How WWI Transformed Stunt Pilots into Aces

Guillaume de Syon

Albright College

Professor Guillaume de Syon hails from France and Switzerland, but has called Lancaster, PA, home since 1994. Specialized in both European history and the history of technology, he teaches courses in almost every historical period at Albright College in Reading, PA.

We often think of military pilots as having just popped onto the scene during the First World War, but it was not so. Because aviation was so new, most pilots were individuals trying stunts at early airshows before they were called up. Others joined the service because it was the only way to learn to fly. But how did they all fit into the armies of the Great War? This session looks at the peculiar world of early flying.

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