jsherblon
Well Known Member
I've tried a couple of methods for my builder's log. I'm a database administrator by day, so when I started my -7, I created a database application for my log. It has all of the bells and whistles - tracks costs by category, automatic look ups for components by name or part number, calculates building time to the minute, calendar views, multiple digital pictures per entry, and many more slightly useless features (including remote web access - what was I thinking?). After a year, it was a chore to use, especially when I was most likely to use it, late at night when I finished a building session.
I switched to using a spiral notebook for a few months but that didn't satisfy the nerd in me. Then, I got an iPhone.
Here's my builder's log technique now. After each building session, I take some pictures with the iPhone. I connect the iPhone to my Mac which automatically opens iPhoto. The iPhoto application asks if I want to import the pictures and has an entry where you name the group of pictures as an event. I name the group of pictures something like "RV-7 fuselage riveting" and import them. Once imported, I add notes to each individual picture as I see fit - e.g. "Riveted left armrest to fuselage".
iPhoto has a feature called Smart Albums. When you create a smart album, like "RV-7 Builders Log", you assign conditions like "title contains RV-7" or "description contains RV" to the album. When the titles or keywords you've add to the pictures match the smart album's conditions, the pictures are automatically added to the smart album.
Each group of pictures includes the date they were taken. The individual pictures include the date and time. The iPhone includes the latitude and longitude of the location where the picture was taken, which iPhoto will show you using Google maps ("Yes sir, Mr. DAR, as you can see that's me getting older in the photos and right there's the spot where the F-661-EF Bearing Blocks were attached.").
The final iPhoto feature I use is Share. You can send the pictures to MobileMe, Facebook, or Flickr which is an easy way to keep a backup of your log.
This method works the same way using any digital camera (although the mapping feature requires a GPS equipped camera).
I switched to using a spiral notebook for a few months but that didn't satisfy the nerd in me. Then, I got an iPhone.
Here's my builder's log technique now. After each building session, I take some pictures with the iPhone. I connect the iPhone to my Mac which automatically opens iPhoto. The iPhoto application asks if I want to import the pictures and has an entry where you name the group of pictures as an event. I name the group of pictures something like "RV-7 fuselage riveting" and import them. Once imported, I add notes to each individual picture as I see fit - e.g. "Riveted left armrest to fuselage".
iPhoto has a feature called Smart Albums. When you create a smart album, like "RV-7 Builders Log", you assign conditions like "title contains RV-7" or "description contains RV" to the album. When the titles or keywords you've add to the pictures match the smart album's conditions, the pictures are automatically added to the smart album.
Each group of pictures includes the date they were taken. The individual pictures include the date and time. The iPhone includes the latitude and longitude of the location where the picture was taken, which iPhoto will show you using Google maps ("Yes sir, Mr. DAR, as you can see that's me getting older in the photos and right there's the spot where the F-661-EF Bearing Blocks were attached.").
The final iPhoto feature I use is Share. You can send the pictures to MobileMe, Facebook, or Flickr which is an easy way to keep a backup of your log.
This method works the same way using any digital camera (although the mapping feature requires a GPS equipped camera).
