January 30, 1944

Ryan Field

Tucson Ariz.

Jan. 30, 1944

Gee Bill,

I guess I haven't written you in some time so I will tell you a little about life out here.

We are having a whale of a time because we all have the same objective in mind and are beginning to get somewhere.  I am in with a bunch of fellows who like to have a good time and you can bet we really make life worth while.  I have just finished a steam bath and a water fight.  We go in, turn on all the hot water in the shower except for 2 and we stand under them so we won't melt.  With six showers giving off steam you can guess how hot it gets.  When we have had enough steam in our lungs we turn off all the water except a few and then we squirt these at each other.  We have quite a time.  We are sure running the Army's water bill up.

Friday afternoon I soloed as everyone has all ready been told.  It was quite an experience.  I made 3 landings all of which may have been good if you were looking at them from a far off but one was sure lousy.  I was coming in over a plane that was revving up its engine so just before I had it stalled out about 5 ft. off the ground I hit the slip stream and at the same time a cross wind picked up the right wing until I thought I would roll up in a ball.  However I brought the plane in pretty well and except for a few gray hairs I guess I came out all right.

A lot of fellows ground loop around here and they really get the "bird".  You have to know how to fly to go up so unless a cross wind comes all of a sudden there seems no excuse for it.  Of course when you stall these ships in for a good 3 point landing a left wing is very likely to drop if you don't watch out for it.  To correct you kick the opposite rudder to bring it up, no aeolian is used.  When you land then you don't land straight and have to do a lot of rudder work.  But still you shouldn't do it very often.

Video of a wingover in a crosswind

Video of Ground Looping

These little ships are really "hot".  They come in and take off a lot faster than most of the ships we will fly in the future.  I don't mean they fly top speed faster but that the landing and take off speed is a lot faster.  An A.T. is the only ship that lands faster.  If we get so we can land these you can bet we can land a B.T. because they are a lot slower.  You see we have flaps but still.  You come in about 80 m.p.h.  Many fighters don't even land that fast.

Today we had to go on gas truck detail.  We pumped gas for the planes for the fellows who have to fly to get their time in so they can leave this next week.  We pumped gas in the planes, on the planes, and over the planes; I pumped gas on myself and into the knee pocket of my flying suit.  We had a heck of a time.  We pumped about 600 gals in 4 hours.  I guess we pumped more than that because that was for only 3 of the 4 fillings.  We had a swell time.

While we were working we saw something you will never see back home.  We saw a mirage.  It was no beautiful gal or some oasis out in the middle of this desert but a series of mts. where there are none.  We were told that those mts. could be about 70 miles more away.  They did not stay just mts. but became little hills and then plateaus and then peaks again.  They were quite something to see.

Well how is civilian life?  I guess it is getting rather rough on all you poor people who try to keep up the home front.  We get good food and everything.  I suppose the old rationing is getting everyone all balled up.  How does the gas hold out?  I guess you don't get the car very often.

Say!  Give Dot my love.  By the way how is Dot these days?  From what I heard last you two were getting alone O.K.

So.

Until Later

Austin.