Drone Flight Log Template for Excel (Free Download, 2026)

A flight log does not need special software. A spreadsheet that is filled in after every flight covers what most small operators are asked for, as long as it has the right columns and somebody keeps it up to date.

This template is the one we would start with: an Excel workbook with a flight log, an aircraft register, a pilot register and a maintenance log, plus a summary sheet that pulls together flights, certificates and service dates. It is free and there is no sign-up.

Download the drone flight log template (Excel, .xlsx)

There is also a Norwegian version of the template.

What is in the workbook

Sheet	What you fill in	What it works out for you
Flight log	One row per flight: date, take-off and landing time, pilot, aircraft, location, category, line of sight, height, purpose and any incident	Flight number and duration
Aircraft	Each drone with serial number, class mark, insurance and service interval	Next service date, number of flights and flight time per aircraft
Pilots	Each remote pilot with the dates their certificates expire	Earliest expiry, certificate status, last flight, flight time and number of flights (in total and in the last 90 days)
Maintenance	One row per service, repair or firmware update	Nothing
Summary	Nothing	Totals, the last 12 months and what needs attention

Pilot and aircraft are picked from dropdowns that read the two registers, so a name is spelled the same way in every row and the totals add up. A certificate that has expired turns red and one that expires within 60 days turns amber. A service that is overdue or due within 30 days is marked the same way. The workbook is prepared for 5,000 flights, 50 pilots and 50 aircraft.

The workbook is a plain .xlsx file and uses only formulas that have been in Excel since 2007, so it can also be opened in Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

What a drone flight log should contain

For the specific category the starting point is point UAS.SPEC.050(1)(g) of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. It requires the operator to keep up-to-date records of the qualifications and training of the personnel, of the maintenance carried out on the aircraft and of the operations, including unusual technical or operational occurrences, for at least three years.

EASA's acceptable means of compliance to that point says that a logbook, which may be electronic, is an acceptable way of logging flights, and it lists what the record may include. The template has a column or a sheet for each item:

EASA lists	Where it is in the template
Identification of the aircraft: manufacturer, model and serial number	The Aircraft sheet, referenced by aircraft ID in the flight log
Date, time and location of take-off and landing	Date, take-off, landing, location and coordinates
Duration of each flight	Duration, calculated from the two times
Total number of flight hours or cycles	Flights and flight time per aircraft and per pilot
Name of the remote pilot responsible for the flight	Remote pilot
The activity performed, with the reference to the standard scenario or the authorisation	Category, authorisation or declaration reference and purpose
Any significant incident or accident	Incident or abnormality, with a description in the notes
A completed pre-flight inspection	Pre-flight checklist done
Defects and rectifications, repairs and changes to the configuration	The Maintenance sheet

Two things to keep in mind:

• Your own paperwork decides. What you have to record is set by your declaration or your operational authorisation. Read it and add the columns it asks for.
• The open category is different. The EU rules set no general logbook requirement there, but clients and insurers often ask for a log anyway, and national rules can go further. Denmark is expected to require an electronic logbook from 2027, as described in our article on the Danish rule.

How to use the template

1. Fill in Pilots and Aircraft first. The flight log picks its names and IDs from these two sheets.
2. Log every flight the same day. Type the take-off and landing times and the sheet works out the duration, also for a flight that passes midnight.
3. Write down incidents while you remember them. Choose "Yes (see notes)" and describe what happened and what you did about it.
4. Log maintenance when it happens. Update the last service date on the Aircraft sheet at the same time, so the next service date moves.
5. Open the Summary once a week. It shows expired certificates, certificates about to expire and services that are due.
6. Keep one copy. Store the workbook in a shared folder with version history, so everybody works in the same file and an old version can be restored.

Where a spreadsheet stops working

A spreadsheet is a good start and a poor finish. These are the limits operators usually meet first:

• Nobody is reminded. A cell turns red, but only for the person who opens the file.
• Everybody can change everything. There is no access control, and no record of who edited a flight that was logged three months ago.
• Logging in the field is awkward. A phone and a 23-column sheet do not go well together, so flights get logged later, from memory.
• The rest of the documentation lives elsewhere. The checklist, the risk assessment and the authorisation are in other files, so the row cannot show that they were done.
• Every request is manual work. When an authority, a client or an insurer asks for records, somebody has to filter, copy and format.

That is usually when an operator moves to software. UAV-Planner keeps flight logs, pilot certificates, aircraft and maintenance in one place, lets pilots log from their phone after landing, warns before a certificate expires, shows when each aircraft is due for service and exports the records on request. If the template does the job for you, keep using it. When it starts to cost time, see the plans and book a demo.

FAQ

Is a flight log mandatory for drones?

In the specific category the operator has to keep records of its operations under point UAS.SPEC.050(1)(g), and a logbook is the usual way to do that. In the open category the EU rules do not require one, but your insurer, your clients or national rules may. Keeping a log from the first flight is the safe choice, because a log that starts on the day somebody asks for it does not cover the flights before.

How long do I have to keep the records?

Point UAS.SPEC.050(1)(g) sets a minimum of three years for the records of operations and maintenance. Contracts and insurance policies can require longer, so check those too.

What is the difference between a flight log and a pilot logbook?

A flight log is the operator's record of every flight, whoever flew it. A pilot logbook is one pilot's record of their own experience. The Pilots sheet in the template sums each pilot's flights and flight time from the flight log, which covers both needs for a small team.

Can I change the template?

Yes. Add columns for what your authorisation asks for, and remove the ones you do not need, except columns B to G in the flight log (date to aircraft ID), which the other sheets read. Leave the grey cells alone, because they hold the formulas.

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UAV-Planner is flight logging, certificate tracking and fleet records for commercial drone operators in Europe. Read more about tracking flight hours and pilot qualifications or go through the EASA compliance checklist.