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 cross-country endorsements, are legally valid for a pilot certificate under cFAR 61.51, regardless of the instructing school or CFI.
While FAA regulations count previously logged hours, new flight schools may implement policies requiring students to repeat training, as the endorsing CFI is responsible for the check ride.
Student pilots should retain all official logbooks, as the examiner will review them during the check ride to confirm all certificate requirements have been met.

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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.

Is that correct?

Answer: I think something got lost in translation there. It is my understanding that once the hours are logged in your logbook, they cannot be taken away—meaning if they are properly logged per cFAR 61.51, they count toward the certificate or rating.

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Does the original logbook have the solo and cross-country flight endorsements from your original instructor? Are the dual lessons logged “in a manner acceptable to the administrator”?

If so, those hours count toward the certificate. However, many schools, both Part 61 and Part 141, insist learners repeat the training as a matter of policy, as whoever endorses the client for the check ride is putting their own certificate on the line.

Since you don’t want to pay for hours twice, hold on to that first logbook. When you meet the examiner for your check ride, they will want to see that you have met the requirements for the certificate.

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