Dad's story continues
So we journeyed north and eventually entered Canada. We were told our destination was to be Moncton, New Brunswick, an RAF Air Crew Receiving Centre. We enjoyed our stay in Moncton where the citizens were most hospitable towards us.
One day a group of us were informed that we were to be trained in the USA - our destination was to be Terrell in Texas - and so to our day of departure. The long train journey south took us four or five days as I recall. We eventually arrived at Terrell railway station and onwards to the airfield, the camp and our quarters. This was 1BFTS (No. 1 British Flying Training School) Terrell - our final resting place after the long and interesting journey from RAF Heaton Park in Manchester, England.
Mid-September 1942
The first few weeks were a settling-in phase - getting to know our way round the camp, the inevitable parades, ground school and then on 28 September 1942 the ‘real thing’: my introduction to the Stearman PT18. My instructor, K.W. Withey, a very likeable chap, who with firmness but with good humour, led me on 2 October l942 after only 4 hours dual instruction to my first solo and the beginning of ‘Hey I like flying!’
From then on the exercises became more demanding, more adventurous flying, link training, more ground school and some fellow cadets eliminated. On 7 October l942,with more confidence and a great deal of trepidation, I carried out my first solo spinning exercise. I have to admit this demands all your courage. There you are, on your own, several thousand feet up in the air. You deliberately stall the aeroplane and put it into a spin - almost vertical - the aircraft spinning with the ground rushing closer towards you by the second until you carry out the necessary control movements to bring the plane out of the spin - and live another day!!
On 20 November 1942 I flew my last circuit on the PT18 - I think we all felt ‘aces’ by this time!
After a spell of leave we returned to Terrell. My first introduction to the Harvard AT6 was through my designated instructor W.P. Wakefield, a relatively small, stocky built man with a somewhat dour but forceful character which justified his nickname of ‘Little Caesar’, but who more than anyone taught me to really fly. His no-nonsense approach to accuracy is still remembered to this day. In you flew at more than 1,000 ft in the circuit you would suddenly be catapulted forward as he sharply moved the control column forward! Likewise below 1,000 ft in the circuit he sharply moved the control column back! These movements carried out without warning concentrated the mind admirably!
It soon became clear the Harvard was a totally different animal from the Stearman. Immediately noticeable was the mono wing and enclosed cockpit rather than the ‘string bag’ view of the open cockpit with the wings of a biplane. It was a big step up in every sense of the word. Many of the exercises were of course similar to those carried out on the Stearman but it seemed that everything happened much more quickly and more precisely on the Harvard.
Gradually, as experience was gained and confidence grew I found it a great aeroplane to fly. Exercises were carried out both dual and solo and were in a sense repetitious - thus we learned. As in the Stearman, so in the Harvard, I think the most testing exercise was to deliberately put the aircraft into a spin. Having overcome my fear of spinning the Stearman I was, to say the least, more than a little fearful when it came to the moment of the same exercise in the Harvard. As I mentioned before I think you have to muster all your courage to carry out this exercise. However, although it appeared everything happened much faster I survived!
I can sympathise with Dad as although most of my flying has been in helicopters I spent from 1998 until 2013 as a RAF Reserve AEF pilot giving air experience to ATC cadets. Every 6 months we had to spin and that moment of stick back and full rudder still took a bit of adrenalin to do!!
HF