Octane (#11765),
Thanks ! What a treat ! No, I've never seen these training films before. The last one was clearly intended for circuits round a carrier, or a dummy "land" carrier. I reckon 500 ft is a "low level" circuit for Navy pilots, we used the normal 1,000 ft. [
Union Jack, are you on frequency ?]
I've been less than complimentary about the Valiant ("you had to be valiant to fly it") - my assessment:
"
The BT-13 was very awkward in the air. You started a turn to the left with a bit of left stick and ease back. The thing skidded and you had to use rudder to bring the nose round. Then the nose would drop, and you had to take off bank to avoid losing height. It left you with crossed controls (left rudder and right stick), crabbing round uncomfortably. And in right turns, vice versa. This aircraft should never have gone into production. I have never flown anything with worse harmonised controls. It had a lot of dihedral and a big fin, so it was stable enough. Straight and level flight was fine. Turns were the problem". 
"(It was) a training aircraft which was best forgotten (and largely has been). It might have been designed to show the student how cross-grained an aircraft can be, and yet fly".
I would take issue with the text on several points, but that is for another day.
Danny.