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Joe's Flying School
A famous flight academy founded by ace pilot Joe McGee, "Joe's
Flying School" was regarded by many as one of the finest
flying schools of the Great War era. A bomber pilot, Joe wrecked
his leg while saving his crew from a burning plane. Grounded
for life, Joe started this down-to-earth flying school in
a remote badlands area and trained some of the War's best
pilots.
The airfield itself is surrounded by rock walls some one
hundred or so feet high. Located within a remote section of
the desert, Joe's Flying School is over twenty miles south
of the nearest town, making it rather secluded. The airstrip
runs the length of the canyon enclosure, flanked by hangars
and buildings which make up the flight school. Because the
whole area is surrounded by sheer cliffs, the only way out
is through a narrow passage at the north end of the runway.
Lacking fancy equipment or sophisticated training techniques,
Joe McGee instead taught pilots "seat-of-the-pants"
flying, using crude but elaborate mechanical rigs and a small
squadron of biplanes and gliders. Joe's studies ranged from
minor refresher courses to full-fledged pilot training, but
Joe would always manage to instill a love of flying in his
students, a love which he himself held dear.
Right: Joe McGee poses next to one of his pilot-training
contraptions.
Since Joe's death twenty years ago, the airfield has gone
to ruin. A landslide near the cliff entrance years ago has
made the airfield completely inaccessible to all but the most
skilled pilots. All that remains of Joe's Flying School today
is a desolate airstrip, dotted with abandoned buildings and
the rusting skeletons of old biplanes.
But the spirit of Joe McGee lives on in the memories of his
friends and former students.
(See also Joe McGee's profile, under "Characters,"
for more information.)
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