To convert minutes to decimal hours, divide the minutes by 60. For a duration with whole hours, add those hours to the result: 1 hour 30 minutes = 1 + 30 ÷ 60 = 1.5 hours.
This chart helps you change the format of a recorded duration. Keep the original record and check which format and precision the receiving logbook, spreadsheet, or application requires.
Enter whole hours and minutes. Results update automatically, rounded to hundredths and tenths.
Flight Time Conversion Chart
Find the minutes in your duration, then add the decimal value to any whole hours. For example, 2 hours 24 minutes = 2 + 0.40 = 2.40 hours. The 60-minute row shows one complete hour.
Rounding used in this chart: nearest tenth or hundredth of an hour, with exact halfway values rounded up for these nonnegative durations. These are mathematical examples, not a claim that the FAA or every airline requires this rounding method. The rounded columns can lose precision; preserve the source duration.
| Minutes | Hours rounded to 0.1 |
Hours rounded to 0.01 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| 1 | 0.0 | 0.02 |
| 2 | 0.0 | 0.03 |
| 3 | 0.1 | 0.05 |
| 4 | 0.1 | 0.07 |
| 5 | 0.1 | 0.08 |
| 6 | 0.1 | 0.10 |
| 7 | 0.1 | 0.12 |
| 8 | 0.1 | 0.13 |
| 9 | 0.2 | 0.15 |
| 10 | 0.2 | 0.17 |
| 11 | 0.2 | 0.18 |
| 12 | 0.2 | 0.20 |
| 13 | 0.2 | 0.22 |
| 14 | 0.2 | 0.23 |
| 15 | 0.3 | 0.25 |
| 16 | 0.3 | 0.27 |
| 17 | 0.3 | 0.28 |
| 18 | 0.3 | 0.30 |
| 19 | 0.3 | 0.32 |
| 20 | 0.3 | 0.33 |
| Minutes | Hours rounded to 0.1 |
Hours rounded to 0.01 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 0.4 | 0.35 |
| 22 | 0.4 | 0.37 |
| 23 | 0.4 | 0.38 |
| 24 | 0.4 | 0.40 |
| 25 | 0.4 | 0.42 |
| 26 | 0.4 | 0.43 |
| 27 | 0.5 | 0.45 |
| 28 | 0.5 | 0.47 |
| 29 | 0.5 | 0.48 |
| 30 | 0.5 | 0.50 |
| 31 | 0.5 | 0.52 |
| 32 | 0.5 | 0.53 |
| 33 | 0.6 | 0.55 |
| 34 | 0.6 | 0.57 |
| 35 | 0.6 | 0.58 |
| 36 | 0.6 | 0.60 |
| 37 | 0.6 | 0.62 |
| 38 | 0.6 | 0.63 |
| 39 | 0.7 | 0.65 |
| 40 | 0.7 | 0.67 |
| Minutes | Hours rounded to 0.1 |
Hours rounded to 0.01 |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | 0.7 | 0.68 |
| 42 | 0.7 | 0.70 |
| 43 | 0.7 | 0.72 |
| 44 | 0.7 | 0.73 |
| 45 | 0.8 | 0.75 |
| 46 | 0.8 | 0.77 |
| 47 | 0.8 | 0.78 |
| 48 | 0.8 | 0.80 |
| 49 | 0.8 | 0.82 |
| 50 | 0.8 | 0.83 |
| 51 | 0.9 | 0.85 |
| 52 | 0.9 | 0.87 |
| 53 | 0.9 | 0.88 |
| 54 | 0.9 | 0.90 |
| 55 | 0.9 | 0.92 |
| 56 | 0.9 | 0.93 |
| 57 | 1.0 | 0.95 |
| 58 | 1.0 | 0.97 |
| 59 | 1.0 | 0.98 |
| 60 | 1.0 | 1.00 |
Why do 57, 58, and 59 minutes show 1.0 in the tenths column? They round to the next whole hour at that precision. They are still less than 60 actual minutes. For a duration of 1 hour 57 minutes, the exact decimal value is 1.95 hours, which rounds to 2.0 hours at one decimal place.
Hours and Minutes Are Different From Decimal Hours
In a duration written as 1:30, the digits after the colon are minutes. In 1.30 decimal hours, the digits after the decimal point represent a fraction of an hour.
| Recorded duration | Exact decimal hours | Rounded to tenths | Rounded to hundredths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hour 6 minutes | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.10 |
| 1 hour 18 minutes | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.30 |
| 1 hour 30 minutes | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.50 |
| 1 hour 45 minutes | 1.75 | 1.8 | 1.75 |
| 2 hours 24 minutes | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.40 |
1.30 decimal hours means 1 hour 18 minutes. Changing a colon to a decimal point would make a 1-hour-30-minute flight appear 12 minutes shorter.
