© U. & U.
“I DIDN’T USE MY PERISCOPE ALL THE TIME, BUT COULD LOOK OUT MY WINDOWS”
© Wide World Photos
PARIS, FRANCE—A SALUTATION FROM M. BLERIOT
One of the first lessons was the “three sixty”—so named because its completion required a total change in direction of three hundred and sixty degrees. The cadet would take-off and climb to eight hundred or a thousand feet. The higher he went the less difficulty he had in properly completing the maneuver. Then he would fly into the wind directly over a landing “T” in the center of the field. As the plane passed over the “T” he throttled his motor and made a quick bank either to the right or left depending upon his preliminary instructions. The object was to make a complete circle and land without using the motor, bringing the plane to a stop beside the “T.”
“One eightys” were the next requirement and they were probably the cause of more crashes than any other maneuver. They were started in the same manner as the “three sixty,” but with the plane heading down wind and at only five hundred feet altitude. They required quick manipulation of controls and a steep bank into the field just before landing.
Next came acrobatics. Loops, spins, barrel rolls, Jenny Immelmans, figure-eights, wing-overs, and reversements, every one of which each cadet had to master thoroughly during his course at Brooks.
After the first few weeks had passed we became more or less accustomed to life in the cadet detachment, and found a little time now and then to look around the country and even spend a night in San Antonio. Our examinations were purposely given on Saturday morning so that we would not spend the week-end studying. It was well known that too much studying affected a cadet’s flying and the school schedule was arranged with that in mind.