26 November 1936

Dear Dad:

Today was the first clear - at least fairly clear day, for a week. There was thick black cloud at 3000 feet but this was all right.

I took EL up (No. 13) for two hours this morning. Rolt then took it up, had just taken off and his engine cut out. He missed a house roof by 12 feet, hit a tree with his wing, went through a fence and really cracked up. He broke No. 13 in two pieces. All 4 longerons were broken, undercarriage demolished and both wings broken - a complete write-off. So the plane whose picture I sent you is no more. I was lucky not being in it when the engine failed. Incidentally, Rolt got out of the plane on his own power.

An hour later Jackson phoned in from Farnborough. He had lost himself and sat down at the R.A.F. aerodrome.

Boy! what a morning. I put in about four hours solo flying. At 3000 I was attacked by a squadron of Gloster Gauntlets. Zooming and diving all about me . Incidentally I flew straight and level. Then as if for consolation, three of them did loops and rolls in formation about 200 feet off my starboard wing.

I practised forced landing, side slips, steep turns, etc. At 4 PM today a hugh Heyford bomber made a forced landing on our aerodrome and five men got out. Two officer pilots, one sergeant pilot and two men - you could tuck five of our machines under its wings.

This afternoon the air was terrifically bumpy - first one wing and then the other would flip up or down a distance of three or four feet - you receive terrific wallops.

Last year a Gauntlet squadron shot up a plane over Brooklands. It happened to be a China man on his first solo and he spun in from 500 feet -totally wrecked his machine but didn't hurt himself fortunately.

It really is a wonder that Rolt didn't kill himself - our machine is a total wreck. Slade, one our instructors, took a Moth up and his engine cut out - landed and found cotton waste in his carburettor (sloppy mechanic) maybe the air wasn't blue for awhile.

Lindy and his wife (Lindy had a tam on) were strolling about the aerodrome today. I taxied right beside them - no autograph hunters here. They certainly are swell and everybody likes Lindy. He took up his orange and black machine this afternoon and we often flew near each other. (Ah! hem!) The R.A.F. are a bit too fond of visiting us and showing us how it's done. One meets their fighter squadrons everywhere in the air.

This flying is wonderful - high in the sky - your life in the palm of your hand. Shooting along at 150 , steep turns near the ground, slithering slide slips to the left and right, then kiss the grass and coast along.This morning at 8:00 AM the sun was just shooting across the first flashes of light and it was reflected off the wings of my plane. Over my head was a blood red Hawk dipping gently like a boat in a swell - I leaned right back and breathed deeply - If this isn't Heaven what is?

Love Bill