Flying Training By Roald Dahl

"Flying Training" In this chapter Roald decides to join the army and become a pilot. To do this he most travel 600 miles from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi were the training begins. On his way he gets enchanted by the beautiful giraffes. And sometimes knowing that there isn't a single sole within several miles his gets out of his car to talk to the giraffes.

After the long journey trough the narrow roads of Tanganyika he arrives at the small RAF headquarters in Nairobi. The first thing he had to do when he arrived was a medical examination, to see if he was fit to handle an aircraft. The only thing the doctor remarked on was Roald's height. He thought that he was too tall to fly airplanes.

But that wouldn't stop Roald so the doctor just wished him good luck. After this he went to check in with the other trainees.

Roald Amundsen og Robert Peary under overrekkelsen...

English: Panorama of Dar es Salaam city a few minu...

Roald Dahl Plas

There were sixteen of them all together.

The planes that Roald and his fellow trainees used were called Tiger Mouths, and were to Roald a very beautiful thing. Because of his height Roalds head stuck right up in the open air when he sat in the airplane. This made it difficult to bread after take off. But by tying a thin cotton scarf round his head he made it possible.

It took eight weeks and 7 hours and 40 minutes of flying time for Roald to complete the initial training. After this he was allowed to fly planes by his own. In the book they use the term "go solo". To complete there training they had to go to Habbaniya, in Iraq. Habbaniya was a vast assemblage of hangars and Nissen huts and brick bungalows set in the middle of the desert on the banks...