BRITAIN’S PLANES

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 March 1941, Page 10

BRITAIN’S PLANES

j CHOOSING THE MEN. j Behind the efficiency and unexcelled brilliance of the British war ■ pilot is a system of training which has been evolved, modified, and moulded (over a period of 23 years, writes the air correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian.” Piloting an aeroplane under active-service conditions is a . highly-specialised job, and in choos--1 ing young men for flying duties the R.A.F. selection boards have to con- ‘ sider many factors. It is not sufficient that a candidate is physically fit. He must reveal characteristics and traits while being interviewed ■ which have bearing on “flying temperament.” t If he has these qualities he is accepted and is sent in the first place to/ an Initial Training Wing. These I.T.W’s have nothing to do with practical flying. Their main function is the building up of the candidate’s , physical fitness, the instilling of i esprit de corps, and the development ’of the latent fighting spirit. ' VISIT TO A WING. i I have just spent twd days at an Initial Training Wing and have seen how the work is done. I have seen hundreds of young men, mostly aged between 18 and 25, arriving at the 1.T.W., all in civilian clothes. I have seen others who have been in the R.A.F. for but a few weeks, uniform- ■ ed and wearing the white flash of the j cadet in their caps, drilling, march- | ing, parading, and looking astonish-' ingly smart. And I have seen still more who have reached the ‘passingout” stage. i The syllabus of training of these 'cadets is thorough and intensive. It consists of discipline, administration, | drill, Morse, mathematics, and , studios of aircraft recognition. There j are also lectures on the principles of I flight, air navigation, anti-gas measures, and gunnery. i ! In this work talking films play a big part. Films are shown to demonstrate cloud and fog flying, aerial gunnery, and the principles of flight. Visual and instrument flying instruc- i tion is also given with the Ling Trainer apparatus, which is installed in a cyclorama circular room with 1 scenery painted on the walls. This trainer helps to familiarise the. cadet with the “feel” of an aircraft at the earliest possible stage and it assists in the practical flying tuition which comes later. 1 i SPORT AND FITNESS. • During the entire course these new > R.A.F. men are given’ facilities for, football, baseball, squash rackets, hockey, and fencing, and these, with the intense physical training, bring them to a high state of fitness before , they are posted to a flying training ! station. i The Initial Training Wings were started in August last year, when a brigadier-general, who is now an air commodore, was given the task of forming them. I met him at the wing headquarters I have visited and he spoke with enthusiasm about the young men who are now passing [ through these high-pressure training ! courses. “They are as keen as musi tard to fly and fight the Germans,” he said. He also stressed the vital importance of the I.T.W.’s in maintaining the efficiency of the exerexpanding R.A.F. This ground training is an essential preliminary to flying training, and the whole system has been balanced so as to ensure that the embryo pilot, air gunner, or observer maintains and intensifies his air enthusiasm, his individuality, and his alertness of mind. No officer now serving is more