February 11, 1945

                                                            Chanute Field
                                                            11 Feb. 45

Dear Folks:
            I see according to the weather map last week Kansas had some good weather and some not so good. Friday and Sat. were very mild here. I was scheduled to fly Sat. afternoon so couldn’t go to Chicago. A lot of men wait until the last of the month to get their flying n. With the small number of planes, that crowds things so they started scheduling flying like another class. We are scheduled 4 hours at a time and 2 men to an AT-10 and 1 man to a BT-13.
            Capt. Miller & I had an AT-10. To pass the 4 hours we went on a round-robbin cross country to practice navigation and radio. Couldn’t land anywhere according to a regulation put out by this field. We went to Peoria and St. Louis and back. Weather was perfect and visibility about 20 miles. Some snow on the ground around here but it fades away about ¹/₂ way to St. Louis.
            Had another exam Sat. It was a lab. exam on vacuum tubes. Start on radio receivers Monday. I see a B-29 sitting on the field. Got a letter from Basco and a picture of his wife and baby. He is an instructor in an engineers school in Mississippi.
            I get a kick out of those “Listening Along Mainstreet” articles in the Dispatch. Valentine writes that, doesn’t he? Always refers to himself as “we”. Pres. Eisenhower is really putting some new ideas in at K.S.C. I’ll probably go to Chicago next week.
                                                            John