FliteBook for Pilots version 5.0 is an upgrade of FliteBook for pilots version 4.0.

It is a complete rewrite of the FliteBook for Pilots version 4.0 and is based on Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which is the new technology Microsoft introduced for applications written specifically for Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows 7.0.

The program has the same functionality, but the user interface is much improved. In addition, some shortcomings with regard to the Folio feature has been corrected.

Some of the reports output data in Excel spreadsheet format. In order to view these, you would need to have either Microsoft Office installed, or if not you can download a free viewer from HERE.

In the new version, there is no support for the Pocket PC version. The main reason is that the Microsoft Windows Mobile Platform is not reliable enough and the products such as HTC all differ in some respect. Therefore support is a nightmare. The author intends to create a version that will run on the IPhone (and ITouch) sometime this year.


FliteBook 5 does not use the same database as version 4. Instead, after installation, if you have FliteBook 4 installed it will ask if you wish to import from FliteBook4. If you say no, it will ask you again for the next two times and stop asking after that. Each time a new update is downloaded and installed, it will ask you again. If you say no, then your data will be unaffected. This feature will be removed after three months when everyone has upgraded.

We have added a News feature in order to keep in touch with everybody. Each time there is news, you will see a message at the bottom of the window, and a button allowing you to download the news will appear in the ribbon. Once you have read the news, you will not be prompted again.


The Program

FliteBook for pilots is a logbook and folio management application. First, it allows pilots to keep an electronic logbook, however it also allows aircraft owners to keep information about their aircraft.

FliteBook has extensive support for Instructors as it allows you to keep track of your students and what you did with them. In addition, you can provide a student with a printout of all your flights with that student.

FliteBook keeps cost information on each flight and may be used to work out how mush to invoice customers.


FliteBook is free to all pilots in South Africa. As it is free you cannot demand extensive support. However the author of the application is keen to keep it going and to fix any glaring issues. You can send emails to flitebook@bkgr.co.za and report any errors or omissions. In addition, the application has a feature that allows you to send error data whenever an application bug has been discovered. A dialog will pop up allowing you to send detailed information to the author.
The application checks on the internet each time it is started to see if there is a newer version available. If so, it will alert you and download the new version. This is how bug fixes and new releases will be distributed.


When you install FliteBook it will first make sure that you have the .NET Framework installed on your PC as well as SQL Server Express. This is the database engine used to store your data. You will be asked if you want to install the Pocket PC version of the application. Do not say yes if you do not have a Pocket PC.

You can import data into FliteBook. Please read the help for info on how to do this. I suggest you read through all of the help before posting questions.
 
Name:FliteBook for Pilots  
 
Version: 5.1.0.8  
 
Publisher:Black Ginger  
 
The following prerequisites are required:
 
  • Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8
  • .NET Framework 3.5 (x86)
  • Windows Installer 3.1
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Report Viewer
  • SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP2 (x86)
TO INSTALL THE APPLICATION, CLICK DOWNLOAD BELOW. THIS WILL DOWNLOAD A SELF EXTRACTING ZIP FILE. WHEN ASKED WHERE TO SAVE THE FILES, CHOOSE A DESTINATION. ONCE THE FILES HAVE BEEN UZIPPED, RUN SETUP.EXE IN THE DIRECTORY THE FILES WERE UNZIPPED TO.
 
 
 
When FliteBook is installed it will save a sample database into your My Documents/FliteBook Backups directory.

You can restore this database and use it to get familiar with the features of FliteBook. After restoring the database, set the default Pilot to Self and the default aircraft to ZZ-BBB. You will then be able to test all the features of Flitebook.

We suggest that you first make a backup of the blank database before restoring the sample database. This allows you to restore back to a clean system when you are ready to roll, or you can simply delete the Logbook and Folio entries, modify the aircraft and pilot entries and away you go.
 
Download
 
IMPORTANT! If you are installing on Windows 7, be sure to set the program to run as administrator. To do this, right click the icon, select advanced and check the run as administrator checkbox.