"FIRST SOLO"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 270, 25 August 1944, Page 21

"FIRST SOLO"

A.T.C. Cadets Take The Air N enterprising programme which offers something a little different from the usual run of quizz sessions is First Solo, now being heard from all ZB stations at 7.30 every Sunday evening. The principal participants in First Solo are cadets from the Air Training Corps, who come along to the microphone each week to score as many points as possible for their "wings" in a national quizz for a New Zealand trophy. It happens that the headquarters of each of the five A.T.C. Wings are situated in a town served by a ZB station; consequently, the same questions can be asked simultaneously from each station, each local Wing sending different representatives each week to the studio. Main interest is centred in the Wing competition, and at the end of the first programme Palmerston North had a _ comfortable lead of 114% points over Auckland, with Christchurch a very close third. In addition to the Wing competition, each station is also running a squadron competition, for the competitors each represent one of the squadrons within their particular Wing. The questions, although not particularly technical, cannot by any means be described as easy, but although they

all centre round aviation, they are wide in their scope and are of general interest to listeners. Some are frankly of a "catch" nature: for example, the question which asked what is wrong with an aircraft which you overtake at night only to find that the navigation light which normally appears on the port wing, is shining on the starboard wing instead; the answer being,. of

course; that the aircraft must be flying upside down. Some of the contestants .at the various stations were astute enough to find the answer to this, but one or two were fooled. Generally ‘ speaking, however, the cadets who take their "first solo" before the microphone are very wide awake, and sometimes spring a surprise on the compere hime self.