FREE FLYING TUITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20620, 19 July 1930, Page 10

FREE FLYING TUITION.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUTHS. MARLBOROUGH CLUB'S SCHEME. [HY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] BLENHEIM. Friday. The executive of the Marlborough Aero Club has given full approval to proposals by a sub-committee which has been investigating tho possibility of devising a scheme under which suitable youths who would not otherwise be likely to learn to fly may be instructed and enabled to secure their " A" pilot licences free of charge. It is believed that it is the first system to be devised among civil aviation organisations to provide free tuition and the club is adopting it as a genuine contribution toward the cause of developing what is known as the " air sense" in the furtherance of tho interests of civil aviation.

Tho scheme involves an initial appropriation from the club's funds of £2OO, which will bo augmented from timo to lime. It is estimated that the actual cost of teaching each lad to tly will be about £4O, so that the initial fund will provide for the tuition of five. It is possible that certain local institutions may assist in tho scheme. The suggestion has been mado to the Director of Air Services that in continuation of the club's efforts the department should annually select tho best of its scholarship pupils for a cadetship with the New Zealand Air Force or accord him a recommendation for a short service commission with the Royal Air Force in England.

Candidates fur the scholarships must lio nominated l>y a niemher of the club or by the principal of Marlborough College, and lirst preference, will be given to near relatives of members and sorts of soldiers and sailors who lost their lives in or as a result of the war. The age limit is between 17 and 25 years and the minimum educational requirement is a Standard \I. pass. Candidates will be required to undergo a preliminary medical examination and a general knowledge and intelligence test.