Phantom Logbook under construction

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Have you ever had the experience that you did a mod or an update or whatever? Next time you fly your bird it's weeks later because, ever since the work on your Phantom, the weather sucked.
And guess what, you never thought once about the software update, or the gains you changed, back then, on that rainy night....And if you did, do you still remember every detail?
Normally I would immediately want to try out new settings or added features. But where I live, the weather normally sucks. We get only a few good days a month in the winter. And working on the Phantom is usually when the weather sucks anyhow.

So I came up with the idea to keep a log.
Every time I fly or do anything with the Phantoms I write it in the log.
If there a corresponding video, I going to write down the file name/location/directory/network drive/Youtube url etc. That way video's generally get more value to me, if I can recall the info about that particular flight.
If I change any gains, calibrate, or change anything in Assistant, I write down the changes in the log and note the difference in flight next time I fly it.

Well, at least that's what I intend to do. See how much valuable info that delivers over a period of time.

Since I got a HP 7" Windows8 tablet with Office 365, for a steal, I thought, why not set it up in Excel and take it into the field? Having your log in the field is a great way to prevent pilot or maintenance error. Anything that's worth remembering during the flight, one can jot down, right away after shut down.
Later, with filtering, after a few months, there are all sorts of views you can have on your total Phantom experience.

Phantom Log.jpg


I'm not a expert in Excel, not in the slightest. But what I have set up is useable and adaptable enough for me.
Would like some feedback on what to add and maybe somebody out here is savvy on Excel and adds a few really nice features for reporting or sorting, maybe dropdown lists with given choices.

Anyway, what do y'all think?

I can't seem to upload the excel file, would like to share it with all of you.
So here's the link to the file in my Dropbox.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79472429/Phantom Logbook.xlsx

I will leave it in there for a while.
 
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Nice! You might add a column for which batteries you flew as a way to keep them balanced...
 
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Reactions: lake_flyer
Nice. If I can make a suggestion though? Try making the font smaller. (Unless you have trouble viewing the one you have now.) It'll make the entire sheet slightly smaller. Thereby eliminating the need to use the horizontal scroll bar to view the cells right or left of the screen. I've made a few spreadsheets with MS Office Excel in the past. I might try tweaking this one.

I noticed too that the extension used is .xlsx which is the same extension used on my free version of WPS/Kingsoft Office Spreadsheet. I got tired of the excessive cost of MS Office so I found this free version that is identical to MS Office. Free, and updates when needed.
 
The only ones I cant see which I use in my own log are

No of satellites locked at launch
Percent battery remaining on landing (useful in conjuction with flight duration to see battery ageing)
K index
Total flight time (this could be done on a per battery basis - I dont yet)
 
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The only ones I cant see which I use in my own log are

No of satellites locked at launch
Percent battery remaining on landing (useful in conjuction with flight duration to see battery ageing)
K index
Total flight time (this could be done on a per battery basis - I dont yet)
excellent! I'll add them too.
Thanks.
 
Nice. If I can make a suggestion though? Try making the font smaller. (Unless you have trouble viewing the one you have now.) It'll make the entire sheet slightly smaller. Thereby eliminating the need to use the horizontal scroll bar to view the cells right or left of the screen. I've made a few spreadsheets with MS Office Excel in the past. I might try tweaking this one.

I noticed too that the extension used is .xlsx which is the same extension used on my free version of WPS/Kingsoft Office Spreadsheet. I got tired of the excessive cost of MS Office so I found this free version that is identical to MS Office. Free, and updates when needed.
I thought about the font but I mainly wanted it to be useful on a 7" screen. However, zooming in and out wouldn't be much of a pain. I think everybody can change the fonts like he wants it.

Thanks for the free Excel clone tip. You can also use OpenOffice for free, it reads and write Excel format.
 
I'll update the dropbox file as soon as I made changes, and post notification here.
 
Total flight time (this could be done on a per battery basis - I dont yet)
I like that idea. Give the battery a name or number and check how much total flying time on that battery. Great idea.
I might give them names :)
 
I might make separate tabs for detailed info like start end voltage, (and % left), number of flights with battery, voltage gain settings, control gain settings, weather info etc.
On the main page I would like it to be an easy over view of the most basic stuff you want to know in a glimpse.

On the other hand you can always show only the columns for which you want to see or enter data, for the rest you can simply hide the column if you want. I'd rather have more than less to choose from.
So I might leave it all on one page, leaving it up to the user to decide which columns he needs to see.

I would like a dropdown menu in the top left where you can choose the columns you want to see and which ones you don't. Should be possible am I right?
 
Have you ever had the experience that you did a mod or an update or whatever? Next time you fly your bird it's weeks later because, ever since the work on your Phantom, the weather sucked.
And guess what, you never thought once about the software update, or the gains you changed, back then, on that rainy night....And if you did, do you still remember every detail?
Normally I would immediately want to try out new settings or added features. But where I live, the weather normally sucks. We get only a few good days a month in the winter. And working on the Phantom is usually when the weather sucks anyhow.

So I came up with the idea to keep a log.
Every time I fly or do anything with the Phantoms I write it in the log.
If there a corresponding video, I going to write down the file name/location/directory/network drive/Youtube url etc. That way video's generally get more value to me, if I can recall the info about that particular flight.
If I change any gains, calibrate, or change anything in Assistant, I write down the changes in the log and note the difference in flight next time I fly it.

Well, at least that's what I intend to do. See how much valuable info that delivers over a period of time.

Since I got a HP 7" Windows8 tablet with Office 365, for a steal, I thought, why not set it up in Excel and take it into the field? Having your log in the field is a great way to prevent pilot or maintenance error. Anything that's worth remembering during the flight, one can jot down, right away after shut down.
Later, with filtering, after a few months, there are all sorts of views you can have on your total Phantom experience.

View attachment 16655

I'm not a expert in Excel, not in the slightest. But what I have set up is useable and adaptable enough for me.
Would like some feedback on what to add and maybe somebody out here is savvy on Excel and adds a few really nice features for reporting or sorting, maybe dropdown lists with given choices.

Anyway, what do y'all think?

I can't seem to upload the excel file, would like to share it with all of you.
So here's the link to the file in my Dropbox.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79472429/Phantom Logbook.xlsx

I will leave it in there for a while.
Hi, I understand this forum is a few years old. I too would like a copy of your flight log excel spreadsheet if possible. The link is no longer active.

Thanks
 

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