{"id":19891,"date":"2019-11-08T17:45:40","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T21:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?p=19891"},"modified":"2019-11-27T10:35:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T14:35:37","slug":"how-were-fighter-pilots-trained-in-wwi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-were-fighter-pilots-trained-in-wwi\/","title":{"rendered":"How Were Fighter Pilots Trained During WWI?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The combination of an undeveloped training program and unstable aircraft contributed to short life expectancies for WWI fighter pilots. In fact, WWI pilots had a higher chance of being killed during training than in the heroic combat dogfights we\u2019ve seen portrayed in movies.<\/p>\n

Yet, despite the odds, young American men volunteered in droves to become part of the Allied air fleet. Flying itself was still in its infancy, having been invented less than 15 years earlier with the historic Wright brothers\u2019 flight in 1903. In 1917, when the U.S. entered the war, the idea of flying high above the action as opposed to a dull life in the trenches was novel and thrilling.<\/p>\n

But German air forces were formidable, featuring the likes of Manfred von Richthofen, infamously known as the \u201cRed Baron,\u201d who was credited with 80 air combat kills. With an ever-increasing demand for pilots to fuel the Allied leaders\u2019 air-fighting force, proper training for U.S. aviators was cut short.<\/p>\n

The training process<\/strong><\/p>\n

During WWI, flight training in the U.S. primarily consisted of two stages:<\/p>\n