FUTURE AIRMEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 15, 15 October 1943, Page 5

FUTURE AIRMEN

LOCAL AIR TRAINING CORPS

RECENT N.C.O. COURSE' Four N.C.O.'s, G. West, B. Sullivan, R. Goodall and N. Butler, of the Whakatane Flight oi" the Air 'Training Corps, now under Flight Commander Whitworth, have, just returned alter completing a fortnight's N.C.O.'s cour.se at a North Island R.N.Z.A.F. Operational Training Station. Tlie course covered a variety of subjects but the main feature was six hours drill each. day. Lectures including pyrotechnics, machine guns, and meteorology were studiously noted down, whilst, a demonstration of parachute packing (usually a two to three hour job) was completed in hall' an hour for the special benefit of the boys; (and their instructor) who wishecf oil 110 account to mis.s morning tea. Half an hour's time, in the Link Trainer was 'allotted to each cadet, and, despite the I'act that some of them landed (according to the instruments) a thousand feet under the ground, all four Whakatane boys were, classified as "born pilots." Some work on the range followed and here the local lads excelled with both rides and machine guns, .pumping away in a few minutes ammunition enough to last the average sportsma 11 a year. Naturally the highlight of the course was a flight in a light bomber, during which the "born pilots" were all-owed to take the controls, whilst those on the ground stared up with increasing anxiety lest the "born .pilots" be 'not so good.' Unfortunately the. course only lasted a fortnight, but all four local representatives returned, in fine form, ready to impart their newly acquired knowledge of Air Foce lore to the remainder of the flight.