from your Windows Mobile device to your desktop PC. (If you have a Start menu shortcut to the Logbook Data Folder, you can put all exported logbook reports there so that you can find them again when necessary.) 3. Open the.csv file and select it all to copy it. 4. Use an Excel compatible spreadsheet program to open logbook.xls. 5. Paste your.csv data on the worksheet called paste your data here. 6. Choose which logbook page format you prefer, and print that page. When you exit logbook.xls, do not save changes. If you want to make permanent changes to logbook.xls, it is recommended that you backup the original file first. Page 28

31 Following are a few examples of what the logbook pages formatted with logbook.xls look like when they are printed out. The first shows that sectors are grouped together by date, crew, and aircraft. The next extract is from the bottom of the logbook page, and shows how total times are displayed and that there is a line included for logbook certification. This final extract shows how the times for each logbook entry are displayed. Note the column headings P1 (command) and P2 (co-pilot), which you can easily change to anything you like by editing those cells on the spreadsheet. Page 29

32 USING APPROACH RECENCY Although the Recency tabs on the Sector form and Limits form, and the Approaches form are usually used to track instrument approaches, they can be used to track anything that you need and that will be done on a sector. For example, Captains could maintain a record of their right-hand seat flying. On the Approaches form, add an approach and call it Right-Hand Seat. Now when any sector is flown from the righthand seat, ensure that this is checked on the Recency tab of the Sector Form. To check when the last right-hand seat sector was flown, use the Recency tab on the Limits form. You could also check when you last had a route check to a certain port. On the approaches form, add an approach called Route Qualification Cairns. Or you could track ILS PRM approaches by adding an approach called ILS PRM. On the Recency tab of the Sector form, if you did an ILS PRM approach, you would check both ILS and ILS PRM. THE CAPTAIN S LOG DATABASE The Captain s Log database consists of three XML files: config.xml, details.xml, and flights.xml. config.xml: Stores only the user preferences set in on the Options form. Approximately 1.25 Kb in size. details.xml: Stores all supporting data. That is, data entered through the Aircraft, Approaches, Crew, Groups, Ports, Positions, Reminders and Totals forms. A reasonably sized database is approximately 25 Kb in size. flights.xml: Stores all duty and sector information. Depending on the number of sectors, approximately 200 Kb in size for each year of data. When you start Captain s Log, these three files are automatically loaded into the program. If any of the files do not exist, Captain s Log will automatically create them for you. If you have different data files, such as archived data, you can load those by tapping Menu File Load Different Data. When you archive data, you should always name them in a way that allows you to tell the difference between details and flights data, so that they can be loaded back into Captain s Log correctly. Note that archiving data and loading different data only applies to details and flights data, not config data. Because the data is in XML format, you can open any of the data files using a variety of programs, from Internet Explorer, to Notepad, or Microsoft Excel. If you then edit and save the data before loading it in Captain s Log again, problems can occur if you have inadvertently entered illegal characters or somehow changed the database structure. It is recommended that only advanced users edit the database outside of Captain s Log, and that all data is backed up first. Page 30

33 When you delete support data that is still being used in one or more sectors, Captain s Log displays #deleted on the Day view in place of the data. For example, you may delete a crewmember who you had previously flown with. Therefore you should be careful to ensure that support data is no longer used before you delete it. DATABASE PERFORMANCE IN CAPTAIN S LOG Although storing the Captain s Log database in XML format has several advantages, it has the disadvantage that once it becomes a large size, it can take a while to load and save. In Captain s Log, loading and saving only take place when the program is started and exited. Therefore it is recommended that Captain s Log generally be left running in order to get the best performance from it. The following table gives an indication of the time taken to perform certain functions. They were obtained when running Captain s Log on a Windows Mobile 5 device with a 416MHz processor and about three years of data (over 1200 sectors). These times will change depending on processor speed, operating system, size of the database, and other factors. Starting Captain s Log Calculating limits data for a period of one year Exporting data to web page format Exiting Captain s Log (saving data) Most general functionality 20 seconds 15 seconds 30 seconds 20 seconds almost immediate (less than a few seconds) Archiving old data and thus reducing the size of the database will decrease the time taken to do the more time consuming functions (although it will not impact the calculation of flight and duty limits at all). TECHNICAL SUPPORT The and ReadMe file should answer most queries regarding Captain s Log. Further technical support is available by ing danlambeth@hotmail.com. The subject of your should be Captain s Log followed by the version number. You may also be required to supply information about the hardware you are using, or to submit your data files for evaluation. Page 31

34 INDEX.NET...3 abbreviations...6, 8, 29 ActiveSync...4, 5, 30 aircraft...5, 16, 31 approach...3, 5, 6, 14, 17, 23, 24, 32 Bluetooth...4, 5 command...5, 7, 19, 20, 31 co-pilot...7, 19, 20, 31 crew...5, 13, 16, 17, 31 database...3, 5, 16, 26, 27, 32, 33 dual...7, 19 Excel...26, 30, 33 filter...18, 22, 23 groups...6, 14, 18 icon...7, 8, 11, 12, 20 ICUS...7, 19 landscape...9, 30 logbook...3, 5, 6, 16, 19, 20, 26, 30, 31 notes...7, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 Outlook...3 overnight...3, 6, 19 performance...3, 26, 33 popup menu...10, 11, 16, 23 port...5, 6, 16, 18, 22, 32 portrait...9, 30 position...5, 13, 19 private...12 recency...3, 14, 17, 23, 32 registration...28, 29 reminder...7, 11, 12, 20, 24 SIP...8 soft menu...9, 10, 11, 12, 13 spreadsheet...3, 26, 30, 31 supernumerary...6, 7, 19 technical support...33 timezone...7 XML...26, 32, 33 Page 32