Today in History: Oct. 20, 1940 - City girl soloes in 10 days, sets new mark for air course

Today in History revisits the Sunday, Oct. 20, 1940, edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story of a woman in the University flight training course to take her first solo flight after only 10 days of instruction. City Girl Soloes in 10 Days, Sets New Mark for Air Course Cheryl Rodger of Grand Forks is a dietitian but she knows how to fly as well as eat. She was the first of 48 students in the University flight training course to solo. She did it just 10 days after she took her first lesson from Pilot Ed. Skroch. That s faster than any student ever trained here has soloed. And, to top it off, there s more than a good possibility it was with fewer days of instruction than any of the thousands of youths trained in scores of colleges throughout the country. Under civil aeronautics regulations, eight hours of dual instruction are required. Thus, it s impossible to solo in less than eight days. The maximum permitted is 15 days and that s what most studen