Does Lost Student Pilot Logbook Mean Lost Hours?

Understanding how flight time counts, even with a new instructor.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, November 05, 2025 at 11:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Pilot logbook [Credit: Carly Chamerlik/FLYING Archive]

Key Takeaways:

Properly logged flight hours, including solo and dual instruction, from a previous instructor or school legally count towards a pilot certificate or rating as per cFAR 61.51, provided they include necessary endorsements.
While these hours are valid, new flight schools or CFIs may require students to repeat some training due to their own policies, as the endorsing instructor is responsible for the student's readiness for the check ride.
Students should retain their original logbook to present to the examiner during the check ride, as the examiner will verify all requirements have been met, helping to avoid paying for training hours twice.

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Question: I am a student pilot, and I lost my paper logbook for a time when I moved out of state. I was pretty bummed because it had my first solo and about 4.7 hours of solo flight logged in it, including a 1.7-hour solo cross-country flight, along with 13 hours of dual instruction.

I wanted to keep flying, so I found a new flight school and got a new logbook. I told the CFI that I had about 17 hours already logged, but he made me start all over again. When I found my original logbook, I showed him the time, and he told me it wouldn’t count because it was at another school with another CFI.