The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-14
ENGLISH MAKE
AERMEN FASTER
Than AMERICA
Rapid Methods of Britisher
AS Contrasted With Our
Caution.

How the British Royal F1yingrCorps
takes an enlisted man who is abso-
lutely ignorant of aviation and in a
few months make of him an aviator
competent to work at the battle front
as pilot for a military observer,
and, in some cases, as a fighting
scout, who flies across the lines ION
his own is told in a letter 10y Sydney
fl. Whfpple, formerly a, student at
Trinity, who is now at Camp Ever
man. Fort Worth, Tex.
81 enlisted in the British Royal Fly
ing Corps early in September, after
I learned that it would be two months
at least before I could even get a
physical examination for the Ameri-
can Aviation Service said Mr.. Whip
pie. "a great many Americans have
done the same and as a consequence
the cadets of the Royal Flying Corps
are mostly Americans enlisted under
the Briisflsfiag forethe duration of the
war.
'~ThescUurse~ of training is+very ex-
tensive and practical and has been
Rsed~by~the Omitted States as a model
IN its~cuFrjcuIum for future aviators.
british cadets are sent first to a drill
camp where British discipline, which
we behevessIs stricter than any other,
is drilled into u.s. Two weeks are
spent there, with most of the time
given over Ito forming fours,' quick
march, right. and left wheel An
other feature of this camp was the
daily bathing parade when everyone
was. compelled to take a dip in the
tcy waters of lake Ontario near by.
'sFron this camp we went up to
toronto University to begin actual
training in aviation at the School of
Military Aeronautics, which CORE
eponds TO American, schools at Mas
sachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cornell, etc.
sat he-groundsscflooI our time was
generally well taken up with classes,
lectures and parades. Wireless, ma
chine guns, and artillery observation
are the 5pecia1ties here, although
sunattering of everything necessary for
A flying officer to know is given. AT
the end of six weeks examinations
corresponding to Inid-years in college
are given, and those passing them are
graduated and sent out to a flying
camp. Here the atmosphere changes
from that of a. military school OF
strict discipline to a camp where one
has more individual freedom. For IN
stance, flying generally takes pre-
cedence over perades-
every man is started off immedl-
ateIy on dual instruction Curtis d.
planes with dual control are used for
this purpose AT this point differ
ence between American and British
training is noted. American 1nstruc-
tors are very slow to send out their
solo men, as cadets capable of flying
alone are called. At first they are al
lowed only to circle the aerodrome
at a few hundred feet. But British
Instructors believe a, man can get the
feeP of an aeroplane and be able te
guide himself after a comparatively
short amount of instruction, and re
suits have proved this theory. So at
ter about five hourS' instruction the
cadet begins solo, and does six hours
time in the air and makes 40 landings
cat the end of that time he is post
ed to higher training squadron
when he does formation Tying altl
tude 5000 feet) cross-country flight 2
about 100 miles to a neighborlng aero
drome. and similar featS. linen NJ
goes to another squadron to do prac
teal work in observing for art1iler!
and in photography
He is then ready for the School
Aerial Gunnery, where the time !
entirely given over to actual Wor
with machine guns in the air and the
oretical and practical work in strip
ping and repairing on the grounc
On successful completion of thl
school the cadet is ready for his com
mission.
ITO illustrate the excellence of GU
training, several hundred cadets c
the American Aviation Service hav
been training with us entirely, an
are even now still attached to tn
Royal Flying Corps and receiving tn
same discipline, training and treat
ment as British cadets. Although a
our training ordinarily takes place
Canada, the flying camps have bee
forced to migrate to Texas on az
count of the cold northern winters.