14.2 Operational, Remote Pilot and Technical Logs

Three Logs, Three Purposes

Record keeping is not administrative decoration. Chapter 10 of the Part 101 MOS prescribes the records a ReOC holder must maintain, and Schedule 4 makes keeping them a named responsibility of the remote pilot.

The Remote Pilot Log

AC 101-01 states the requirement directly: a RePL holder operating under a ReOC must keep a remote pilot log to record their accumulated flight time operating RPA. The Part 101 MOS prescribes what the log records:

• RPA details — the aircraft flown.
• Date, location and duration of each flight.
• Separate accumulated flight times for operations conducted:
  • at night
  • within VLOS
  • within EVLOS
  • beyond VLOS
• Accumulated flight time in simulated operation of the RPAS, including details of the type of operations simulated.

The separation matters because the categories carry different privileges. An operator applying for a BVLOS approval, or a pilot being signed off for night work, must be able to demonstrate relevant experience — and only a log that separates those totals can do it.

Electronic and traditional logbooks

Both are acceptable, with conditions:

• An electronic logbook may be used, but AC 101-01 requires it to include an auditing function that ensures the veracity and accuracy of the data entered. A spreadsheet anyone can retrospectively edit does not meet that bar.
• A traditional pilot's logbook may be used and can be purchased from an aviation store. RPA hours may be recorded in a separate column — but traditional and RPA hours must not be aggregated. A pilot with 400 hours in a Cessna and 200 hours on a multirotor has two separate totals, not 600 hours.

Why the log matters to the pilot personally

Beyond compliance, the remote pilot log is the pilot's professional record. It is the evidence for the 5-hour minimum experience required for an initial RePL, for a type or category addition, for a ReOC's recency requirements, and for an insurer's or a client's due diligence. Backfilling it from memory months later produces a document that is worth very little to anyone.

The Technical Log

The technical log travels with the aircraft rather than the pilot, and it is the document that answers whether the aircraft is fit to fly. It should record:

• Flight hours or cycles accumulated on the airframe and on life-limited components.
• Defects — every one, including the ones that did not stop the flight. "Motor 3 warm after landing." "Intermittent telemetry dropout at 400 m." "Small nick in propeller 2, replaced."
• Rectifications — what was done about each defect, by whom, and when.
• Component changes — motors, ESCs, propellers, batteries, GNSS modules, with part identification.
• Firmware versions — aircraft, controller and smart battery, and the date of each update.
• Scheduled maintenance carried out against the manufacturer's schedule.
• Any occurrence that damaged or may have damaged the aircraft, including hard landings.

Why "minor" entries are the valuable ones

A single "motor 3 warm" entry is noise. The same entry on three consecutive flights is a trend, and a trend is what allows a bearing to be replaced on the bench rather than fail 300 m downrange. The whole value of a technical log is that it turns individual observations into a pattern that no one's memory would have assembled.

This is also the mechanism by which the maintenance controller does their job. Under a ReOC the MC is responsible for ensuring the aircraft are serviceable, that maintenance is done by competent personnel, that records are kept, and that defects are investigated. The MC cannot investigate a defect that was never written down.

The Legal Backdrop

Section 20AA(4) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 applies to all aircraft, RPA included. It provides that an owner, operator, hirer or pilot must not commence a flight, or permit one to commence, if:

• there is an outstanding maintenance requirement imposed by or under the regulations;
• the aircraft will require maintenance before the flight can end; or
• there is a defect or damage that may endanger the safety of the aircraft, or any person or property.

Read that against the technical log and the connection is obvious: the log is how you know whether any of those three conditions applies. A pilot who does not consult the technical log before flight has no basis for the declaration that the aircraft is fit to fly.

Retention and Access

Practical rules:

• Keep records for the period the operator's DPP and the MOS require, and longer if an insurer or client demands it.
• Make them accessible — a technical log locked in an office is no use to a pilot deciding whether to launch at a remote site. Digital records with offline access solve this.
• Make entries at the time, not at the end of the week. A defect written down two days later loses the detail that would have identified the cause.
• Never backdate or amend an entry silently. If a correction is needed, add a new dated entry explaining it. An audit trail that can be quietly rewritten is worth nothing to CASA, to an insurer, or to an investigation.

Treat the three logs as the operation's memory. Everything else — competency, airworthiness, approvals, insurance claims and accident investigation — depends on them being complete and honest.