Evening star., 1940-05-18

pilots are being graduated at rate
of 500 a year.
Although the Navy has not been
very hard pressed for candidates
for its relatively limited program,
the Army Air Corps has been find
ing it difficult to obtain sufficient
candidates to keep it's classes full
and. under existing legislation, can
not reward even fraction of the
graduates it is turning out with
commissions in the Regular Army
There has been little incentive to
the candidate to enlist for Air Corps
training and will not be until some
certainty of career can be held
out to the young man who puts
nine months of hard work behind
him.
To provide 1000 new pilots, the
Air Corps must receive perhaps
$4,000 applications for pilot train
ing from physically sound, we'll
educated young men and must start
at least $4,000 of them in actual
training. since 1t has been found
that approximately half of those
who are able to hurdle all prelim-
mary obstacles and begin flight
training fall by the wayside along
the course because they are
psychologically untitled for flying
or because they simply fail to
make the grade"
The use of graduates of the
Civilian Pilot Training Program may
be expected to reduce to as little as
10 to IL per cent the training losses
OF Air Corps candidates, it was
pointed out. Although the c. A. A.
trainees are receiving what is the
equivalent of perhaps only month
of the Army's nine-month course,
even this limited amount of training
makes possible the elimination of
those psychologically untitled for
further training.
There now are nearly $500 C. A.
A. students under instruction in
college and university flying units.
Last year. in an experimental pro-
gram, 313 college students were
given flight training. OF this num-
Der Al applied for further training
in the Army Air Corps and % ap-
piled to the Navy for training. A
total of 80 were accepted by the
two services, or approximately 10
per cent of the whole number of
graduates. At this rate, something
less than 1000 of the graduates of
the c. A. A. course this year might
be expected to enter the Army and
Navy as flying cadets, on a volun-
tary basis.
Brintnall H. Merchant, president
OF the Air Reserve Association of the
United States, said last night that
II adequate sums had been spent on
reservists' training in years past, the
country now would not be faced with
an intensive pilot training problem,
the Associated Press reported.
up to this time" he said, speak
ing for a membership composed of
Air Corps flyers on inactive status,
absolutely nothing has been done
to provide inactive status training
for Air Corps reserve pilots except
provide a few training-type air.
planes at Army fields for reserve
pilots to fly at their own initiative
and at their own time and expense" /"
$500 a Year Per Pilot.
He added that properly directed
reserve training would have cost
about $500 a year per pilot, or $780,
600 above the amounts which have
been expended to keep $500 Group
l" pilots in trim for an emergency.
That. he continued, would have
given the Nation nucleus for flight
instruction. Instead, he said, thou
sands of skilled pilots have been
permitted to slip in efficiency or
stop flying altogether after leaving
active service.
Bills for more training and pay
for air Reservists have been intro
duced in Congress for several years.
Mr.. Merchant said action could not
be obtained because the War De-
partment objected to their passage.
He concluded that some Reservists
would be available for instruction
purposes if what he termed reme-
dial legislation was passed quickly.
The War Department reported
yesterday that it is taking delivery
on new medium bomber. the B-23.
manufactured by the Douglas Air
craft Co., Santa Monica, Calf. A
modification Of the present B-1SA
type, 1t weighs about $4,000 pounds
and carries q crew of sly