Evening star., 1939-02-12

IL DeIOTe. from UIle station you Will
ride the II miles to Randolph Field
in a truck with 10 or Is of your
prospective classmates and in front
of the Administration Building be
turned over to the tender mercies
of the upper-classmen you are about
to succeed.
To reveal the unofficial part of
what takes place during your first
four months would be to spoil an
experience you will remember as
long as your memory serves you.
But here's tip. If you have been
a famous halfback, or pitcher, or
prom king, or big man on the
campus, don't tell anybody. If your
father, grandfather or uncle is
Senator, multimillionaire or very
important citizen in his own home
town, keep it a secret Nothing
short of joint act of Congress can
help you if the elimination board
decides you must be washed OUT
after one of the periodic checks.
Only the upper -classmen. all Of
whom, remember, have just COM
pleted special course in the gentle
art of teaching dodos their place,
could use such information The
dodo is you. a large, clumsy bird,
with wings too small to fly.
Letter in Official Grist.
Not so long ago the nephew of
a brigadier general entered the
primary flying school, but managed
to escape notoriety and the conse-
quent special attention because his
name was not the same as that of
his well-known, high-ranking rela-
tive A day or two before the end of
his first four months training, how
ever, he was summoned by the cadet
officer of the day and handed a
radiogram that had come sand
wiched in with official dispatches
from the Chief of Air Corps Office
in Washington. Dear Jimmy" it
read. ARRIVE Wednesday, Meet me
operations office" 1t was signed
Uncle B"
Curious to know how a radio
gram for a mere cadet should get
mixed up with official dispatches,
the cadet o. D. inquired as to who
Uncle RI" might be. Realizing
that the cat was out of the bag
but that his underclass days were
numbered, the low-ranking nephew
replied sWeetly: Uncle B.? Oh,
that's Gen. -" To which the
o. D. could only answer that he
was so sorry he had not known it
a couple of months before.
Gone now are the days of at
tending class if you feel like it,
Henceforth, you will feel like it, and
get there on time, too, even if it
means going on the double. You will
also know your lesson, by order of
the Commandant of Cadets, or soon
you will be given an opportunity to
show cause why you should not leave,
by order of the Commanding Cen
eral. If you hated ocloks be-
fore, prepare to love them now. BY
that hour your day will be nearly
half over. Seven o'clocks are the
schedule in winter, 6 o'clocks in sum-
mer. And by that time you have
eaten breakfast and cleaned up your
quarters.
Customs Observed.
After two weeks of examinations,
getting settled and trying to drill
while watching pper-classmen fly
around overhead. you will receive
a uniform and goggles. Cadet GUS
toms are few, but strictly observed.
Don't make the mistake of swapping
on your goggles around your fore
head Until you have soloed, you
will wear them around your neck,
except when actually in the air.
After you have taken plane off
the ground. put it through its PAGES,
and landed safely by yourself, then
and not until then can you wear
your goggles around your forehead,
like the other flyers.
Whether you have soloed before
probably will make no difference. A
few years ago a group of pilots, all
with commercial licenses, were en-
rolled at Randolph Field to see how
they would compare with cadets
without any previous flying expe-
rience. But they started at the be-
ginning and received the same treat
ment as the other cadets, except
that they were permitted to advance
as fast as their previous training
might warrant One of them washed
out" not because he was not a
capable pilot, but because he coulG
not seem to adapt himself to the
peculiar needs of military flying