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Build Log Question

P

PilotRPI

Active Member
I'm updating my build log every time that I work on the RV7. How often do I need to include a picture in my log, and do I need to be in the pictures?

Thanks!
 
There are no specific requirements for your builder's log.
It should be, at a minimum, a general chronological log of the build.
You should have pictures, with yourself included, at different points of the build.
 
Not to mention people like me that spend countless hours reading build logs (and looking at pics) because we are saving money for our kit... :D Keep feeding us! lol
 
Pics

I'm on the excess side. Every minute gets logged. One photo a day if not routine task. Sometimes several for more detailed tasks. I may need to refer to them and the log someday.
Some photos include me for posterity and proof.
 
Mel said:
There are no specific requirements for your builder's log.
It should be, at a minimum, a general chronological log of the build.
You should have pictures, with yourself included, at different points of the build.
Click to expand...

Where in the FARs does it say you must document anything during the build with pictures?
 
rv7charlie said:
Where in the FARs does it say you must document anything during the build with pictures?
Click to expand...

FAA Order 8130.2H. ¶459.e. Proper Documentation. Amateur builder(s) need to be able to provide adequate and sufficient documentation to detail the construction and inspections of their aircraft.
(1) These records need to clearly indicate what was fabricated, assembled, or inspected, by whom, and the date the activity was performed.
(2) Documentation should clearly show who performed the task(s), describe when and where the tasks were performed, depict the methods of acceptable aeronautical construction and practices, and document the use of commercial and noncommercial assistance.
(3) The FAA must be provided with sufficient information to make a major portion determination. This documentation may include the following:
(a) The Amateur-Built Aircraft Fabrication and Assembly Checklist.
(b) Comprehensive builder’s logs in any format, to include photographs of all the steps included in each of the listed tasks in the Amateur-Builder Aircraft Fabrication and Assembly Checklist, materials and techniques used in construction, as well as dates, locations, and detailed descriptions.
(c) Photographs/video/DVD.
(d) Drawings and engineering specifications.
(e) Kit manufacturer’s data, when necessary.
(f) Relevant documentation (for example, plans) and references (for example, handbooks) used.
(g) Documentation concerning any commercial assistance used, including receipts. (h) Documentation concerning any non-commercial assistance used.
(i) Article inventories and histories.
(j) Receipts and catalogs.
(k) Logbook entries.
 
For me, the key phrase is: "The FAA must be provided with sufficient information to make a major portion determination." They are the ones granting the authority that you are requesting. Better too much rather than too little documentation/photos of the build. I've seen people satisfy the DAR/FAA with surprisingly little, however. YMMV.
 
I remember building my first RV, detailed build log on the computer matched with pictures. Every day that ate in to my disposable time that I could have spent working on the RV. I have a great log and a couple of hundred pictures of that first RV. Starting number two I changed that process. I kept a digital camera in the workshop and took a picture as I completed each sub assembly or detailed part. About once every 15 days or so I would load them on my laptop for safe storage. Keep building.
 
rv7charlie said:
Isn't the key phrase,
"This documentation may include the following"
??
Click to expand...

These are the KEY phrases:
(1) These records need to clearly indicate what was fabricated, assembled, or inspected, by whom, and the date the activity was performed.
(2) Documentation should clearly show who performed the task(s), describe when and where the tasks were performed, depict the methods of acceptable aeronautical construction and practices, and document the use of commercial and noncommercial assistance.
(3) The FAA must be provided with sufficient information to make a major portion determination.
 
Last edited:
Two things to keep in mind. You will spend a significant part of your life building an airplane; document it. You will spend days somewhere in the future wondering how you did something you can no longer see unless you took pictures.
Click away. Every friend and family member, each visit gets a picture and takes one of you working. Long run these will become more important than what is done for the official documentation. Print out a few for the examiner that shows you working and let him know you have a couple hundred similar pictures if needed.
 
dlloyd3 said:
. Print out a few for the examiner that shows you working and let him know you have a couple hundred similar pictures if needed.
Click to expand...

For my inspection I hauled a computer out to the hangar, put all the photos in one folder, opened it up and handed it over to the DAR. After 5 minutes he said great, he didn't need to see any other proof of build.
 
Build your airplane, not a build log is my advice. Check off each step in the manual with the date, or a quick note on a calendar, take a picture every once in a while (though anyone can pose in front of anyone's project, so I'm not really sure what purpose the pictures really serve), but I wouldn't go to crazy beyond that. Take pictures for your own memories or of things you might not be able to easily see in the future and thus may want for future maintenance. Any DAR worth his or her salt is going to know whether you or someone else built the plane after 5 minutes talking to you.

My DAR didn't even bother with my photo album, but I guess the best advice is to pick your DAR early and ask them what they will want.

Good luck.
 
I actually wanted the photo log for myself more than anything else. I usually took one or more photos at the end of every day. Now it's fun to go back and look at the build, friends & family are interested, etc.
 
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