Vision gets records FAA-accepted. FileFlo proves the operator.
Vision Aircraft Records has earned something rare and genuinely valuable: it is the only FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system, with large Part 135 operators approved to run fully paperless on it. But it is built around the aircraft's maintenance records. FileFlo does a different job: it reads the Google Drive, SharePoint, or OneDrive your operation already uses and proves the whole Part 135 certificate is audit-ready: pilot currency and medicals, §135.293/297 checks, crew training, the drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, the GOM/GMM manuals, insurance, and the airworthiness records, assembled into one FAA POI or ramp-check binder. Storing your records isn't the same as proving you're compliant. Many operators run both.
No migration · No conversion project · Live the same afternoon
FAA-accepted records are not whole-certificate proof.
Vision: the FAA-accepted records system
A S.M.A.R.T digital aircraft maintenance logbook that digitizes maintenance entries, inspections, and airworthiness records into secure, searchable cloud storage, with ARC Document Solutions for paper conversion and AC 120-78B alignment. Its moat is real: it is the only FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system, two large Part 135 operators are approved to operate fully paperless on it, and it supplies the application language other certificate holders use to seek the same. Its job is the maintenance record, not pilot currency, crew training, OpSpecs, or operator-side audit proof.
FileFlo: the operator-compliance proof
Built for one job: proving the whole Part 135 certificate is audit-ready. It reads the storage you already have, classifies each file to its CFR section across pilot currency, crew and recurrent training, the drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, the GOM/GMM manuals, insurance, and the airworthiness evidence, tracks every expiration, flags what's missing, and exports an FAA POI / ramp-check binder. No migration, no conversion project. It is not an FAA-accepted system of record, and it does not replace the maintenance-records system, the SMS, or dispatch/FOS.
An honest split.
Vision owns FAA-accepted paperless maintenance recordkeeping, a genuine, hard-won moat. FileFlo owns operator-side compliance proof across the whole certificate, without a migration. They coexist.
| Capability | Vision | FileFlo |
|---|---|---|
Built for Vision digitizes the aircraft maintenance record (FAA-accepted paperless); FileFlo proves the operator's whole-certificate compliance | Partial | Partial |
Digital aircraft maintenance logbook & airworthiness records Vision's core strength: secure, searchable maintenance entries and inspections; FileFlo isn't a maintenance-records system | ||
FAA-ACCEPTED electronic recordkeeping (operate fully paperless) Vision's real moat: the only FAA-accepted system; two large Part 135 operators are approved paperless, and Vision supplies the application language for others | ||
Paper-to-digital conversion (ARC Document Solutions partner) Vision converts existing paper records; FileFlo reads what is already digital | ||
Pilot currency, crew training & §135.293/297 checks Operator-side currency Vision does not lead with | ||
OpSpecs, GOM / GMM manuals & operations documents The operations side of the certificate | ||
Classifies ALL operator document types to a CFR citation 14 / 49 / 29 / 40 CFR + state rules across the whole operation | ||
Required-document gap report per regulator | ||
One-click FAA POI / ramp-check audit binder (all document types) Vision produces accepted maintenance records; FileFlo assembles the whole-certificate inspector binder | Partial | |
Per-pilot / per-crew compliance status board | ||
Works on the Drive / SharePoint you already use No migration, no records-conversion project required | ||
Pricing model Vision is priced per aircraft per month; FileFlo is operation-based pricing, not per aircraft. See the pricing page | Partial | |
5-day free trial, no credit card |
What a records system doesn't cover.
Whole-certificate classification
Every operator document mapped to its governing CFR: §135.293/297 competency and line checks, recurrent and ground training, the drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, the GOM/GMM manuals, insurance, and leases, not just the maintenance logbook.
Currency & expiration alerts
Airman medicals, pilot competency and instrument checks, recurrent training, certificates of insurance, and permits: tracked to the regulatory interval and surfaced at 90/60/30/7 days, automatically.
FAA POI / ramp-check binder
An inspector-format, indexed binder for a POI visit or ramp check, assembled in 60 seconds across the whole operation, including the airworthiness evidence, from the files already in your storage.
Live the same afternoon
No records-conversion project to wait on and no migration. Connect read-only to the storage you already use and get a baseline gap report within 24 hours.
No migration means no IT project.
An FAA-accepted records system is a system of record for maintenance documents; FileFlo doesn't move or duplicate it. Your team keeps its current storage, its current records system, and its current habits. FileFlo reads what's already there, read-only. In fairness: Vision holds FAA acceptance for paperless maintenance recordkeeping and FileFlo does not (FileFlo is a compliance-monitoring layer, not an FAA-approved system of record), and FileFlo is not SOC 2 certified. Weigh those honestly if they're hard requirements for you.
