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Kitlog Pro Alternatives?

T

TheBebo

Member
Hello!

I'm getting my tools together, have my tail kit. I'm looking for an efficient/fast method of tracking/blogging my build as I go. I see numerous projects using Kitlog, however the software seems outdated, I'd much prefer a web style client for my updates. Any suggestions? What else is out there?

Thanks!
 
TheBebo said:
Hello!

I'm getting my tools together, have my tail kit. I'm looking for an efficient/fast method of tracking/blogging my build as I go. I see numerous projects using Kitlog, however the software seems outdated, I'd much prefer a web style client for my updates. Any suggestions? What else is out there?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I had good luck documenting my build using Blogger.com for my free WEB based Blog solution. However, I do pay a $10 per year registration fee so I can have my own WEB address for my builder's Blog.

The basic Blogger.com service is free and has storage up to 10 gig I believe ... I have tons of high res photos documenting my RV-12 build, so opted for additional storage which costs @2.99 per month which I feel is a fair amount for the service. I wanted to post lots of photos of the build with me in a large number of them so the FAA would not have any doubt I built more than 51% of the aircraft. If you don't post tons of high res photos, you could likely get by with the basic free storage.

One nice feature of Blogger.com is that there are many template formats to choose from making the time to get a Blog up and running quite quick. You can customize the look very easily once a format template has been chosen. You can easily customize the cover page using photos and also add tools such as search features so others can easily search your Blog based on a part number, assembly name or a tag name such as fuselage, wings, ect. Admittedly, there is a little bit of a learning curve to Blogger but once you play with it a little to get the feel for how it works it is easy to create posts documenting the building process.

Have a look at http://www.dogaviation.com/ as an example of one of the Blogger templates I used.

Enjoy your build.
 
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I use a mildly customized Wordpress blog myself. I'm currently working on taking the tools I use and turning them into an actual product that other builders can use (basically, hosted Wordpress with some extras), but it'll be a while before that's usable. (things go slower when you do them in your spare time...)

IMO a big benefit of Wordpress is that there are lots of ways to actually manage your blog content. I use a MacOS desktop client called MarsEdit. There are similar clients for Windows, as well as for iOS and Android, for those people who want to log their work directly from their phones.
 
Hey Dave E, I just use excel. Maybe you like the KISS mantra like I do. Keep It Simple.... Those internet blog sites are nice. But if your might push yourself like I am on building, literally DAILY I am constructing, then like me you will not want to waste unnecessary time on those blog site. I opened up excel and simply made a table in one worksheet with drop down lists. Then used the Pivot Table tool to summarize that data, and thus made a nice completely automatically updating summary table and two bar charts tracking hours. For build pictures it really is as easy as making a specific folder for those, then each one I create a hyper link in a field on the same (one) table at the end of the fields. I simply does not get easier than that.
It is fast n no time wasted, it is easily changeable, and more flexible than anything. This is basic excel spreadsheet skills. easy easy. If you want help I can clear out a copy and send if you want. Save your money and time.
 
I scripted my posting process, so I run a command on one of my computers, answer 4 questions, and it grabs photos from Google Photos and posts everything automatically.

Then it calculates my time spent and updates that page as well.

Spent some time on coding it all up front, but as I work the updates will be fast.
 
I use the VAF section "My RV Build Project." Fortunately, I know how to post photos.

It's easy enough. I back up each posting and each page to PDF, so I print them if I want to. Although with over 300 entries, that would get voluminous.

Dave
 
John-G said:
I had good luck documenting my build using Blogger.com for my free WEB based Blog solution. However, I do pay a $10 per year registration fee so I can have my own WEB address for my builder's Blog.

The basic Blogger.com service is free and has storage up to 10 gig I believe ... I have tons of high res photos documenting my RV-12 build, so opted for additional storage which costs @2.99 per month which I feel is a fair amount for the service. I wanted to post lots of photos of the build with me in a large number of them so the FAA would not have any doubt I built more than 51% of the aircraft. If you don't post tons of high res photos, you could likely get by with the basic free storage.

One nice feature of Blogger.com is that there are many template formats to choose from making the time to get a Blog up and running quite quick. You can customize the look very easily once a format template has been chosen. You can easily customize the cover page using photos and also add tools such as search features so others can easily search your Blog based on a part number, assembly name or a tag name such as fuselage, wings, ect. Admittedly, there is a little bit of a learning curve to Blogger but once you play with it a little to get the feel for how it works it is easy to create posts documenting the building process.

Have a look at http://www.dogaviation.com/ as an example of one of the Blogger templates I used.

Enjoy your build.
Click to expand...

John,

Can you keep up with build time somehow with blogger.com?
 
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