Pilot logbook! Help, someone...?

[andrebragstad]

Hey there. I'm currently working on an excel spreadsheet to effectively
log my flight hours. I'm trying to make this spreadsheet calculate just
about EVERYTHING for me. It's working out allright, but I'm stuck right
now.

Here's the problem. Might be hard to visualize very well, but I'll
try.

In coloumn B:4 through B:4999 I have the different makes and models of
aircraft that I've flown. (300 CB, Robinson 44, etc...)
In coloumn H:4 through H:4999 I have the total time of each flight.
(Using decimals, so an hour and a half is 1,5 hours)

So, now I want Excel to add up hours in the different types of makes
and models of aircraft. Still following?

That means, in all of the coloumns between B:4 and B:4999 that have the
make and model "300CB", I would want Excel to add up the appropriate
times in coloumns H:4 to H:4999. That way ending up with a slot telling
me how many of my total flight hours I spent in the 300CB...

...Is that at all understandable...? Hm... Hopefully someone out there
will know what the hell I'm talking about, and maybe give me an input.
=)

Thanks for your time so far!

 

[DavidC]

Hi,

Sounds like you need to create a pivot table from the data. The help files
and wizards are quite good at helping on this matter.

Hope this is some help

Regards

DavidC

 

[Dave O]

Congrats on accumulating the flight hours- this is an aspiration for
me, too.

I recommend using the SUMIF() function, which sums a range of numbers
if the criteria that you specify matches the data element in the row.
So the formula would sum all the hours for the 300 CB, Robinson 44,
etc.

However, this function requires exact typing: it would ignore 300CB,
for instance- note the missing space between 300 and CB. To avoid
problems, you could set up a dropdown box in the "aircraft" column.

The formula looks something like this:
=SUMIF($B$4:$B$4999,"300 CB",$H$4:$H$4999)
Note you can use a cell reference instead of the "300 CB".

Arrange a dropdown list in a cell by typing the list of aircraft
somewhere in your worksheet. From the menu click >Data >Validation.
In the Allow box click "List"; land the cursor in the Source box and
highlight the list of aircraft and click OK. (Tip: highlight one or
two extra spaces to in case you fly additional aircraft.) You can then
copy and paste the cell with the dropdown into B4:B4999.

Good luck- let us know if you run into any snags!

 

[andrebragstad]

Thanks a lot for your help. I've been screwing around with SUMIF for a
little while, but I've obviously been doing it wrong. =)

I appreciate the help a lot. And if you're flying, congratulations on
the best decision ever made, right? =) Just finished my training, so as
you can see I'm trying to pass my time doing something sensible now that
there's nothing really to study for...

Thanks again.

- A

 

[Dave O]

I've been screwing around with SUMIF for a little while

Let us know if you're still not seeing the expected results, and please
post some sample data. I'm sure we can get you squared away.