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Wayne Smith after graduation from Introduced in 1953, the T-34A Mentor aircraft was developed by aviation pioneer
USAF pilot training Walter Beech, WWI pilot and engineer. It is still used today to train Navy and
Marine Corps aviators. The actual T-34 on which Wayne Smith flew his first solo
flight can be seen in the black and white photo above.
to feed a whole pack of wolves. Damnit a fantastic instructor. Next to my father smooth and precise. I felt pretty good
would eat well for the next several weeks. and grandfather he was the man who about this flight. After three landings,
had the most impact on my life, not only Paul told me to make a full stop land-
It was 1955, and I was now in my fifth in my development as a pilot but also ing and taxi back to the parking area.
month as an Aviation Cadet. Our in- in giving me directions to becoming a Now I was really nervous. What was the
struction was divided into two parts. One worthwhile individual. verdict? Were we through for the day, or
half of the day was spent in classrooms could this be the day every pilot remem-
studying aviation related subjects such I had already received about 20 hours bers for the rest of his life?
as aeronautics, navigation and weather. of dual instruction in the airplane then
The other half of the day was spent on used for pilot training, the Beech T-34A When we pulled onto the ramp near the
the flight line, where we received air- Mentor. A spinoff of the Beech Bonanza, flight shack, Paul asked me: “Are you
borne instruction on flying an airplane. the Mentor had a 185 horsepower engine, ready to go by yourself?” Of course, I
That day, my squadron would be flying a constant speed propeller, flaps and re- answered that I was. Paul secured the
in the afternoon - I don’t remember what tractable landing gear. It was quite an loose equipment, walked off to the side
we covered in class, because I was much advanced airplane for a student who had and signaled me to go ahead.
more interested in getting to fly again. absolutely no previous flying experience.
The rest of that day was almost like a
We had a few minutes after lunch to get Paul did our briefing, and we went out to dream. I was flying alone, just me and
ready to go to the flight line and report the airplane. I was nervous because just the airplane. I had passed the first
to our instructors. Each instructor had the day before, I had loused up almost hurdle on my way to becoming a pilot.
three or four students, and we all sat every maneuver that I’d attempted. How- After my three solo landings, I taxied
around his table for pre-flight briefings ever, Paul was not the kind to dwell on back to the parking area and walked
on weather and other pertinent informa- the past, and after the standard preflight into the flight building where Paul and
tion. Instructors flew with only one stu- inspection we taxied out. my tablemates congratulated me. On the
dent at a time, while the other students march back to the barracks, there was
waited and studied their flight manuals. We climbed up to altitude and went the mandatory tradition of throwing the
On this day, I was scheduled to fly first. through the required flight maneu- new solo pilot into the swimming pool. I
vers. I must have done reasonably well didn’t mind at all - I had soloed!
My flight instructor had been contracted since we then returned to the field to
to the Air Force through Southern Air- do some practice landings. The pattern The date was May 26, 1955 - my twen-
ways School. His name was Paul Stoner, was correct, the airspeeds and altitudes tieth birthday.
and he was a wonderful person as well as well maintained, and each landing was
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