Platform definition.
Vision Aircraft Records (visionaircraftrecords.com) is a "S.M.A.R.T" digital aircraft maintenance logbook. It digitizes maintenance entries, inspections, and airworthiness records into secure, searchable cloud storage, partners with ARC Document Solutions to convert existing paper records, and aligns with AC 120-78B. Its distinguishing strength is significant and worth stating clearly: Vision is the only FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system of its kind. Two large Part 135 operators received FAA approval to operate fully paperless using it, and Vision supplies the application language other certificate holders use to pursue the same acceptance. FileFlo is not an FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system, a maintenance-records system of record, or a paper-conversion service. It is an operator-side compliance document intelligence layer that connects read-only to the cloud storage an organization already uses (Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, or Dropbox) and classifies each file against its governing regulation (FAA 14 CFR Part 135, plus FMCSA 49 CFR, OSHA 29 CFR, EPA 40 CFR, and state programs for multi-vertical operators).
The two are not the same product category, and neither replaces the other. Vision answers "are the aircraft's maintenance records in a secure, searchable, FAA-accepted form we can operate paperless on?" FileFlo answers "which regulation does each operator document satisfy, what is expiring, what is missing, and how do we hand an FAA principal operations inspector (or a ramp inspector) the right binder for the whole certificate?" A Part 135 audit spans far more than the maintenance logbook: pilot currency and medicals, §135.293 competency and §135.297 instrument checks, recurrent and ground training, the drug & alcohol program, operations specifications, the General Operations and Maintenance Manuals, and insurance. That breadth, including the airworthiness evidence, is exactly the surface FileFlo proves on top of existing storage, with no migration, in an afternoon.
Why accepted records aren't whole-certificate readiness.
For a Part 135 operator, an FAA inspection reaches across the entire certificate, not just the maintenance record. Pilots must hold current airman medical certificates and meet recurrent-training, §135.293 competency-check, and §135.297 instrument-proficiency currency; the operator runs a drug & alcohol testing program under 14 CFR Part 120; operations are bounded by the operations specifications issued under 14 CFR Part 119; the General Operations Manual and General Maintenance Manual must be current; and the maintenance and inspection records themselves live under Part 135's recordkeeping rules. An FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system handles the maintenance-record side at the highest standard there is (it is, after all, the form the FAA has accepted for paperless operation), but it does not interpret a pilot's medical expiry, a lapsed §135.293 competency check, a missing recurrent-training record, an OpSpec amendment, or an expiring certificate of insurance, because those documents live outside the maintenance-records domain.
That is the gap FileFlo fills. Rather than asking a maintenance-records system to cover operator documents it was never built for, or assembling audit evidence by hand from scattered folders, FileFlo leaves the storage exactly where it is and adds the regulatory layer across every document type: CFR-cited classification, 90/60/30/7-day expiration tracking, required-document gap detection per regulator, and FAA POI / ramp-check binder export that includes the airworthiness evidence alongside the operations documents. It does not replace the maintenance-records system, the Safety Management System, or dispatch/FOS; it proves the records are current and producible. (Note: the FAA's 2024 SMS final rule extends Safety Management System requirements to all Part 135 operators with a single compliance deadline of May 28, 2027; the SMS itself is a separate program FileFlo does not provide, though FileFlo can keep its supporting records audit-ready.)
For operators already running Vision, the two coexist cleanly: keep Vision as the FAA-accepted, paperless maintenance-records system of record, and add FileFlo as the operator-compliance-proof layer over the day-to-day cloud storage your team actually uses. Vision gets the maintenance records FAA-accepted-paperless; FileFlo proves the whole operation's compliance documents are audit-ready.
Built by an operator, against the rules themselves.
Chad Griffith, Founder & CEO of FileFlo, built FileFlo's rule packs against the actual inspector, surveyor, and safety-investigator protocols, not against a generic "compliance" abstraction. That regulatory specificity is exactly what a maintenance-records system isn't built to deliver across pilot, training, and operations documents, and why FileFlo can prove whole-certificate audit-readiness on top of the storage a team already has, without a migration project, alongside the Vision Aircraft Records you keep for FAA-accepted paperless maintenance records.
Quick answers.
Last reviewed June 19, 2026.
Is FileFlo a replacement for Vision Aircraft Records?
