RVG8tor

RVG8tor

Well Known Member
Ok, I have the tail kit and will be starting is as soon as I have the factory all organized and equipped. I would like to get recommendations on Builder Log software. My buddy did his log in a composition book, I know this will suffice but I want a log with a little more automation. I am very computer literate and have thought to put my two programmer brothers-in-law on programing a custom log. But that would take too much time, so I want and off the shelf log and would like some recommendations. Most I am sure have only used on log software and have not tired out more than one but I want to hear what you liked and did not like. Here are some questions....

So far I have only found "Kitlog" and "Expercraft", are there any others?

What are the limits, number of pictures, pages of notes etc.?

Does the log come with server space to have the log online and if so what is the monthly fee if any?

Does it track hours? My vision is something like a time card, I punch in start in the computer then stop and it tracks the hours and minutes. Speaking of this do you count hours reading the plans or are they not included when someone says they spent 2000 hours building?

Can subsections be added to the generic, tail, wing, fuselage sections?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Kitlog

I use Kitlog and I love it. (Link to my website below in my signature block). I've also seen several logs using Expercraft, and they look great too. I can tell you with Kitlog, I paid one price up front, and no recurring charges. Software updates are free and hosting is free. It keeps track of my building hours (including pictures), as well as my expense logs. There are a variety of reports it can print out. I also logs maintenance and flying hours after the plane is built.

I like Kitlog because it's actually software that I downloaded onto my computer. I keep the log and pictures on my computer. I can also upload the log to the internet, but my computer always has a backup. The way internet companies come and go these days, I'd hate to have something online and one day it just disappears, you know?

I know Kitlog had a free trial period. I would download it and play with it. See if it's easy for you to use. Expercraft may have the same deal, I don't know.
 
The Kit Log Pro website has had a message

"KitLog Pro v2.1 is Coming Soon! Get ready for v2.1! New features include a revised expense log and enhancements to MyKitLog.com."

for over a year now. No update.
 
I just use livejournal - I like the layout and the "tags" feature so you can easily search for all entries related to a particular tag - for example, horizontal stabilizer.

I use Facebook to host all my images, but any free hosting website would work. I pay nothing, all the formatting is taken care of, and all I do is upload photos, write an entry, and link the photos.

Link in sig...
 
Be careful about spending too much time not building

Mike - I'm now into the fuselage of my RV-7A quickbuild project. I bought KitLog the same day I put my tail kit order in, and I think it's a great piece of software. My day job has me working with computers all day, so I am a very proficient computer user.

With that said, I'll tell you my experience with using KitLog. I don't really use it any more. I'm not sure what your daily routine looks like, but for me, I'm building after work each day and on weekends. I was really good about documenting everything the first few weeks. But then I found myself towards the end of each night not wanting to stop 30 minutes early to make my log entries. I only have roughly 4 hours per night to dedicate to my project. I don't want to take 12.5% of that time to put in log entries. So then I started trying to update the log once or twice per week. But then instead of 30 minutes, it was an hour or more.

So what I do now is use a $4 notebook from Target. I put my hours in there at the end of each night with a brief (very brief) description of what I did and the date. I try to take one picture per night. Once a week or so, I log into my home PC, upload the pics from my camera, add them to kitlog with a generic description and date, click the "upload to Internet" button and I'm done. You can see my page HERE The only reason I'm even doing that much is because I had friends and family throw a fit when they couldn't see my progress any more.

My advice would be to really think about the purpose of your log and how much time you want to spend keeping it up. If it's just to document your build and prove to the DAR that you actually built the plane, I'd say you can take pictures (store on your PC), keep a paper log (notebook), and track your expenses in Excel. That way you'll be spending a lower percentage of your time documenting.

There are a lot of builders that have huge, very detailed logs on the web. A lot of builders, me included, spend a lot of time looking at those pages as references when we have a question. They are a huge help. If your plan is to have one of those web sites, kitlog's probably not a great choice anyway. Just keep in mind that the main project is BUILDING a plane, not DOCUMENTING a plane. If you have the time to make a side project out of the documenting part, knock yourself out.
 
Ditto

DBone said:
...There are a lot of builders that have huge, very detailed logs on the web. A lot of builders, me included, spend a lot of time looking at those pages as references when we have a question. They are a huge help. If your plan is to have one of those web sites, kitlog's probably not a great choice anyway. Just keep in mind that the main project is BUILDING a plane, not DOCUMENTING a plane. If you have the time to make a side project out of the documenting part, knock yourself out.
Click to expand...
My sense is that some people get off on the documentation side of the build, and others view it as a chore. Like Dbone, I'm of the latter. For those that want to, my experience with Kitlog is that it works fine. Limits you to 3 pics per entry (could work around by adding additional entries). It doesn't have a "time card" functionality per se... you enter the hours. You can add any subsections you like. I think it is built on an Access platform, if that helps you understand any potential limitations. I've had a few bugs to deal with. Great support from Matt on those though.
 
Thanks for the log advice

To all that responded,

Thanks you for your advice. I do want the ability for friends and family to keep track of my progress, so the kitlog type application suits me. I guess I will workup some type of time card deal myself with excell. I will keep a laptop in the shop so I can just hit start and stop and let it calculate the time spent. Of course I have already inventoried the tail kit so there will be some manual entries to do. Again thanks, I can see I am getting involved with a great group of people.
 
Kitlog

I'm a kitlog user and overall I think its great. The two things I don't like about it are the lack of a rich text wysiwyg editor and the fact that I can only add three photos. Personally, I prefer to be pretty detailed about my log and it is as much a diary/blog as it is a technical log. This is so that friends and family can see not only what I'm doing, but how I'm feeling about doing it: the chores that frustrate me (edge finishing!), the milestones that give me a boost, etc. And I hope that maybe at least occasionally I pass on a pearl of wisdom that perhaps prevents some other poor sucker fall into one of the traps that I may have done.

Previous posters are absolutely correct though: it is a chore and it does require discipline. It takes time away from building. It can sometimes take me up to an hour to get photos from my camera, choose which ones to keep, choose which ones to put in kitlog, decide whether to have one entry with three photos, or do multiple entries so I can use more photos, edit the photos, enter my log info, etc, etc.

Lucky (!?) for me, the pace of build is determined by finances rather than hor fast I physically work, so time is not really an issue. I also dread even the potential thought of the CAA turning me away because I can't produce sufficient build evidence. Could it ever happen? Really? Who knows, but I'm sure as heck not going to be the one to find out!!

Kitlog suits my needs, and seems to be functional and reliable. One day they'll issue the update, but I stopped holding my breathe months ago when I looked in the mirror and my face was blue :eek:

Cheers,
 
Expercraft

I use Expercraft. Very easy to use, doesn't cost me much time. And it is (still) free. Check our website to see if you like the set-up: http://websites.expercraft.com/PHVII/

Like some guys said: the objective is to build, not to document, but since you'll have to document something anyhow I think a public logbook which can be seen by friends and fellow builders is quite nice!

all the best,
 
I use a spiral notebook. It never locks up, never looses memory, batteries never go dead, etc........
 
Expercraft

I've noticed on a lot of the Expercraft sites, there are "Ads by Google". I don't have any of that on my Kitlog site.....
 
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