Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

It has pronounced step characteristics in flight and is very .
definitely? position airplane. It flies easily and well on automatic
pilot; has excellent stalling characteristics, giving
plenty of warning. Once stalled it will oscillate itself out of
a dive even if you don't touch the controls. .
Landing is quite simple, although students have a little
shock in the beginning because they sit so far to the side of
the center line-it is nine feet from the pilot's left hand to
the copilot's right. Eight to twelve hours is about usual for
qualified multi-engined pilots to check out in the B-29including
night flying, instrument, and all the rest.
Operational training for the B-29 is the responsibility of
the 17th Bombardment OTU Wing commanded by Brig.
Gen. Frank A. Armstrong, Jr. General Armstrong will be
remembered as the man who led our first six heavy missions
over Europe; as the man who reorganized and headed the
old 46th Wing which trained many B-17 crews.
In Nebraska and Kansas, the 2nd Air Force has evolved
a system of training in which the permanent base staff works
next to and with their Group opposite numbers so that each
Group-B-29 Groups are on about the same T /0 as any
other heavy Group-gets the benefit of a well organized
base with complete continuity throughout their training
period.
The 16th Wing's Combat Crew Training station and the
17th's Operational Training station work under the same directive
from Headquarters Znd Air
Force. \Vhile some air crew members
go through both the CCTS
and the OTU more get only the
OTU training. Thus a man may
expect not less than four months
and not more than seven months
to elapse from his entry into
B-29s to his departure for combat.
The training directive provides
that training be in the B-29 with
the B-17 as a companion trainer
-you can learn navigation in the
Fortress just as well as in the
Superfortress. The latest directive
from 2nd Air Force calls for 126
B-29 hours and 44 B-17 hours at
both the CCTS and the OTU.
All training in the B-29 has to
take cognizance of the size of the
plane and of the fact that, due
to the plane's division into separate
compartments, crew members