13 October 1936
To Mother
R.A.F. CIVIL TRAINING SCHOOL
(Phillips & Powis Aircraft, Ltd.)
WOODLEY, BERKS.
Phone : Sonning 76.
Dear Mother:
Just finished flying for the day.
Went up this morning in a Miles Hawk trainer. We pushed up through the clouds and I practised straight flying, gliding, climbing and banking stalling.
We were fighting harness which comes over shoulders and holds you tight in seat so you have lots of confidence in it.
Parachutes are always worn but it takes lots of wiggling to get out of cockpit with equipment.
I can't get my dinner jacket without paying total so I am in a fix.
There are only 18 pupil-pilots here and evidently all have them.
Chief Flying Instructor orders us to have them for Thursday, so what?
Once I get caught up everything will be swell.
Even at end of first week I draw only £1 over mess expenses. At end of month I get all 16/6 per day balance. I can only draw 12/ per day advance after each 7 days so that doesn't do me any good at present.
What good is your credit if in Air Force - not sure enough for creditors.
Living in residence is wonderful. I am sitting in deep leather chair writing this. Music from British band artists is playing from huge radio. A large open fireplace with coal is burning and everything is perfect except worry over finances.
The view from the air is beautiful. You can watch other machines twisting about below you and today two R.A.F. machines passed us within 100 feet at 5,000 foot altitude.
Stalls with express train dropping is nothing to me now. At first my thinking caught up with me half a minute after making dive.
We had machine gun instruction today learning parts etc. We have to tear one down and build it up in nothing flat.
All instruction is under R.A.F. navigation, bombing, rigging engines, etc.
This is the life for me "if"
Love
Bill
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