FLYING AT FORTY.

Auckland Star, Issue 123, 24 May 1919, Page 5

FLYING AT FORTY.

SIMPLER TIIAX DRIVING A CAR. (By L.W., R.A.F.) i The standard of physical fitness tc- J quired of candidates for :idmiasion to ■ the Royal Air Force during the war was ' a very high one, and the maximum age ' for a ■would-be Hying officer was fixed at 25. Even nfter passing the vigorous medical examination many aspirants were turned down on account of some physical or psychical defect made apparent only by actual Hying practice, and the percentage of candidates finally accepted for active service was not greater than 5. For that reaeon people are apt to conclude that the flying of an aeroplane requires the body and mind almost of a Buporinan, and that it certainly demands that daredevil temperament possessed I only by young men. It must be realised, however, that in modern warfare far moro was required of an aeroplane pilot than plain, straightforward flying. | Every British pilot before proceeding overseas had to prove himself proficient, | ! not only in bombing, wireless telegraphy, I I formation flying, cloud navigation, etc., | \ but also i. stunting, a very essential accomplishment for the air-fighter. This was the phase of war-flying that so clearly required the iron nerve and fearblindness of the young Briton, who from , his school gymnasia and playing fields took to the air as naturally as a duckling takes to water. In spite of this there were many very able and dashing pilots in the R.A.F. actively engaged on the western and other : fronts whose respective ages -were well | over 2.">. The best pilot the writer ever (lew with over the lines was verging I towards 40, and a cooler or more dare- ' devil man could not be found in th« I Force. For active service this was, of '■ course, exceptional, although it is no ! exaggeration to say that r>o per cent of. all pilots were over 30 in the earlier days. ! For ordinary peace time flying there' should be no age limit at all. Flying an aeroplane is a much simpler and a far less nerve-racking business than I driving a motor car or sailing a yacht. ' Any man who has lived a decent open-air • life, who has played games and hunted, will find that learning to fly even at the i age of 50 is a ridiculously easy business ' A modern aeroplane will practically fly , itself, the controls are so arranged t that even a man on his first trip docs tin? " right thing instinctively. f For ordinary flying the only necessary ! qualifications in either sex are first of ■ all good eyesight, and second a sound I j heart. Possessing these there is nothing ', I 1 to prevent the average middle-aged man [ 5 attending a flying school for a njonth * or so, and becoming an accomplished ! pilot. He will wonder then, why he hesitated "to take to the air." t