85TH SQUADRON—CAMP MOHAWK.
ON THE WESTERN FRONT.
While there is undoubted fascination in flying, the sensation begins to pall after hundreds of hours in the air in a slow machine which circles somewhat monotonously over areas of which every detail has long since been memorized. The Canadian JN4 is considered reliable, with vagaries too slight to demand much attention, and a most excellent machine for instructional purposes. It is not as inherently stable as some others, but instruction on a stable machine would not have been as desirable as on one which required constant if simple control, and effected its higher manoeuvres by acquired momentum and not by engine power.
In Canadian flying therefore, per se, there is nothing particularly attractive for the instructor. The most unstable element is provided by the cadet, and it has been remarked that at the outset “he has many opportunities for error and usually discovers them all.” To anyone who has observed a machine reeling unsteadily around an aerodrome under the guidance of a fledgling pilot, while his instructor sits impassively in the seat of danger, it will be apparent that the latter has attained an abnormal degree of pluck and composure. It is a point of honour with him not to assume control until it is obviously imperative, and even then there is danger lest the pupil, in an excess of fear, cling desperately to the stick and bring about disaster.
With the instructor must be placed the second in command of squadrons. To this officer falls the responsibility of conducting the “pool,” through which all pupils pass before being posted out. Here take place those final tests which determine the cadet’s proficiency. Failing in any one, the pupil is returned for further tuition. To this officer, therefore, the squadron commander looks for the ultimate approval of the work of every cadet, as well for the satisfactory condition of instructors and aerodrome discipline.