Dear Dad,

Here is a birthday letter for you. We can’t mail any packages from here and if we get off this weekend I am going to send you something.

These last three days have really been tough. I have flew two and a half hours everyday. This is really a good way to rack up the hours but after the first hour it turns out to be work. However, the more you do the better you like it.

Dad, what did you do to your foot? Let me know how you are. Cleda said you were at Van ^[1]Vandalia Hospital, near Greenville for a couple of days. I hope it wasn’t anything bad.

I am sending you an article that I saw in the latest Saturday Evening Post. The picture of the chamber looks like the ones we were in and from the description it is just like the thing we went through. I am almost certain that it is taken from Santa Ana.

Today in flying I shot stage landings for an hour. Long John was pretty well pleased but I had a little trouble in catching on to them. It is just about the same thing as spot landings, that is you land on a line with your instructor who is standing on the ground grading you. We never find out our grades, but we do know if we pass or not. I made it OK but some of my landings were any too good.

I still haven’t been able to find out Long John’s address and I don’t want to ask him for it but I will try and find out.

I am sending you a schedule along with the article so you can tell alittle how things are run here. My flight is #1 and we follow schedule W+X. The lower class have schedules A,B,C +D.

Well Dad, I am really plenty tired tonight and we still have four weeks to go and every min. of sleep means that you will be just that much sharper tomorrow.

Here’s hoping your foot is entirely well. Zoe said she would see you folks and I hope she can answer all your questions.

Goodnight –

With love,

Tom