ENGLISH GIRL FLYER.

Waikato Times, Volume 120, Issue 19985, 8 September 1936, Page 3

ENGLISH GIRL FLYER.

INSTRUCTOR’S DESPAIR. NOW HAS 1 ODD HOURS. Three years ago an instructor at a flying club in the English provinces dismissed Miss Leucha Warner as “unteachable.” He said that she I would never be an aeroplane pilot. I Recently she completed 1000 hours of j solo Hying. Miss Warner’s achievement shows ! that the art of aeroplane pilotage can I be mastered in time by anyone whose ! eyesight is accurate and who is suffi- : eiently keen and determined. Natural , aptitude is not essential, but good teaching of the quality that Miss Warner found at lleston airport after her ; lirsl essay undoubtedly is. Often | the safest and best pilots are those | who found flying difficult at the beginning but who persevered. Scorns Wind and Rain. Miss Warner's flying time has been recorded in all kinds of weather. She keeps a flying suit at three different aerodromes, though most of her flying is still done from Heston, and she hires various types of aeroplanes according to her needs of the moment. When the weather is too bad to leave the aerodrome she will frequently practise landings in an open machine, scorning wind and rain, while other pilots remain indoors. She has qualified for a "blind” flying certificate', and in poor weather, with visibility low, will set forth in a cabin aeroplane on a long flight over England or the Continent of Europe. Heston airport’s official bulletin records that* recently Miss Warner lost her way in very bad weather and landed in an exceptionally small field. “Later, on attempting to take off again, she found that the aeroplane had insufficient height to clear the trees. Many experienced pilots would have tried to pull it over the tree-tops without enough speed, and stalled or spun Into the ground with serious results. Miss Warner had the courage and wisdom to put the nose down and go on into.,the tre'es, which acted as a shock absorber. The aeroplane was not extensively damaged and Miss Warner climbed out unhurt. Tills experience was Ihe only narrow escape In 1000 hours’ safe flying —a record that a professional pilot would he proud of—and it is mentioned only because it is a creditable example or making the best of a difficult situation."