Page 30 - Volume 13 Number 5

During the autumn of 1931, Randolph Field became the Air Corps’ primary training base. The flying schools at March Field in California and Brooks Field in Texas were relocated to Randolph along with 11 airplanes from both airfields. By the late 1930s a majority of Air Corps cadets came directly from civilian ranks, although others were graduates of West Point or were line officers that that had transferred to the Air Corps. In addition, there were officers from the Army Reserve and National Guard units who wanted to earn their wings. To qualify
as a flying cadet, applicants had to be between the ages of 20 and 27, unmarried, a citizen of the United States and had completed at least two years of college.
Life for a cadet was hard, particularly if he was a civilian with no prior exposure to the military way of doing things. In addition to hours and hours of close- order drill and discipline during the first two weeks, cadets underwent more than 340 hours of ground instruction followed by eight hours of flight training.
As production of the PT-13A increased during 1940, the Army Air Corps specified a second engine supplier
to ensure uninterrupted deliveries of trainers. The Continental R-670-5 radial engine (220 horsepower) was selected, changing the airplane’s designation to PT-17.
(Courtesy U.S. Air Force, AETC History Office)
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28 • KING AIR MAGAZINE MAY 2019