The Best Ways to Track Your Flight Training Progress (2026)
Spreadsheet, logbook app, or requirements tracker? An honest comparison for student pilots.
Last updated June 3, 2026 · by Sami Kosaraju, an FAA-certificated private pilot
Most student pilots track training one of three ways: a spreadsheet, a logbook app, or a requirements tracker. They solve different problems. A logbook is great at totaling hours, but when you want to know what is actually left before your checkride, that is a different question, and it is the one a requirements tracker is built to answer.
The three approaches, compared
| Spreadsheet | Logbook app | Requirements tracker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Totals your hours | Manual | Yes | Yes |
| Rolls up to each §61.109 item | Only if you build it | Rarely | Yes |
| Tracks endorsements | No | Some | Yes |
| CFI can verify / sign | No | Some | Yes |
| Checkride-readiness view | No | No | Yes |
| Private cost tracking | Manual | Some | Yes (private to you) |
When each one makes sense
- A spreadsheet is free and flexible, but every requirement and currency clock is on you to maintain, and your CFI cannot verify any of it.
- A logbook app is best for a durable, lifelong record of your hours. It is less focused on what you still owe for this particular certificate.
- A requirements tracker is best while you are in training and want progress, endorsements, and checkride readiness in one place.
Where Waypoint fits
Waypoint is the requirements-tracker option, built specifically for the Private Pilot certificate. You log a flight, and it works out every §61.109 requirement from the route and landing detail, tracks your endorsements with full AC 61-65 provenance, shows a checkride-readiness view, and lets your CFI verify flights and sign endorsements. Your cost tracking stays private to you. It is free through your Private Pilot certificate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to track flight training progress?
It depends what you want. A spreadsheet is free but manual. A logbook app records hours well. A requirements tracker like Waypoint maps your flights against the §61.109 requirements so you can see what is left before the checkride. Plenty of students use a logbook for hours and a requirements tracker for progress.
Does a logbook app tell me what is left for my certificate?
Most logbook apps total your hours by category but do not roll them up against each §61.109 requirement, your endorsements, or your checkride readiness. That is the gap a requirements tracker fills.
Is Waypoint a logbook?
Not really. Waypoint is a progress and requirements tracker. You log flights, it works out every §61.109 item, tracks your endorsements, and shows checkride readiness. It is free for student pilots through the Private Pilot certificate.
Stop guessing what’s left before your checkride
Waypoint auto-computes every §61.109 requirement from the flights you log — free through your Private Pilot certificate.