Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 221, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1910 — Cost of Learning to Fly [ARTICLE]

Cost of Learning to Fly

Beginner May Achieve His Ambition for SI,OOO to ss,ooo—Biplane la Easiest. London.—Nowadays any ordinarily active man, on deciding to learn to fly, may achieve his ambition in less than a month’s time, provided £e is prepared to spend some money. If he is content to acquire the art of airmanship without actually owning an aeroplane of his own. It will cost him SI,OOO or slightly more. Should he buy. a machine his expenditure may be $2,500 to $6,000, according to the make and reputation of his aircraft But the pronouncement of experts should be cited as regards the use of monoplanes and biplanes from the novice’s point of view. They say, and experience certainly bean them out, that the beginner learns to fly more easily and more safely upon a biplane than upon a monoplane. The reason is that when a biplane begins to lose its balance in the air It heels over far more slowly than a monoplane, thereby giving the pilot more time to alter his levers and bring it again upon a level keel. The damage that can be done by a bad descent was Indicated rather quaintly by one airman of experience, who contends that “you can smash up a machine apparently quite badly, and yet the repair will not be more than S6OO. An awkward landing, causing the breaking of a skid or several wooden Btays, will not cost more than $lO or $15." To a beginner who is not well acquainted with aeroplane motors the services of a special mechanic will

he essential. The salary of a reliable man—one who thoroughly understands the delicate “tuning up* process necessary every now and then with aeroplanes—ranges from sls to $25 a week. Two or three odd men are generally necessary at the commencement of each flight to assist in maneuvering the aeroplane.