William T. Johnson Learns to Fly J-3 Piper Cub

In September 1944 I was at Fort Benning near Columbus, GA, when I decided to take flying lessons. My father had learned to fly and had bought a Travel Air biplane years before. My friend Louise was taking flying lessons about that time in Washington. So I called the Columbus Municipal airport and made an appointment for the next Sunday morning. For the first lesson I suppose we had some "book learning". Then for the next two months I took the bus from Sand Hill to the airport and each week had a 30-minute lesson on the J-3, 40-horsepower Piper Cub - once or twice we used a 60-horsepower Cub. When it became too cold to continue in the unheated Cub, I stopped taking lessons. My cost had been $9.00 an hour,  so for nine lessons I acquired 4.5 hours for $40.50. I enjoyed it, but was a very long way from a solo flight.