Vol. I—No. 6
U. s. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
' Saturday, October 24, 1942
5c a Copy
New Cockpit Course Given to Cadets
Students Learn About Plane
^ Special Message
hr Navy Day
(Tuesday, Oct. %7, will mark the 21st
annual celebration of Navy Day, and
the first ever observed in wartime. In
keeping with the occasion, the follow-
'ing special Navy Day message is sent
io all hands of the Pre-Flight School
by the Hon. Josephus Daniels, Secre
tary of the Navy during the first World
War.—The Editor.)
By Josephus Daniels
Secretary of Navy, 1913-21
This Navy Day is celebrated as the
Navy meets its most severe challenge
on the seven seas. Gladly American
youths are enlisting with the enthu
siasm that has always been charac
teristic of the men “who go down to
the sea in ships.” This year they are
not only furnishing unbeatable fight
ers on the decks of fighting ships. They
are also volunteering for service as
aviators, “in the central blue.” The
Navy that flies is as important as the
Navy that sails. Both are essential,
uniting with land forces, to win the
sort of victories which have brought
glory to the foremost Republic in the
New World.
Most of the inspiring slogans which
have heartened our country in its glor
ious naval history have been uttered
by naval heroes.
“We have just begun to fight,” was
the reply of John Paul Jones when
asked if he would surrender.
“Don’t give up the ship,” was Law
rence’s last command to his officers and
men.
“We have met the enemy and they
are ours,” reported Perry from Lake
Erie.
“My country! In its intercourse with
other nations may it always be in the
right; but my country, right or wrong,”
said Decatur.
“Damn the torpedoes; go ahead,”
Was the command of Farragut.
“You may fire when you are ready,
Gridley,” was Dewey’s order at the
Battle of Manila Bay.
The valor and high resolve, already
noted for deathless deed in this war,
is proof that the same spirit that
ttioved John Paul Jones and the galaxy
of naval heroes, animates the men of
the Navy in this Armageddon.
The spirit of the Navy of today,
even more daring and ready, is ex
pressed in these lines:
“We didn’t want to fight,
But, by Jingo, if we do,
We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men,
We’ve got the money too.”
I^laymakers Present Thriller
The Carolina Playntiakers of the
University will launch their 25th sea-
with a production of “Arsenic and
, smash-hit Broadway com-
30^ y Kesselring, on Oct. 29,
^ 31 in The Playmakers Theatre.
fiv ^^^^^^kers offer a program of
their season ticket sub-
$2.26. Tickets are avail-
Stnf at Ledbetter-Pickard’s
maker^^-R
Hall A Office, 209 Phillips
forrv,' to any single
^ "lance is 85c.
per-
SHOWN RECEIVING cockpit instruction from Lieut. Richard King in
the above picture are Cadets Robert S. Jackson, of Pawtucket, R. I., left,
and Edward H. Hogan, of Jackson Heights, Long Island, N. Y. The
Vought-Sikorsky observation plane upon which the instructor and
students are perched is wingless at the moment and located outside
Alexander Hall.
Duke Orchestra to Play at Next Smoker^
Dance Follows for Officers, Crew, Guests
Feature guest attraction at the sta-
tation Smoker to be held in Woollen
Gymnasium next Wednesday evening
will be a student orchestra from Duke
University, according to Lieut. Frank
Gillespie, assistant welfare and recrea
tion officer who is in charge of arrange
ments for the program.
Both the guest artists and the or
chestra section of the Pre-Flight color
ed band are scheduled to play after the
Smoker at a special dance for the of
ficers, crew, faculty, their wives, and
guests, and it is hoped that a battle
of bands will develop between the two
music making groups. Cadets will not
be able to attend the dance on account
of taps as usual at 2130.
It is hoped, states Lieut. Gillespie,
that response to the dancing entertain-
ment will be favorable, and that similar
events may be provided for officers,
crew, faculty and their guests after
future Smokers.
Time for the Smoker has been set
back from 1900 to 1915, and all cadets
are expected to be in their seats by
1915.
In addition to the jumping jive, the
Smoker program will contain an assort
ment of entertainment, including box
ing bouts, vocalists, group singing, and
an “Original Variety Review,” star
ring that Pagliaccio of satire, Cadet
William J. P. O’Sullivan.
Seeking laurels in other fields than
the gridiron, the Cloudbuster football
team will lend their “Pullman Car
Songsters,” a vocalizing group of var
sity players, to the program.
Coming Events
Oct. 24—Football game at Kenan
Stadium, Cloudbuster ‘B’ team vs.
Camp Davis. Kick-off at 1430.
Oct. 24—Soccer game on drill field,
Cloudbusters vs. High Point, starting
at 1530.
Oct. 24—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Two Yanks in Trinidad”
with Pat O’Brien and Brian Donlevy.
Feature begins at 1915 and 2055,
Oct. 25—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Keep ’Em Flying” with Ab
bott and Costello. Feature begins at
1300 and 1441.
Oct. 28—Smoker in Woollen Gym,
starting at 1915, followed by a dance
for officers, crew, their wives, guests,
and faculty members.
Girl Friends,
Smoking Taboo
All cadets are reminded that
girl friends and smoking are
taboo at the free movies shown
over the week-end at the Village
Theatre.
16 More Officers
Receive Promotions
In addition to those previously re
ported promoted in these pages, 16
other junior grade lieutenants have
added another half stripe and are now
ranked as full lieutenants.
The new double stripers are: G. E.
