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08-28-2019, 08:31 PM
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Join Date: May 2019
Location: Brenham, TX
Posts: 3
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What builder's log do you use?
I've been looking for a good builder's log that I can use on a mac. I couldn't find anything so I decided to use Kitlog Pro which is Windows only. I installed Parallels and Windows to run this on my mac, a little expensive.
I tried using it today with pictures and it's really painful to try to get the pictures to it. It can be done by converting to jpeg, moving them, etc, but I also don't like the interface.
I decided to look around some more and somehow found an iPad app called Aircraft Builder. It doesn't look outstanding, but getting pictures into it, etc is really easy. I'm wondering why I haven't heard of it on the forum and why it was so hard to find.
Does anyone have experience with this app or have a good solution for a mac user?
Thanks,
Jim
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08-28-2019, 11:19 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: NSW, Australia
Posts: 156
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Numbers spreadsheet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim62
Does anyone have experience with this app or have a good solution for a mac user?
Thanks,
Jim
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Jim,
I use a Mac and I couldn't find anything easy to use, so my solution was to create spreadsheets in numbers, where I just paste in photos from icloud. I take the photos on my phone, then just make one entry per day detailing my work, time taken etc, then paste in the photos alongside in the columns.
Perhaps I'll end up with huge file sizes, but it that happens I'll compress photos or change them to links.
__________________
RV-9, Tail Feathers done, Wings almost done.
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08-28-2019, 11:41 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Irvine, CA
Posts: 873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim62
Does anyone have a good solution for a mac user?
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I just use Microsoft Word for my log and keep the file on my Mac. I make a quick entry of what I did each time I'm in the shop, so everything is listed in chronological order. You can import photos into Word, but I just add them to iPhoto. It's a pretty basic system, but it gets the job done.
__________________
Mark
RV-12iS Fuselage
RV-9A Project: Sold
VAF donation made for 2020
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08-29-2019, 12:45 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Flower Mound, TX
Posts: 66
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MyEAA
MyEAA is very simple to use and web based so it should work across platforms easily. Of course you need to be an EAA member to use it. It?s pretty much brand new so I expect there will be some additional development.
I am currently using MyEAA and a google blogger site for my build logs. At some point I will decide which one to continue with. They are both free. I already use google photos so pulling them into the blog is pretty seamless.
__________________
FloMo14Builder - KG5VAC
Shop - Complete
Practice tool box - Complete
Practice Airfoil - Complete
Emp Kit - Building Vert Stab!!! WOOHOOO  
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08-29-2019, 02:08 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Posts: 774
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Hi Joe,
I think the first thing you've got to ask yourself is who are you writing the build log for?
If it's for the FAA (or CASA in our case) they really don't have massive expectations, and a simple log book with hours and a brief description will suffice.
If it's for helping others as you move through the process, then a web log is a great solution.
If it's for you and a document that you can have accompany your aircraft for the rest of its life (as it should) then as Mark says don't overlook the humble word document (or its Apple equivalent).
Although it may not appear as flashy, the upside to a word document is that:
1- It's easy to fill out. I would literally spend 2 minutes at breakfast hacking out some lines summarizing my previous days work, not for the FAA, but for me, so that if I have to go back and look at something in the future I will understand what I did so I don't make the mistake twice. I can not understate the importance of this, as you will work on things, botch them up, order new parts and a month later be back on that task again. Each day is simply a new paragraph with a date and a number of work hours followed by your comment. If it isn't easy, when you get halfway through and things get tough or time gets short, you won't do it, unless your the type that's really into recording things.
2- It's in a perpetual format. MS Word has been around since 1983 and I suspect it will be around for a long time to come. I bet there are still Mac programs that can read Clarisworks documents. There are plenty of hosting sites that have come and gone.
3- It's easy to word search, because it's all in the one document. This becomes critical over a long build when you want to go back and refresh your memory regarding what you did to a particular component.
4- It's small. My 100,000 word build log is only 339kB. I have plenty of photos which are in a corresponding folder. They can be sorted by date and easily matched up to my log entries. This makes is easy to load, save, send etc. because you haven't clogged it up with lots of formatting and pictures.
Frankly I started out with a word document because I was like you and hadn't decided yet on a fancy format to host my log, but once I got into it and I realized that I didn't want my log on full public display and that I was writing it to help myself and not primarily everyone else, I continued on with the word document. That's not to say that you can't help others with it. I regularly go back to this document and pull out relevant sections when posting solutions on this forum of sending them to other people, it's just not everything is out in the open the whole time. This encourages you to be more open about the analysis of your work as you move through the build, which can only be beneficial to the quality of your end product. It's fast, it's free, it's simple and it works.
Anyway, there's my 02c. A simple solution to a seemingly complex problem.
Tom.
RV-7
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08-29-2019, 03:27 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Ponte Vedra, FL
Posts: 1,474
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I chose the web log (Blog) path. At the end of the build I used an app called blogbooker to convert the entire thing into a "book" (pdf file) with high res photos for future reference if the blog ever comes down from the web.
I know there are folks who followed the blog and it still serves as a handy way to illustrate answers to questions (mostly of the "how did you do this" type).
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08-29-2019, 05:36 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sebastian Fl X26
Posts: 81
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Journaling software
Take a look at DayOne journaling software. I have simple needs and the software supports them nicely. Voice recognition and real-time photo support inside the app to create daily entries. At the end of each year, I use the “create a book” function to produce a hardcover book as documentation. Available on “i” devices, so I assume on apple desktop.
__________________
Dennis Callaghan (X26)
- RV14 sn:140193 - first flight 12/19/2019
- 2000+ hours on my RV6! Sold (so sad...)
- donation 12/30/2019 * 2
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08-29-2019, 05:36 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 924
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I'm cheap and easy. PLUS, I don't know how to use all that other stuff, pretty computer illiterate.
I just take pictures with my phone and post them to Facebook with brief description of what it is, or what I've done. 
__________________
RV9A under construction--N781DM reserved
Donated
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08-29-2019, 05:47 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Leesburg, VA
Posts: 492
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Please consider using an online solution, everyone benefits from seeing other build logs online, this really helps the next guy. We all reference online logs during our build even though not a large percentage of builders make theirs available. Every log that I referenced had something of value to me even those from first time builders like myself.
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