The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-08-29
AVIATION SCHOOL
THREE SOUTH DAKOTA BOYS
TAKING INSTRUCTION AT
RANTOUL, ILL.

Brookings. Aug. %. ~ Horace
Jones. of Mitchell, a 1917 graduate
of State college, is making daily
flights in the army airplane school
at Rantoul. Ill. as a member of the
signal enlisted reserve corps. He
writes that thus far his instruction
has been confined to keeping the ma
chine level, making figure SIS and
spiral nose dives. The sensation of
riding through the air cannot be de
seribed-it must be experienced. +"
Ralph Johnson, of Hetland, and Har-
~ Smith. of Miller, both State col
lege graduates this year, are also at
the same training school.
The initial part of aviation train
ing Is not unlike that of the average
college. writes Mr.. Jones, in describ-
ing life in the airplane school. The
chief difference. it has been said. is
that while college students invariably
rush for the back seats of the class
room. our prospective aviators tum-
BILE ove each other to reach the
front row.
Interest is always at a high pitch.
the attention Of the entire class being
concentrated on the subject under
discussion. There is no evidence of
the familiar track of arguing an in
struetor off On a tangent. Occasion
ally, when from loss of sleep. a stu
dent mods in class, he has the pleas
ure of repeating the work the follow
ing week. A notation on his school
record shows an indifferent attitude
4 nNru rH xNnrE , a nd hD fC dpnnnn1 hnrlr
to the following squadron. Cases
like these are the exception and not
the rule. however.
From reveille at $50 until taps
at $50. the day is all routine. An
ironclad schedule regulates the work
of the day. and woe be to the indi-
vidual who. for his own convenience,
attempts TO change hat schedule,
even to the slightest degree. For
nations and classes follow in regular
order day after day. The very sys-
tenn of the routine makes the weeks
go by quickly and before one realizes
il he has finished the course and is
ready to move out and make room
for another budding aviator.
The organization of the school is
no less systematic than the daily
schedule. The squadron, made up of
the men entering in a single week.
usually about 25, is the unit of the
school. 1t is commanded by a mem
Der of the squadron. the command
changing each week.
with the ringing of the bell
which announces a class period.
squadron commanders compete in
lung capacity calling their squadrons
TO assembly. Then follows a period
of confusion while each cadet gets
into his proper place. All are then
marched to their classes in a mill
tary manner The squadron com
mander reports to the instructor,
Squadron -, all present, sir.
What can be more notifying to the
squadron commander than the stifled
giggles when one or two come strag-
CLING In after he has made such a
report2
THE delight of the militarily in.
clined comes with the hour of infan-
try drill every afternoon, From the
national guard. the training camps
and land grant colleges all over the
word on infantry drill. Their way
is right. Inasmuch as no two have
had just exactly the same expert
ence. differences of opinion often
give rise to periods of heated discus
sions during which the less enthus-
iastic listen quietly, drowsily resolv-
ing to look the matter up in the reg
ulations later. Discussions like these
make the drill interesting and help
to bring out the real truth of the
matter.
Formations are frequent. So far
as We know, no attempt has ever
been made to count the number each