6 December 1914

Gonneham, No 3 Sqdn RFC
Corrigan Aujla writes: "1050: Skies clearing. Some artillery near Passchendaele and heavy fighting around Messines. 1 hour 22 minutes.

1426: My turn to take the Morane up today. After one last lesson on using the "blip" switch and a warning on the machine's quirks, I was off. All the descriptions and warnings in the world don't tell you how much the plane wants to fly to the left. Constant right rudder and working of the stick are required just to maintain a straight course. The French gauges don't help either. I did one circuit of the aerodrome and a touch-and-go. A second circuit and I landed too far to the left, right towards some trees. I didn't quite touch down when I decided that breaking off now might be a good idea. I climbed out and circled the field again. This time the ground crew were waving a red flag, meaning that my landing should be final. I brought the machine in safely, thinking I might be in trouble. Actually they wanted me out of the sky to avoid confusion. A pilot from Paris brought us a second Parasol! If the weather holds I
should have twice the opportunity now to practice on the new aeroplane. 17 minutes."

Saint -Pol-Sur-Mer
Filimor Hance writes: "1425: Nice day for a flight. Big artillery exchange near Nieuwpoort. 1 hour 20 minutes."

Saint-Pol-Sur-Ternoise
Noel Kay writes: "1518: Partly cloudy. Some artillery around Athies and Arras. 1 hour 16 minutes."

Gonneham, No 4 Sqdn RFC
Ries Meismer writes: "Ninth day on restriction. Squadron is flying again.12/6/14 Ninth day on restriction. Lovely day out today. Quite cold, but partly clear. Watching the boys fly is getting harder and harder. Capt Wimund came to visit today. He actually apologized for not making it sooner, but he's been busy flying with another pilot. He says he doesn't hold the accident against me at all. It could have happened to any of us. No 3 Sqdn has a new pair of aeroplanes – a pair of Morane parasols. The second one arrived today. They've been taking turns getting used to the new machines. I wonder if we'll get something similar soon."

Pontfaverger
Odis Först writes: "Still snowing."


Some people are born stupid. I've had to work hard my whole life to get this way. I'm proud of the job I've done