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, as per cFAR 61.51, legally count towards a pilot certificate or rating, regardless of the flight school or instructor where they were obtained.
Although legally valid, some flight schools may require students to repeat certain training as a matter of policy, due to the endorsing instructor's responsibility for the checkride.
It is crucial for student pilots to retain all their logbooks as examiners will verify all logged flight time and endorsements for certification, helping to avoid redundant training costs.

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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.