Originally Posted by
andyl999
The pictures of the aircraft underneath are off Texan (Harvard in the UK), You may notice that they have retractable undercarriage, whereas the Vultee has a fixed undercarriage.
If you look earlier in this forum you will find Reg Levy and my Uncle Vernon who where also in class 42A. Reg incidentally didn't like the Vultee which he cited shook and vibrated, they were removed from training at some time later.
I've just noticed that all the photos from Reg Levy's posts have suffered from Photobucket disease, when I get the time I will edit them and re-host them on another server.
Andy
Here's a list of all those who graduated in class 42-A at Turner Field, including Reg Levy and my father, together with the programme. Reg and your uncle were probably together for primary training and separated for some reason for advanced flying training. Reg and Dad met up again at Arnold Scheme reunions in later years and Dad followed this thread until he died aged 96 in 2016, although he didn't contribute. What was your uncle's surname and was he at Darr Aero Tech for his primary training?
With regard to the Vultee, Dad said in a letter in June 1941 at Primary training "
In the mornings we work in the Ground School – Maths, Navigation, Engines etc, and it is all very interesting. In the afternoons we fly, and that is lovely. It is so cool and refreshing up above and I always feel sorry after the flight is over. My instructor is an awfully nice chap, and gives me complete confidence in him and the plane. The planes are very nice; they can fly by themselves and are extremely safe. I flew a plane today for the first time, and was extremely surprised to find how easy it was."
A month later (mid-July when he had just turned 21) he wrote
"By the way I soloed on Thursday. In case you don’t understand, it means that I took the plane up and landed it again all by myself. I had supervised solos again on Friday and Saturday. That means going round and round landing and taking off while your instructor stands down below and watches you, checking faults etc. Tomorrow I shall be able to get my own plane and leave the aerodrome and fly around practising the various manoeuvers which we are taught. When I went up the first time, I was surprised to find myself not in the least nervous, and I went round and made a good landing. It’s nice being up alone; there’s nobody to swear at you!! and knowing that you’ve got to rely on yourself you fly very much better and with more ease. It’s also very nice to feel that you’re capable of doing it.
On 6th August he wrote
"I’m still doing alright (touch wood!) and have almost finished the Primary Training. To date I have a total of 45 hours, about 23 of which are solo. To finish this course we each must have a total of 60 hours. We are due to knock off next Tuesday, and hope to go on to Basic at the end of the week. At Basic School you fly bigger, better, and faster planes, and you do night flying, instrument flying, and also formation flying; the course is much more interesting and lasts ten weeks, during which time you have to do about 100 hours flying. I started aerobatics yesterday – loops, snap rolls, slow rolls, flying upside down etc. It’s good fun but it shakes you up a bit to begin with. It’s really surprising what things you can do in a plane.
I still find it very hard to imagine my father flying upside down!