Allen, John J. Boyd, C. C. Bream, Jr.,
Donald P. Chalmers, Ivan W. Fuqua,
Frank L. Gillespie, Jerome P. Ginley,
G. D. Kepler, George L. McGaughey,
Ei’nest L. Messikomer, George F.
Neilan, Thomas A. Slusser, Jr., Ray
mond A. Snyder, Charles R. Soleau,
John H. Vaught, and Thurman R.
Ward.
Invitation to Harvard Men
The Harvard men of Chapel Hill are
inviting all Harvard men of the Pre-
Flight School to an informal get-to
gether starting at 1630 on Sunday af
ternoon, Oct. 25, in the faculty club
room of the Carolina Inn.
Secretary of the Harvard Club of
North Carolina, Prof. Hugo Giduz,
asks that this notice be considered as a
personal invitation.
Instruments and Controls
Cadets of the Pre-Flight School are moving a little closer to ac
tual flying with the introduction of a new course in “Cockpit In
struction” which will be given to all cadets before they move on
to the Reserve Bases. The classroom for this course will be the
cockpit of the Vought-Sikorsky 03U3 Navy biplane which was re
cently moved aboard the station. The officer in charge of the
course is Lieut. Richard King, assisted by Lieut. Edward A.
Monaghan.
The course has been introduced at the Pre-Flight School to ac
quaint the cadets with the various aircraft instruments and con
trols so that the transition to flying experiences will be less abrupt
and strange.
<$ —
While, formerly, cadets reaching
the Reserve Bases had several
weeks before taking to the air—weeks
in which to become familiar with
planes on the “apron,” their cockpits,
instruments, and general operation—
cadets now are flying during their first
week at the flight base and often with
in 48 hours after their arrival. Hence,
it was deemed advisable to provide the
cadets here with as much information
as possible regarding the cockpit and
instruments of the planes they will fly,
in order that valuable flying time at
the base will not be sacrificed.
It is believed that with the cadets
leaving this station feeling a bit at
home in the cockpit of a plane, more
confident and relaxed, there will be less
of a tendency to tighten up on the con
trols.
Often when a person climbs for the
first time into a cockpit with which he
is unfamiliar and in which he is anx
ious to make good, he tends to grab
the controls as if to lift the plane off
the ground by sheer strength alone.
Commendable as is this desire to make
good, nevertheless this over-eagerness,
accompanied by a tightening up on the
controls, is an important cause for
wash-outs. By bringing this to the
attention of the cadets and by mak
ing them feel at home in a cockpit, this
tendency to tighten up should disap
pear—or be measurably decreased.
For the time being the course is de
signed to give Pre-Flight cadets only
the fundamentals. Later on when in
coming battalions who have had pre
vious flight training reach Chapel Hill,
the course may be advanced to cover
some of the more intricate instru
ments.
The 03U3 is now located next to
Alexander Hall but will shortly be
moved to a location in the rear of Cald
well Hall. Plans have been drawn for
a building to house the plane in com
pletely assembled condition. Addi
tional equipment including a parachute
and complete flotation gear will be
added later. As part of the “hangar,”
there will be a connecting room con
taining models of all domestic and for
eign planes, American, English,
French, Italian, German and Japanese
ships together with scale models of the
motorized Army units of the United
States and Germany. In addition vari
ous training devices will be set up
therein.
The temporarily wingless plane be
ing used for cockpit instruction has
seen much service since its delivery
to the Navy on May 20, 1933. The
plane was based at N. A. S. San Diego
for quite a time, being first flown out
there by Lieut. Tom Hamilton, now
Comdr. Hamilton, in charge of the
Naval aviation physical fitness pro
gram.
While attached to units of the Fleet
the plane was catapulted for dive
bombing, observation, scouting, target
towing, and squadron tactics. While
with the Fleet it was once severely
damaged while landing in a heavy sea
off San Clemente but N.A.S. San Diego
managed to patch it up for further
service. Most planes after nine years
of service would be unceremoniously
relegated to the scrap heap but in
many ways the most important work
for 03U3 No. 9320 is just beginning.
There will be few planes in this war
that will x-eceive the concentrated at
tention of almost 2000 naval aviation
cadets a month.
Lieut. King, officer in charge of
cockpit instruction, received his flying
license back in 1931 and has kept his
license active during most of the inter
vening years. He organized the first
intercollegiate flying club years before
there was any C.A.A. Civilian Pilot
Training Program, was a frequent
participant in intercollegiate and oth
er air meets in the East and Middle
West and is a member of several of the
national aeronautical organizations.
Lieut. Managhan, who will do much
of the teaching, is an aviation psy
chologist of the Bureau of Medicine &
Surgery who was with the Navy some
time before Pearl Harbor. On his own
he managed to get some flying time
which he hopes to increase here while
not actually teaching.
For all cadets the guiding principle
of cockpit instruction will be, learn all
you can about flying before you reach
the Reserve Base and when in a cock
pit—Relax. There will be no tests or
quizzes in this course—these will come
at the Reserve Base and a failure may
mean—wash-out.
Group of 66 Cadets
Sent to Flight Bases
The Pre-Flight training phase of
the naval aviation program ended for
66 more cadets transferred yesterday
to six flight bases.
Eight of the group were sent to
Lakehurst, N. J., for lighter-than-air
training, while 15 were transferred to
the Naval Reserve Air Base at Minne
apolis, Minn., 14 to Memphis, Tenn.,
12 to Peru, Ind., 12 to Squantum,
Mass., and five to Philadelphia, Pa.