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Forms of build documentation

lmerrill

Member
I am curious as which avenue most people use to document their build process? My kit log, website blog, YouTube, pen and paper?
I purchased a kit back in July that had been previously been started and the previous builder did an excellent job documenting the project online in a blog as well as YouTube. It would take me way too much time to continue the same way he did it. I would rather spend that time building. So far I have been keeping up with a daily record in a notebook and have been taking lots of pictures. Has anyone created a Facebook build page to post pictures and daily logs to document your build? It seems like that may be the easiest as well as cheapest option for me to document my build going forward. Does anyone have any opinions for or against this way of documenting my build?
 
You'll get any number of ideas. There are similar threads that you can find with a search here on VAF. Personally, I'd stay clear of Facebook for the log merely because that requires a Facebook account to see, and a lot of us don't have one.

I started using Word. Then I switched to my builder's log here on VAF in the "My RV Build Project" section. After every posting, I do a PDF save, so I always have an up to date copy that I could print out if I wanted to, as well as a version that can be read by any PDF reader.

Dave
RV-3B Dave's In Colorado
 
EAA has an online builder's log that's free for members, easy to use and has a pre-made template to go by. It's also customizable should you not like their arrangement, and has an option to download a copy for backup.
 
Camera.

I have a camera on a tripod and take occasional pictures of me at work. I then transfer them to a hardware stick for the inspector to view when the time comes.

Regards,
 
Keep it simple

While building my -4, which was started pre internet tech, I utilized the Van's builders manual making notes and dates in the margin of each page as I worked through it. I also kept a paper calendar on the wall, opening in on the dates I worked on it.."drilling skin" or simple task. Occasional photos taken at milestones ect. The FAA truly only needs to know you are the builder, and they can easily learn that just having conversation with you. Your time is way better spent building than manipulating a digital log or over documenting every minute. With today's camera tech it's easy to grab pictures..I had to send most if mine out to be developed!
 
I am curious as which avenue most people use to document their build process?...I would rather spend that time building...

Builders logs can serve two purposes, one is to prove to FAA or DAR that YOU built it. The second is for your own personal journal that you can remember years down the road. I didn't really care so much about the "journal" part of it. My only desire was to meet FAA requirements. Like you, I wanted to build, not blog.

So, I took pictures everyday and didn't post them anywhere. Simply kept a folder in my pictures of the build and showed DAR those pics on my iPad. I dated and initialed each step of the manual as I completed them. I didn't log hours (didn't are how long it took) and I didn't write any long narratives that simply duplicated the plans instructions.

In the end FAA looked at about 10 pictures and the plans with my initials and dates. Be sure you pics have YOU in them. I had over 1,700 pics, but only about 20 had me in them. (what happens when you build by yourself) They wanted to see the ones with me in them.

In my opinion, many builders logs are overkill. If you'd rather build than blog, keep it simple. Pics and signed, dated plans were all I needed.
 
Builders logs can serve two purposes, one is to prove to FAA or DAR that YOU built it. The second is for your own personal journal that you can remember years down the road. I didn't really care so much about the "journal" part of it. My only desire was to meet FAA requirements. Like you, I wanted to build, not blog.

So, I took pictures everyday and didn't post them anywhere. Simply kept a folder in my pictures of the build and showed DAR those pics on my iPad. I dated and initialed each step of the manual as I completed them. I didn't log hours (didn't are how long it took) and I didn't write any long narratives that simply duplicated the plans instructions.

In the end FAA looked at about 10 pictures and the plans with my initials and dates. Be sure you pics have YOU in them. I had over 1,700 pics, but only about 20 had me in them. (what happens when you build by yourself) They wanted to see the ones with me in them.

In my opinion, many builders logs are overkill. If you'd rather build than blog, keep it simple. Pics and signed, dated plans were all I needed.

This is almost identical to what I did...pics along the way, into folders on my computer (for the FAA, mostly, or to share when working an "issue"), and a copy of the builder's manual with dated entries, updates, crossed-out N/A items, etc.

I spend all day at a computer...when I was building, I wanted to build, not spend *more* time at a computer putting together an electronic log that, really, only I would ever care about.

And paper doesn't go obsolete or the format become unsupported, even decades later ;)
 
There are mixed views on the EAA blog. Some like it, some find it hard to work with. It has a few quirks, but once you get the hang of it, it works pretty well.

I take photos every day of what I did and make an entry almost every day on the EAA site with a few notes about what I did. As others have said, it is useful both to show the FAA that you did the work AND to let you have a reference years from now regarding how, why, and when you did something.

I also keep a simple log in excel of time in, time out, who worked with me that day, and what I did. This lets me get a precise count of hours and minutes spent working. The EAA blog site has a backup feature where it dumps your entire log into excel, so I periodically download the full blog and add it as a page in that excel file just in case something ever happens to the EAA site.
 
I used KitLog Pro for my documentation. While it is getting rather old, it still works and allows for easy posting of your log to an on-line website. If I were starting a build today, I would look hard at the EAA builders log as a possible option (it didn't exist when I started my 10.)

I kept a note pad in the shop and each day wrote down the date and time I started work. Then wrote down the time I finished, with a note of any time taken off that day for lunch, etc. and then brief notes of what I had worked on that day. Then every few days I would take the pad home and add that info as entries to my KitLog Pro. I took lots of photos with my iPhone, and just transferred them to my laptop occasionally into folders by month. I rarely posted the photos to MyKit Log as I found it took more time than I wanted to spend on the log. If/when I have wanted to go back to find info on how I did something, I can search for it in the MyKit Log and then use the date of the work from there to find the photos.

So far, neither the DAR nor the FAA have wanted to see my photos. I did provide both the link to my on-line KitLog Pro site, and that appears to have been sufficient for them.

Having worked with computers most of my career, I always want to be sure to have backups. Uploading to MyKitlog Pro website is one backup. And then I have an automatic backup program running on my laptop that copies the Kitlog Pro database from my hard drive to a network drive for a second backup. And my photos are backed up to my iCloud drive (costs me $0.99 per month for the extra space) as well as to my network drive.

So use whatever logging system that works best for you. Just be sure it is backed up!

Enjoy your building journey
 
Thanks for the advise. I will probably continue documenting my 10 build like I have been so far. I will need to make sure I have some pictures of me building and I will also put a date in the build plans book as to when I completed each task. I just wanted to make sure what I was doing was acceptable and that I wouldn’t run into issues when applying for my airworthiness certificate and builders certificate. Thanks again
 
A bunch of iPhone pics of me building and side notes and dates in the plans book. Started out with a digital camera for the -7. Lots of pics over time with your face in them are hard to dispute who did the work.
 
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