No, and they're built for different jobs. Vision Aircraft Records (visionaircraftrecords.com) is a S.M.A.R.T digital aircraft maintenance logbook: it digitizes maintenance entries, inspections, and airworthiness records into secure, searchable cloud storage, partners with ARC Document Solutions for paper conversion, and aligns with AC 120-78B. Its standout strength is real and valuable: it is the only FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system, with two large Part 135 operators approved to operate fully paperless, and it supplies the application language other certificate holders use to seek the same acceptance. FileFlo is the operator-side compliance-proof layer for the whole Part 135 certificate: pilot currency and medicals, crew and recurrent training, the drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, the GOM/GMM manuals, insurance, and the airworthiness evidence, assembled into an FAA POI or ramp-check binder. Storing your records isn't the same as proving you're compliant. Many operators run both: Vision to get their maintenance records FAA-accepted-paperless, FileFlo to prove the operation is audit-ready.
We already use Vision for our maintenance records. What does FileFlo add?
Vision does something genuinely hard and valuable: it gets your aircraft maintenance records into an FAA-accepted, fully paperless system. But an FAA audit of a Part 135 operator reaches well beyond the maintenance logbook: pilot currency and medicals, §135.293 competency and §135.297 instrument checks, recurrent and ground training, the drug & alcohol testing program, operations specifications, the General Operations and Maintenance Manuals, and certificates of insurance all have to be current and producible. FileFlo connects read-only to the Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, or Dropbox your team already uses, classifies each of those documents to its exact CFR section, tracks every expiration at 90/60/30/7 days, flags what's missing, and exports an inspector-format binder across the whole certificate, including the airworthiness records. It proves the operator is compliant, not just that the maintenance records are accepted.
Does FileFlo make my maintenance records FAA-accepted-paperless like Vision?
No, and that's an important distinction. FileFlo does not provide an FAA-accepted electronic recordkeeping system, and it does not seek FAA acceptance for paperless maintenance records; that is exactly what Vision Aircraft Records is built for, and Vision's FAA-acceptance track record (two large Part 135 operators approved fully paperless, plus the application language it supplies others) is a real moat. FileFlo reads documents that are already digital in your existing storage and proves operator-side compliance: it classifies every document type to its CFR section, tracks regulatory expirations across pilot, crew, training, ops, and insurance, surfaces what's missing, and exports the FAA POI / ramp-check binder. If your goal is FAA-accepted paperless maintenance recordkeeping, that's Vision's lane.
Is Vision Aircraft Records more secure or more "official" than FileFlo?
On formal FAA acceptance of electronic maintenance recordkeeping, Vision has a clear advantage worth stating plainly: Vision is the only FAA-accepted system of its kind, and FileFlo holds no such FAA acceptance. FileFlo is a compliance-monitoring layer, not a system of record the FAA has approved you to operate paperless on. FileFlo is also not SOC 2 certified. FileFlo protects data with tenant isolation, AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit, a full audit log, and Anthropic Zero Data Retention so documents never train AI models, and a read-only connection means FileFlo never moves or alters your files, but if FAA-accepted paperless recordkeeping or a SOC 2 attestation is a hard requirement for you, weigh those honestly in Vision's favor and against FileFlo's.
What does FileFlo cost compared to Vision Aircraft Records?
Vision is priced per aircraft per month, which fits its per-airframe maintenance-records model. FileFlo uses operation-based pricing, not per aircraft, so the cost is tied to the operation rather than the size of the fleet; see the pricing page for current tiers. FileFlo also offers a 5-day free trial with no credit card, and because there is no migration and no records-conversion project, the deployment cost is effectively the time it takes to connect your existing storage read-only.
Can I keep Vision Aircraft Records and still use FileFlo?
Yes, that is the intended setup. Keep Vision as your FAA-accepted, paperless aircraft maintenance-records system: digitized entries, inspections, and airworthiness records, with ARC-backed paper conversion. Add FileFlo over the cloud storage your team uses day-to-day (Drive / SharePoint / OneDrive / Dropbox) to prove the whole certificate is audit-ready (pilot currency, crew training, the drug & alcohol program, OpSpecs, manuals, insurance, and the airworthiness records too) and to hand an FAA POI or ramp inspector a single indexed binder. Vision gets the maintenance records FAA-accepted-paperless; FileFlo proves the operator is compliant. They coexist.
Keep Vision. Prove the operator.
Keep Vision running your FAA-accepted, paperless maintenance records, and add FileFlo to prove the whole Part 135 certificate is audit-ready. Connect read-only to the Drive or SharePoint you already use and get a baseline gap report within 24 hours, no migration, no conversion project. Or run the free FAA readiness score first. 5-day free trial.
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