Page 8 - Jan22T

Aircraft Records Digitization
How logbook digitization services can
protect your aircraft’s value. by Dale Smith
Bluetail is using the latest in digital scanning, opti- cal character recognition, machine learning, and Amazon Web Services cloud-native applications to not only digitize and store your valuable aircraft logbooks
but make them easily searchable, sharable and secure.
If you’ve been following our recent series, you’ve seen how updating avionics, interior, paint, and even enroll- ing in an engine maintenance program can add to your aircraft’s “value.”
But, while we’ve seemingly covered all of the obvious “value adds,” we’ve overlooked one of the most misunder- stood: your aircraft’s logbooks. Really. There’s a lot more riding on those binders and booklets than the typical owner appreciates – until it’s too late.
As Stuart Illian, co-founder of Bluetail (a leader in the digitization of paper logs), explained, the typical owners lose sight of the fact the FAA, and most other recognized governing bodies for that matter, require current logbooks for all registered aircraft.
“They’re the only proof that all the aircraft’s various inspections, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades were
6 • TWIN & TURBINE / January 2022
done correctly. That’s how you establish its airworthiness,” he said. “If you lose the documentation, it’s an immediate and significant ding on the aircraft’s value (more on that later). And it can also render the aircraft unairworthy until those documents are replaced.”
“Of course, the information recorded on FAA 8130-3 tags is equally important. Lose any of them, and it’s a huge problem for the owner,” Illian added. “They may seem simple, but if you can’t prove the parts you installed are legitimate, then you have to go back and reinstall those parts again to maintain airworthiness.”
And if you think things like that don’t happen, well, they do. Roberto Guerrieri, Bluetail CEO and co-founder, shared a story of a Fortune 100 operator who recently had to write a check for over a half-million dollars to replace some 8130 tags that went missing after one of their A&Ps had been fired.
“We hear stories like this all the time,” he added. “Own- ers don't understand that while you can insure the aircraft itself, you can’t buy any coverage for the information in your logbooks.”