Evening star., 1935-09-01
School Days in the Air

After you reach the stage where YOU
solo. then if you wish an anna
teur's" license you have to put in Is
hours flying time, which at the min
lmum rate OF SIS an hour means Sl25
more. If you want to obtain a "pri-
vate pilots license" you have to have
total of so hours solo flying, which
means an investment of $3.50, or if
you already have your amateur sta
tus, then it is another 25 hours and
an additional $l25.
An amateur" pilot is permitted to
ny ship solo but he is not permitted
to have any one with him unless it
be a licensed pilot, while a private
pilots license permits him to carry
passengers, demonstrate aircraft to
prospective purchaser. or carry cargo
but he cannot make any charge for
such service, nor can he accept pay
for teaching students to fly.
Limited commercial" pilots must
have so hours solo flying, the same
as private pilots, but in addition they
must pass more stringent examina-
ton. They are permitted to carry pas
sengers for hire within the limits
specified on their license, but they are
still not allowed to instruct students
for pay.
Then there is the transport pilots
license" which requires a very severe
test, 200 hours of solo flying (at SIS
per, that means an investment Of
l,000, and you are then free to
charge for anything you do.
GETTING a license to fly an air
plane is not the simple matter
that getting one to drive car is.
With an automobile license you may
have learned to drive model T Ford,
but you are entitled to step into a
Rolls Royce and legally drive it
whether or not you can do so prac-
tically.
But II you want a transport pilots
license you will find that there are
seven different classif1cations of ships,
according to weight and number of
engines, and you have to have a Ii
cense for each type If you want to be
able to step into any old ship and fly
away. Then. too. If you want to do
and gliding. that requires a special
license; or If you want to fly blimp
or q balloon, that Is still another Ii
cense--so If you want to be a real,
all-around airman you need brief
case to carry your licenses inl
And that isn't ALL To keep those
licenses active and in good standing
you have to do certain amount of
flying each six-month period, or each
year. and pass new physical exami-
nation and new test each time the
license Is renewed.
To maintain your amateur or pri-
vate pilot status you have to do IS
hours Of solo flying each year and
every second year take a physical ex-
animation. Therefore you can figure
on $75 year minimum to maintain
your status.
For transport or limited CONNER
cial licenses you have to put in at
least 10 hours of solo flight during
each six-month period and undergo a
physical examination each six months.
And, Of course. there is the STU
dent pilots license" which you use
while learning.
''How about parachutes?" I asked.
''Do you use them while teaching?"
"No," was the reply. you don't
need them and they would be USE
less anyway. If the ship is in good
condition, and Of course it must be
for it is inspected regularly, and you
only 60 up when the weather Is
good, there Is very little chance Of
anything going wrong"
The early stages of instruction are
all at attitudes of 200 feet or less, as
a rule, so If anything should happen
by the time you knew it and tried to
get your student to jump it would be
too late. OF course, in the more ad-
vanced flying instruction, where it is
necessary for the student to learn
certain basic maneuvers, the Depart
ment of Commerce regulations re-
quire that both student and instruc-
tor wear parachutes, and also that
such maneuvers be done so that they
will be completed at an altitude
greater than 1.5oQ feet. That applies