One of the first lessons was the “three sixty”--so named because its completion required a total change in direction of three hundred and sixty degrees. The cadet would take-off and climb to eight hundred or a thousand feet. The higher he went the less difficulty he had in properly completing the maneuver. Then he would fly into the wind directly over a landing “T” in the center of the field. As the plane passed over the “T” he throttled his motor and made a quick bank either to the right or left depending upon his preliminary instructions. The object was to make a complete circle and land without using the motor, bringing the plane to a stop beside the “T.” “One eightys” were the next requirement and they were probably the cause of more crashes than any other maneuver. They were started in the same manner as the “three sixty,” but with the plane heading down wind and at only five hundred feet altitude. They required quick manipulation of controls and a steep bank into the field just before landing. Next came acrobatics. Loops, spins, barrel rolls, Jenny Immelmans, figure-eights, wing-overs, and reversements, every one of which each cadet had to master thoroughly during his course at Brooks. After the first few weeks had passed we became more or less accustomed to life in the cadet detachment, and found a little time now and then to look around the country and even spend a night in San Antonio. Our examinations were purposely given on Saturday morning so that we would not spend the week-end studying. It was well known that too much studying affected a cadet’s flying and the school schedule was arranged with that in mind. Our day began with first call at five forty-five and flying started about seven. At eleven we returned to the barracks and from one to five o’clock was devoted to ground school. After supper we could study until bed check at ten o’clock. Plenty of sleep is a necessity for the student pilot, and that fact is recognized nowhere more than in the army schools. Every week night at ten P.M. the cadet officer of the day checks each bunk and turns in the names of any vacant ones. Some of our academic subjects, such as aerodynamics and machine guns required nearly all of our time after school because of approaching examinations, whereas others were comparatively easy and the classroom instruction was sufficient in itself. When we were not studying there were always plenty of other things to attract our attention. If one of the boys left the post, as sometimes happened, he often returned to find his belongings heaped together in the middle of the floor with the army cots piled on top. Several times some cadet returned at midnight to find his equipment carefully transferred and set up on the roof or in the mess-hall. Another one of the favorite sports was to put a hose in the bed of a sound sleeper at two A.M. or, if he slept with his mouth open, to fill it from a tube of shaving cream or hair grease.