ies, and those who
neither knew nor cared what their antecedents were.

The same was true of our French comrades, for membership in the French
air service is not based upon wealth or family position or political
influence. The policy of the Government is as broad and democratic as
may be. Men are chosen because of an aptitude that promises well, or
as a reward for distinguished service at the front. A few of the
French _eleves-pilotes_ had been officers, but most of them N.C.O.'s
and private soldiers in infantry or artillery regiments. This very
wide latitude in choice at first seemed "laxitude" to some of us
Americans. But evidently, experience in training war pilots, and the
practical results obtained by these men at the front, have been proof
enough to the French authorities of the folly of setting rigid
standards, making hard-and-fast rules to be met by prospective
aviators. As our own experience increased, we saw the wisdom of a
policy which is more concerned with a man's courage, his
self-reliance, and his powers of initiative, than with his ability to
work out theoretical problems in aerodynamics.

There are many French pilots with excellent records of achievement in
war-flying who have but a sketchy knowledge of motor and aircraft
construction. Some are college-bred men, but many more have only a
common-school education. It is not at all strange that this should be
the case, for one may have had no technical training worth mentioning;
one may have only a casual speaking acquaintance with motors, and a
very imperfect idea of why and how one is able to defy the law of
gravity, and yet prove his worth as a pilot in what is, after all, the
best possible way--by his record at the front.

A judicious amount of theoretical instruction is, of course, not
wanting in the aviation schools of France; but its importance is not
exaggerated. We Americans, with our imperfect knowledge of the
language, lost the greater part of this. The handicap was not a
serious one, and I think I may truthfully say that we kept pace with
our French comrades. The most important thing was to gain actual
flying experience, and as much of it as possible. Only in this way can
one acquire a sensitive ear for motors, and an accurate sense of
flying speed: the feel of one's machine in the air. These are of the
greatest importance. Once the pilot has developed this airman's sixth
sense, he need not, and never does, worry about the scantiness of his