Dear Folks,
I was going to write this letter last night but we had a GI party when we got back from pass at 7:30.
Really had a swell weekend. Zoe got in about 3:00 A.M. Sat. morning and my pass lasted from 4 PM. Sat. till 7:30 PM. Sun. Mrs. Perkins wanted us to eat breakfast Sun. morning with them. We really had a nice visit.
The weather here is really ideal now, the evenings and mornings are cool and the days haven’t been getting very warm. The worse thing is when we fly at 7:30 in the morning and when you get up to about 6,000′ it gets so cold you are numb all over. We haven’t been issued our flying jackets yet but should get them this week. We can turn in our canvas helmets for leather fur lined ones but I tried one the other day and I could hardly understand the instructor. I have got about 13 hrs. in now. About 3 of them are solo and from now on most of them will be solo.
Dad, I haven’t got Long John’s address yet but will send it to you when I get it. He wasn’t here today so I got in some more solo time. I think he just had a good hang over. I am glad Grandma enjoyed her self so much. I’ll give you the low down on coming out here for a visit. We have about six more weeks here and then go on to basic. The trouble with this here is we don’t know if we will get weekend passes till about 24 hrs. before we get them. If they have a thunderstorm or something that knocks mmmmm out of our flying we have to fly on Sun. to make up the time. This is all the information that I know, I imagine the time that you come out we will be in basic and I don’t know what the set up is. How is everything in Chicago? Has Karen grown much more?
The planes we fly here are the Stearman PT17’s. They are really a rugged little plane with a 220 horsepower engine which is plenty of power to start out on. We go to basic and advanced at different fields and we don’t have the least idea where we will go.
Say, there is something I wish you would send me. These G.I. shoes are too clumsy and heavy to fly in and I have been wearing my tennis shoes which aren’t very good. I wish you would send me a pair of those old plain toed shoes. Those with the buckles + straps on them because those are the only kind we are allowed to wear. Don’t send those ones I sent to you because I won’t be able to wear them. If you can get shoe repairing done there have some rubber soles and heels put on them.
Those composition soles will be O.K. but don’t let them put on leather because they will slip off the rudder pedals. Also not too thick a soles because I have come to find that you can be just as sensitive with your toes as you can with your fingers. One more thing if you happen to have any A coupons for gas that you aren’t using send them to me don’t any Cs because I don’t think I could use them. If you haven’t any it is O.K. and don’t send any that you need.
I have some navigation and meterology to study tonight. Our classes are getting alittle tougher but aren’t too bad yet. I don’t know a thing about engines but I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to learn something about them.
Asta La Viesta (or something.)
With Love,
Tom
If this letter sounds disjointed blame it on my buddies they kept interrupting me.
