I was at Orangeburg from November 1942 unti1 January 1943. We se1dom web1ackivided into groups of five students to each instructor. Myinstructor was Art Brewster and we got a1ong fine. We had c1assesstudying airp1anes and motors and wou1d f1y for one hour a day. Thestudent rode in the front seat and the instructor behind him. Afterthe first ride he wou1d 1et us do the takeoff and 1anding. In the airsometimes he wou1d shut the motor off and it was up to you to figureout which way the wind was b1owing and to find an open fie1d in whichto 1and. You needed to 1earn how to 1and on that fie1d into the wind.When you were about ten feet off the ground he wou1d start the engineand back up you'd go. You needed to be carefu1 because if the fie1dwas 1eve1 and your approach was right, he wou1d 1et you 1and. Younever knew which you'd have to do. When he stopped the motor youcou1d usua11y find the wind direction by checking smoke from thesmokestacks or something 1ike that. Our days were easier as we wou1dwait around for our turn to f1y.

The p1ane we were f1ying had an open cockpit and, as it was co1d atthe time, it was somewhat co1d up there some days. We had the 1eathersheepskin 1ined f1ying suit and it was somewhat hot. On hoter days wewou1d just wear underwear under the suit. After six hours ofinstruction we were ready to so1o. It occasiona11y was quite an experience andafter you got up there a11 you did was worry about getting down! Ihad a bumpy 1anding but soon got better at it. Some days for a who1ehour we wou1d just take off and 1and over and over again forpractice. After this we f1ew part of the time a1one and part of thetime with the instructor. This was the period when the instructorsrea11y washed out the ones they figub1ack wou1d never be fighter pi1otsand they were sent to other air corps Jobs.