The Best Ways to Track Your Flight Training Progress (2026)
Spreadsheet, logbook app, or a dedicated readiness app? An honest comparison for student pilots.
Last updated June 3, 2026 · by Sami, an FAA-certificated private pilot
Most student pilots track their hours one of three ways: a spreadsheet, a logbook app, or a dedicated training app. They are good at different things. Totaling hours is the easy part, and a logbook app does it well. The harder questions are whether the paperwork will hold on checkride day, what is actually left, and whether your CFI and examiner can trust the record. That is where the three part ways.
The three approaches, compared
| Spreadsheet | Logbook app | Waypoint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Totals your hours | Manual | Yes | Yes |
| Shows progress toward §61.109 | If you build it | Some | Yes |
| Tracks endorsements | No | Some | Yes |
| CFI verifies and signs in it | No | Some | Yes |
| Whole record shared live with your CFI | No | No | Yes |
| Checkride-readiness audit (paperwork, currency) | 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, and a good one shows your Part 61 progress. What it does not do is share that with your CFI or prove the paperwork holds for this checkride.
- A dedicated app like Waypoint is for readiness, not just hours: what is left, whether the endorsements and currency hold, what it is costing, and one record your CFI and examiner can trust.
Where Waypoint fits
Waypoint is the readiness layer for training, built specifically for the Private Pilot certificate. It computes every §61.109 requirement from the flights you log, or imports them from ForeFlight or MyFlightbook. The point is what tracking alone misses: it audits your endorsements, currency windows, and paperwork before you book the checkride, shows your CFI the same record live, keeps a private tally of what you are spending, and gives your examiner one verified link on checkride day. It is free to use today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to track flight training progress?
It depends what you need. A spreadsheet is free but manual. A logbook app records hours well, and a good one shows your Part 61 progress. The gap is readiness and trust: whether the paperwork holds, and whether your CFI and examiner can see the same record. A dedicated app like Waypoint covers that, and many students keep a logbook for hours and use Waypoint for readiness.
Does a logbook app tell me what is left for my certificate?
Some do. ForeFlight, for example, has an auto-filled Part 61 progress report. What logbook apps generally do not do is share that with your CFI, audit your endorsements and currency, or give your examiner a verified record on checkride day. That is the gap Waypoint fills.
Is Waypoint a logbook?
No. Waypoint is the readiness layer for training. You log flights, or import them from ForeFlight or MyFlightbook, and it shows where you stand against §61.109, audits your endorsements and paperwork, and shares one verified record with your CFI and examiner. It works alongside your logbook, and it is free to use today.
Stop guessing what’s left before your checkride
Waypoint auto-computes every §61.109 requirement from the flights you log — free to use today.