Builder Log Options

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Your builder log is the record of who built the airplane, what they did to each part, and when. For an Experimental Amateur-Built (E-AB) aircraft it is not optional paperwork — it is the evidence behind every point you claim on the NKET Checklist, and it is what a DAR reads when deciding whether the major portion was built for education or recreation. Because Van's has not put the RV-15 through an NKET evaluation, there is no pre-approved kit listing to fall back on: your records are the only support your major-portion claim has.

Why it matters

  • It carries the burden of proof. AC 20-27G paragraph 7h requires documentation showing who performed each task, when, and where. A photograph of a finished part proves none of the three. Whatever tool you choose has to record all three, per entry.
  • Original condition cannot be photographed later. An inspector has to establish what state a part was in when it came out of the crate before credit can be awarded for what you did to it. Start the log before you open the first crate.
  • It supports the repairman certificate. The FAA Form 8610-2 application for the Repairman Certificate (Experimental Aircraft Builder) rests on the same records.
  • It is worth keeping even on the E-LSA path. E-LSA certification does not require a major-portion showing, but a log still documents build quality for resale, insurance and future maintenance — and if you keep a proper log from day one you preserve the option to certificate E-AB instead. A log started after the fact does not.
  • You will want it long after first flight. Torque values, part substitutions, wire runs and sealant dates all turn up again during Phase 1 and every condition inspection after it.

What to look for, whichever tool you pick

  • Per-entry date, builder name and location — the who/when/where.
  • Photographs attached to the entry that made them, not dumped in a separate album.
  • A way to record hours and to attribute time to helpers separately from your own.
  • Enough structure to trace an entry back to a KAI section and step, so a checklist row can be defended.
  • An export you control — PDF for the DAR, and a machine-readable copy so you are not locked to one vendor or one website staying online.
  • A backup that is not the only copy. Cloud-only and device-only both fail; keep one of each.

Option 1 — KitFlight

Native Apple app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Mac and Vision Pro. kitflight.com

Benefits

  • Works completely offline in the shop — everything is stored on the device, then synced across your own devices through your personal iCloud account. No login, no signal, no subscription server to outlive.
  • Unlimited photo attachments per entry, with annotation and numbered callouts directly on the photo.
  • Dictation for hands-free entries when your hands are covered in sealant.
  • Entry types beyond a plain work log — achievement, observation, discrepancy, advice — plus categories and tags, so the log can be organized by airframe area and cross-tagged to checklist rows.
  • Contributor tracking: time and named credit for anyone who helps, which is exactly the "who" AC 20-27G asks for.
  • Parts inventory with entries able to consume stock, and insight graphs of hours and progress.
  • Exports to PDF (Letter or A4, single or double sided) for the DAR, plus CSV, JSON with photos and metadata, and Jekyll Markdown if you want to publish a static site.
  • Imports an existing log from EAA Builders Log or MyKitLog, so switching later is not a rewrite.

Cost — one-time purchase, no subscription, all future updates included. App Store price was $69.99 as of August 2026. The developer has run discounts around Sun 'n Fun, AirVenture and Cyber Monday.

Watch-outs

  • Apple platforms only — no Android, no Windows, no web browser.
  • No hosted website. Sharing means exporting, or publishing the Jekyll export yourself.
  • Your backup is your iCloud backup. Take a JSON or PDF export off-device periodically.

Option 2 — EAA Builders Log

Free web-based builder log provided by EAA to its members. eaabuilderslog.org

Benefits

  • Free with current EAA membership — no software to buy, nothing to install, usable from any browser on any device.
  • Hosted and backed up by EAA rather than by you.
  • Entries are organized by category with dates, hours and photographs, and the whole log prints for an inspector.
  • Your project page is public and searchable by kit model, builder, state and nearest airport — which is how most builders find each other's logs, and it makes your log easy to link from BuilderLogs.
  • The largest body of RV-15 build documentation currently in one place; several of the logs linked from BuilderLogs live here.
  • KitFlight can import from it, so it is a safe starting point.

Watch-outs

  • Requires internet in the shop, and requires your EAA membership to stay current for continued access.
  • Builders on the VAF thread report occasional access, posting and archiving frustrations.
  • Limited export — plan on how you would get your data out before you have three years of it in there.

Option 3 — Van's Air Force build thread

A build thread in the RV-15 section of the Van's Air Force forums.

Benefits

  • Free, nothing to install, and photo hosting is handled for you.
  • Every post is dated by the forum, so the timeline is inherent and hard to backdate.
  • Feedback before the rivet is set. This is the real advantage — experienced RV builders read along and catch mistakes while they are still cheap to fix. No other option does this.
  • Your thread becomes a searchable resource for the builders behind you, and the discussion in it often ends up on this wiki.
  • Trivially easy to link from BuilderLogs.

Watch-outs

  • Not a substitute for a structured log. There is no hours tracking, no per-task categorisation, nothing that maps to an NKET row, and no export. A DAR is unlikely to accept a forum thread as the primary record.
  • You do not control the site, its retention policy, or whether your photos survive a platform change.
  • Best treated as a companion to a real log, not as the log itself.

Other options builders use

Drawn largely from the VAF discussion linked below.

  • KitLog Pro — long-established, includes a hosted website. Appears to be no longer actively maintained, with compatibility problems on current systems. Verify it is still supported before committing to it.
  • MyKitLog — web-based log; KitFlight can import from it.
  • Spreadsheet (Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets) — free or already owned, totals hours automatically, and completely under your control. Print to PDF rather than "save as" to preserve formatting. Photographs have to be managed separately.
  • Three-ring binder plus cloud photo storage — handwritten dated entries with initials, photos backed up online. Low-tech, proven, and accepted by inspectors for decades.
  • Annotated plans — date and initial each step in the KAI as it is completed, backed by timestamped photographs. Cheap and effective as a supplement; thin on its own.
  • Blog platform (WordPress, Blogger) — free, public, shareable, and good for a narrative build story, but unstructured in the same way a forum thread is.

Many builders run two of these together — for example a structured log for the certification record and a VAF thread or blog for the community side.

Share your log

Whichever option you choose, please add it to BuilderLogs so other RV-15 builders can find it — and if you change tools, move hosts, or your log URL changes, update your entry there. Dead links on that page are the single most common problem with it. The table takes your builder name, log link, video channel, serial number, registration, and build start and finish.

See also

Sources

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