[Letter from David A. Stallman to Helen W. Snapp, November 17, 2005] Page: 3 of 6
[3] p. : col. ill. ; 11 x 8 in.View a full description of this text.
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it it a "foregone nnclusion" that WASPs will he absorbed into tme vv#y,
1 WASI are blue hecauso all their tra"" ' ras rurr o F neS, and that s
* om tfrhrv believe they beh' ng Ihey can ( ee h at tt he unused budget cif Iiu
', A( (whlttit has had scr mrrrry resigntOtr5s It Ar I rise tie 0unds) maken Sernst
r way ttt handle WASP expenses. utot it o WAlt d(jr t want in he takn ovt't
, hiqt( organization n whi( kn<>ws no hirig ah<'>ut the Orly thing WASP carm
iii hi tthronclude , "We ae just sorry that there Seemis to b nutthing we atn
H omlp in the struggle y(ou ve carried orn ty yourself tHr st long
A t ti to fliers who are now at Carmop tev wart. Jean nays all have checked
l t fy the ;gig A 25 for towing targets lhe WASPs there for R/C training don't
c (arn for it ali that mun t, but they're doing fine. they're excited that their work
nay riualiy them for active duty in lawaii JHan wants to know if she can tag
LIBERTY FIELD, CAMP STEWART
Fifteen WASPs have been learning the intricacies of radio controlling drone
target planes So have several male pilots as new to the work as are the women
fliors All understand the theory. It is using it which is anything but simple. The
drone is a P0 8, a tiny low winged monoplane with tricycle landing gear What
makes it a drone is that it has no pilot aboard, its flight path being controlled by
radio signals coming from its nearby "Mother ship," in which two pilots sit. One
flies the Mother plane while the one in the copilot's seat operates a small toggle
'witch ("joystick") on a small black transmitter called the "beep-box." It emanates
radio signals arising from the action of the toggle, these being picked up by a
receiver aboard the drone. In turn what the drone receives is expressed physically
by response of the drone's flight control surface, through a series of hydraulic
(servo) units.
Ihe objective is to takeoff in formation with the drone (no pilot in it). fly the
drone to about 10,000'. line it up to fly over 90 mm guns below, then turn it loose
to be a target for those guns. At the end of the target run, the Mother ship is to
regain control of the drone, turn it around and let it loose to fly back over the
range The drone holds enough fuel to fly for a bit more than an hour. It must
te taken under its mother's wing, so to speak and returned to the airfield for
refueling or, if the gunners damage it, for repairs.
No sweat, say you? The procedure is simple? Hardly Newly ferried drones
rust be checked and flown to be certain that responses to signals from the
beeper are picked up and that the equipment in the drone will respond properly
Therein lies the rub, there being only one way to check out the drone a pilot
must sit in the drone and keep her cotton-pickin' hands strictly away from the
flight controls Nothing to it as long as the drone is on the parking ramp. The fun
begins when the Mother ship and the beeper WASP herd the drone to the end
of the runway and line up for a formation takeoff, the Mother of course behind
the drone. At I iberty Field the runway is exceptionally narrow, adding to the
hazards The safety pilot in the drone knows that the women in the Mother ship
are as ignorant of radio control work as she is. All 3 eventually are to (Iuialify for
the work of Mother ship pilnt beeper and safety pilot R/' flying dm hands cool
courage. flying skill far greater than above average, a doHate t uri '0 fligt
controls, and quick resposO to what t n d rc is dining2 1
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Stallman, David A. [Letter from David A. Stallman to Helen W. Snapp, November 17, 2005], text, November 17, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth887654/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.