29th Flying Training Wing (World War II)
| 29th Flying Training Wing | |
|---|---|
 Flight instructors with a PT-17 Stearman biplane trainer]  ]Fairchild PT-19 monoplane trainer |
|
| Active | 1942-1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Type | Command of flying training units |
| Role | Training |
| Part of | Army Air Forces Training Command |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| 26 December 1942 | Col Fred C. Nelson |
| 10 February 1943 | Brig Gen John G. Williams |
| 4 April 1945 | Col Raymond L. Winn |
| 25 May - 1 November 1945 | Brig Gen Clinton D. Vincent |
| through 16 Jun 1946 | Unknown |
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The 29th Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Western Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Napier Field, Alabama. The wing controlled World War II Phase One primary flying training units of the Army Air Forces Training Command. Headquartered at Moody Field, Georgia for most of its operational service, it controlled contract civilian-operated pilot schools primarily in the Southeastern United States.
There is no lineage connection between the 29th Flying Training Wing, established on 22 December 1939 as the 29th Bombardment Group (Heavy) at Langley Field, Virginia, and this organization.
Until 1939, the United States Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots. Beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a three-month course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, the number of contract primary schools increased.
According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. The schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. From the Air Corps, schools received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and $18 per flying hour for students eliminated from training.
Following the fall of France in 1940, the Air Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per year. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased the capacity of its schools and added more contract primary schools.
The vast majority of contract primary pilot training ended in the spring of 1944 as part of the rundown of Army pilot training. The ones remaining open ended their operations in October, 1945.
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