Clock times are another format. 1430 in a 24-hour clock field means 2:30 p.m.; it is not a duration of 14.30 hours. To calculate elapsed time from clock entries, account for dates, midnight crossings, and time zones first.
Field requirements can differ within one product. For example, ForeFlight's import-template instructions describe TotalTime in decimal hours, several other duration fields in decimal hours or HH:MM, and departure/arrival clock fields in 24-hour format. Follow the instructions for the specific field you are importing.
Convert Decimal Hours Back to Hours and Minutes
Keep the whole-hour portion. Multiply the fractional portion by 60 to get minutes.
- 2.4 hours: 2 whole hours + 0.4 × 60 = 2 hours 24 minutes.
- 1.75 hours: 1 whole hour + 0.75 × 60 = 1 hour 45 minutes.
- 0.02 hours: 0.02 × 60 = 1.2 minutes, or 1 minute 12 seconds.
That last example shows why a rounded decimal cannot always recover the original duration. The chart rounds one minute to 0.02 hours; converting 0.02 back gives the equivalent of the rounded value, not the original one minute.
Rounding Can Change a Logbook Total
Imagine three flights, each recorded as 1 hour 14 minutes:
- Rounding each flight to tenths first gives 1.2 + 1.2 + 1.2 = 3.6 hours.
- Adding the original durations gives 222 minutes ÷ 60 = 3.7 hours.
The 0.1-hour difference comes from rounding at different stages. Keep the original durations, document how the exported or submitted total was calculated, and follow the destination's instructions about rounding. Do not silently alter source entries to make two totals agree.
Rounding to nearest is also different from always rounding up. For instance, 1 hour 31 minutes rounds to 1.5 hours at the nearest tenth under this article's convention; always rounding upward would give 1.6.
Excel Formulas for Flight-Time Conversion
Use a formula that matches what the input cell actually contains. The examples below use nonnegative durations. Preserve a source column before converting or rounding values.
Whole hours and minutes in separate cells
Put whole hours in A2 and minutes from 0 through 59 in B2:
=A2+B2/60
For A2 = 2 and B2 = 24, the result is 2.4 decimal hours. Format the result as a Number. If A2 instead holds a total number of minutes, use =A2/60.
When the destination specifically needs a rounded numeric value, use =ROUND(A2+B2/60,1) for tenths or =ROUND(A2+B2/60,2) for hundredths. Microsoft documents how ROUND works.
A genuine Excel duration in one cell
If A2 contains a numeric Excel duration displayed as 2:24, use =A2*24 and format the result as a Number. The result is 2.4.
Excel represents time as a fraction of a day, so multiplying a duration by 24 converts days into hours. This formula is not for a text string, an existing decimal-hours number, or a full calendar date/time. For accumulated durations, use the custom display format [h]:mm so hours beyond 24 remain visible. Microsoft explains elapsed-time formatting.
To go the other direction, divide decimal hours by 24: =A2/24. Format the result as [h]:mm, or [h]:mm:ss if seconds matter. For 25.5 decimal hours, [h]:mm shows 25:30.
Avoid building cumulative logbook totals with TIME(hours,minutes,0): Excel's TIME function wraps hours above 23, discarding complete days from the returned value. Changing the display format cannot restore those days.
Display precision and stored values are different
Showing one decimal place does not normally round the underlying value used in Excel's calculations. A cell can display 1.2 while retaining a more precise number. Use ROUND when you deliberately need a rounded value, and record that choice. Microsoft distinguishes number formatting from stored values.
Format Conversion Does Not Establish Flight-Time Credit
Converting 2:24 to 2.4 changes the notation of the same duration. It does not determine whether the time qualifies as PIC, SIC, cross-country, instrument, or simulator experience. Those questions depend on the source records and the applicable rules, including 14 CFR 61.51.
It also does not add taxi time or apply an airline's military-time adjustment. A military record that already contains decimal hours needs no minutes-to-decimal conversion. For source records, application-specific totals, and documenting adjustments, use the military flight-hours conversion guide.
If mixed formats are making your totals difficult to reconcile, Beyond Blue Logbooks can consolidate your records into an Excel digital logbook with application summary sheets. See what is included in the Deluxe Logbook.