Thurs. night.

Dear Folks,

I guess you think I have forgotten all about you but I really haven’t. Don’t be a bit surprised if this letter sounds disjointed but the way things have been happening you can’t tell when you are going to have to hop up and go somewhere.

It certainly didn’t take them long to get us under way here. As you know we arrived Mon. morning, started flying Wed. morning and I have 3 hrs. + 15 Min. of dual in already. These BT’s are pretty nice but plenty complicated. You have a procedure for everything you do, for example in the Stearman when they jerked the throttle off and yelled “force landing” you just picked a field and set her down. In these when they pull the throttle off you pull your prop control in low pitch, switch gas tanks, roll down 20 degrees of flaps, work the wobble pump a couple of times, open the canopy and finally start looking for a field. Everything you do  in these is the same way, with a definite procedure. They fly pretty nice but it is really alot different having a metal plane with 450 h.p. They are known as the BT 15. Enough for airplanes.

A Minnesota flight of a BT-13 in 2009.
BT-13’s were essentially the same as BT-15s, but with a different engine.

The post itself is really the nicest we have been on yet. However, we haven’t much time to enjoy it.

From 6:00 AM till 9:30 PM we have about a total of 2 hr. free time which goes pretty fast. Our mail is really handled swell, each A/C ^[1]Aviation Cadet has his box with combination. It is just like the kind Dad has at home. The barracks are divided into rooms with four of us to a room. The rooms are pretty large with desks and chairs. It is alot better than living out of a barracks bag like we did at Thunderbird.

My instructor is a nice fellow and I think one of the best out there. He is real young, not over 21 and has alot of patience. He is a 2nd Lt. and it doesn’t pay to get too chummy with them.

I have been trying to hold my own with a cold but today in ground school they sent everyone that was coughing to the flight surgeon. They gave me some pills and told me to get plenty of rest. Just how in the hell you are suppose to do that is beyond me. My head is clearing up and I feel alot better so I guess he gave me a moral uplighting. The trouble with having a cold here is that your ears about drive you crazy.

I don’t know if I told you or not, that Zoe was in Chicago. She said she was going to call you, she is staying at 7343 S. Ridgeland. Where about is that? I think she is working in some lab, but I don’t know so awful much about it.

I sent you folks a Christmas box from Phoenix. I am going to try and get a little somethings else off before Xmas but the way things look now it might be a little late. By the way, what can I get Karen?

It’s almost 9:30 so will have to close. Give Karen a kiss for me. Goodnight –

With love,

Tom