November 24, 1998
Here's another of my late father's flying stories. I'm getting near the end, now, but I've sure enjoyed you all letting me post these where they might be understood and enjoyed.
Early in the Second World War, China sent a number of its officers to the US to become pilots to aid in the defense of China from Japan. Dad was one of the instructors for these students. Dad described the problems of teaching these men to fly as one of the most frustrating and difficult tasks he ever had. This view was not necessarily due to any overt racism or chauvinism on the part of the US instructors, although I'm sure that, considering the era, there may well have been an element of racism complicating their opinions. The problem as described by Dad was that most of these men came from the Chinese aristocracy and as such, had always led sheltered, pampered lives and had developed few coordinated motor skills. "Most of them had spent their formative years being pulled around in rickshaws, and had never even ridden a bicycle," was the way Dad described it.
Teaching them to fly was complicated by the political necessity of not "washing out" any of them. The instructors were particularly frustrated by this, since the "wash out" rate among US cadets was very high. Anyone who, in the opinion of his instructor, did not have the aptitude to become a good pilot was eliminated from the program. This was not allowed with the Chinese pilots. They had been selected by the Chinese government, and they were all expected to return pilots, who could then teach more of their countrymen to fly. Of course, later in the war even the US was forced to relax its standards quite a bit, given the very real need to supply the front with new replacement pilots, but that's not relevant here.
The Chinese pilots all spoke some English, since this was part of their selection criteria. However, communication of the nuances of what the instructor wanted, particularly over the "Gosport," was imperfect, at best. The "Gosport" was a primitive acoustic intercom, basically a speaking tube that the instructor shouted into, that terminated in stethoscope-like headphones in the front cockpit for the student. There was usually no reverse communication, although later some aircraft had a similar system for the student so that he could ask questions.
Dad described only one incident. He and his best friend, a fellow instructor named "Tolly" Tollison, were driving across the field in a jeep when one of their students, solo in a BT-13, made a very low pass right at them. Since they didn't know if this was intentional or not, Dad jammed on the brakes and they dived out of the jeep for cover. As they looked up at the aircraft passing almost directly over them, all they could see were the pilot's teeth, clinched in a huge grin, the rest of his face being hidden by his goggles and leather flying helmet. Dad said he never knew if the pilot intended to be that low or not, but he was obviously having a blast.
Eventually these men completed primary and basic training, and progressed through advanced training to graduation. It took time and infinite patience, but they all eventually were sent back to China as pilots. The attrition rate when they got back was pretty dismal, and it is not known how many survived the war. Nevertheless, Dad always respected them for their tenacity and courage, if not for their natural aptitude as pilots.
Bob
Copyright Ó 1998 Robert T. Chilcoat