Please do not dismiss your logbooks as worthless or uninteresting. Source documents are incredibly important to historians. Remember, history is not just politicians and battles, it is also about what individuals have done and achieved. Your logbooks help to tell a tale about the times in which you lived.
Agree wholeheartedly on that point. I was 16 when I did my first flight in 1948. It was in Lockheed Hudson freighter VH-SMK of the Sydney Morning Herald Flying Services at Camden NSW, flown by Harry Purvis AFC. Harry used to fly the Southern Cross and was the chief engineer for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith universally known as "Smithy."
The Hudson was on a test flight after an engine change so Harry Purvis invited some of the ground staff along for the 30 minute ride. Being a cargo aircraft there were no seat belts so we sat on the cold metal fuselage floor - about six of us. On descent my ears hurt like hell because no one told me how to clear my ears. The noise of the engines on takeoff was horrendous as there was no sound-proofing on cargo Hudsons.
It was then I started my first log book - or should I say a log sheet, which I drew up myself. Very neatly drawn too if I say so myself. I logged 30 minutes of passenger time. Over the next year I logged 19 hours on Hudsons and 120 hours on VH-SMI and VH-SMH which were freighter DC3's. As one of my jobs was to throw newspapers out of the back door of these aircraft in a form of low level aerial delivery, I was told I could log the time as supernumerary crew. It was bulldust really but the pilots went along with my youthful enthusiasm and signed my log sheet after each flight. The pilots would let me fly straight and level in the DC3's and allowed me to stand behind the pilots and watch the takeoff and landings. It was the perfect job for a scruffy teen-ager. . I even had the Flight Superintendent, Captain Doug Swain DFC sign the log sheet each month. It meant nothing to Doug Swain of course as I was only a kid, but I treasured that log sheet for years. It was lost during my moves in the RAAF.
Bought my first official civvy log book in March 1951 and first official dual flight was on 3 March 1951 in Tiger Moth VH-BNM of the Kingsford Smith Flying School at Bankstown. Instructor was either Stan Birtus or Jan Kingma. I forget which. Their accents were so thick I couldn't understand a word they shouted down the Gosport Tube intercom. Did eight hours dual with various instructors until Bill Burns sent me solo in VH-AUO on 26 May 1951. Bill had flown Hudsons in WW2 and did part time instructing at Bankstown; although his main job was the Qantas Flight Safety Manager. He was the perfect instructor and in later years I realised how fortunate enough I was to have him as an instructor. His ARN was 1524. Now
that is seniority..
Next log book was RAAF issue which I got for free as were the rest of my flying hours thank goodness as I had no money
So yes, you are right when you wrote " Your logbooks help to tell a tale about the times in which you lived."