Evening star., 1946-01-06
BY Herbert Harris.

BY Herbert Harris.
A Brazilian cab driver in Sac Paulo
has learned to speak workaday English.
His face set in a mosaic of grins, the
cabby solicits fares in purest Brook
lynese.
But his "thoids" and "foists" do not
appear unduly strange to 4OO-odd
Americans, who. in turn, speak Portu-
guese with traces of New York Southern
and Midwestern accents. These trans
planted Americans, faculty members of
Escola Tecnica de Aviacao-technica
school of aviation-are engaged in one
of the wars most remarkable post
scripts. Their Yankee know-how has
been lend-leased to Brazil.
South Americas largest democracy is
sprouting wings. Any prewar plans
Brazil had for construction of super
highways and streamline trains have
been blown off the drawing board by
wash from whirring propellers. From
merchant prince to schoolboy, Brazil
is air-minded.
Modelled After L. S. Army
Escola Tecnica de Aviacao has mush-
roomed up out of nowhere in two years
to become the apple Of the public eye.
Underwritten by the government, the
school has produced a steady stream of
skilled technicians for the Brazilian Air
Force and the nations expanding COM
mercial airlines. A carbon copy of the
ptn Gn-
veloped by the United States Army Air
Force, the Sac Paulo school is by far
the firmest handclasp Uncle Sam has
extended south of the border.
That is why typical student, Santos
Brandao, young citizen of the State
Ceara, flashes a 32-tooth smile and says
in unbroken English: Your Gen. Arnold
is a wonderful man. So is Mr.. Riddle"
With Army Air Force o. X.
Mr. Riddle is John Paul Riddle of
Miami. founder of chain of flying and
ground schools scattered throughout
Florida. A pioneer in the field but
comparatively unknown outside of the
aircraft industry, Riddles genius for
teaching young mechanics to tune an
engine into sweetness is nothing short
of black magic. Lean and silver
thatched, Riddle has eyes that crackle
like spark gaps when he tackles a
knotty problem.
Invited to found a school in Brazil.
Riddle received nod of approval from
the Army Air Force and literally flew
a school to Sac Paulo. He SKINNED
the cream of instructors off his Florida
schools, crammed them chockful of
Portuguese and transported three tons
of equipment by ATC plane to Sac
Paulo.
Glasses began just II days later,
slightly more than three months after
Air Minister Joaquin Salago had in
spected the Miami setup and said: Il
want you in Brazil. I want the school
there and want it as soon as possible"
He got the school sooner than possible
While all this feverish activity trans
pired, young Santos Brandao, who had
heard of neither Riddle nor Gen
Arnold, looked into the skies above his
home and saw the sleek silver ATC
planes winging down from America to
the great base at Natal. Santos dreamed
of becoming an aircraft mechanic.
Handpicked Material
A year later Santos got his wish. He
passed stiff competitive examinations
based on the United States Army Air
Force standard aptitude tests for tech
nicians and was registered Ninety per
cent of his classmates were candidates
for the Brazilian Air Force enlisted re-
serves and consequently prime material
for commercial aviation jobs. The re-
naming 10 per cent were members of
the regular army, handpicked for tech
nical schooling. He was issued army
uniforms and overalls and billeted in a
barracks not unlike American quarters.
So long as he made the grade, Santos
was to be paid about $13 monthly.
Every student at Escola Tecnica de
Aviacao has "godmother," selected at
the onset of the school term to bring
him inspiration and soothe him over a
difficult curriculum. 1t is a pleasant
renascence of the days of chivalry with
the knight in armor fighting dragons
volts and rpm. s in this case-while the
lovely lady waits for him behind the
grilled windows of the castle For his
"godmother" Santos chose his childhood
sweetheart, Ivone. She would pin on
his sergeant's stripe that triumphal day
of graduation.
Course Is Thorough
Santos goes to technical school seven
hours daily, five and half days a week,
and his work day is heightened by one
additional hour each of English and
military training. Classroom lectures
are conducted entirely in Portuguese,
but by the end of the course the aver
age student has acquired a working
knowledge of English. If he is ambi-
tious, as is Santos, he will polish his
English with after-hour instruction
which the American teachers are al
ways so willing to give.
Santos feels fortunate to have been
placed in the second anniversary class
for the usual crop of rumors that cir
culate In any school are that specia
q