During the last period of instruction, when the men had gone through all the preliminaries; when they had learned how to take down and set up a Curtiss aeroplane; knew the motor, and how to operate it to the best advantage; in short, were thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the machine, they were ready for the advanced stage of the work. This was to take out a four-cylinder aeroplane for flights of from three to ten minutes' duration at various heights.
My instructions to all of the men were never to ascend to unaccustomed heights on these practice flights; that is, not to venture beyond the heights at which they felt perfectly at ease and capable of handling the machine, and to make a safe landing without danger to themselves or to the machine. These instructions were obeyed at all times. Perhaps the caution exercised at every stage of the instructional period had had its effect on the men and they felt no desire to take unnecessary chances.
When they were able to fly and to make safe landings in a four-cylinder machine, I considered that I had done all I could do to make aviators of them. I had tried not to neglect anything that would prove of benefit to them in their future work things I had had to learn through long years of experiments and many failures. In other words, I tried to give them the benefit of all my experience in the many little details that go to make the successful aviator.
Given the proper foundation for any trade or profession, the intelligent man will work out his own development in his own way. I could only start the men along the road I believed to be the easiest and safest to travel; they had to choose their own way and time to reach the goal.
It has been a pleasure and satisfaction to work with the officers of the Army and Navy. Their desire to learn the problems of aviation, intelligently applied, has made the work easier than I had anticipated. The many little annoyances that often beset us are forgotten in the keen satisfaction of having been of some service to the men themselves, and above all to our War and Navy Departments.
A BULLETIN ISSUED AT THE CURTISS AVIATION CAMP
The course is divided into six parts or stages.
1st. Ground work with reduced power. To teach running in straight line.
2nd. Straightaway flights near the ground, just sufficient power to get off.
3rd. Straightaway flights off the ground at a distance of ten or fifteen feet to teach use of the rudder and ailerons.