81 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 7 letters “Jean,” October 1924 and undated, to his “Dearest Mom”; 21 pages, in-8 or in-4 format (one frayed edge on the second letter). His start at Latécoère. Thursday [9]. He passed his medical exam; the doctors congratulated him “on my constitution, which they say is suited for a long career in aviation… If I don’t crash and burn. I have a lung capacity of five liters and four, and I was told I could break altitude records. Anyway, it went well.” He’s taking his pilot’s exam on Saturday: “The exam is long and pretty tough because I have to cram all the rules of air navigation into my head. Anyway, I plan to be in Toulouse by Sunday or Monday. […] I’m writing to Latécoère to let him know I’ll be arriving soon”… – Monday, the 13th. Arriving in Toulouse in the morning, he went straight to Latécoère’s office; the director told him, “You’ll start training tomorrow on the types of aircraft in service on the route while we wait for him to secure insurance for himself and for me. Apparently, the company takes out its own insurance for the pilots. That way, it can cover the costs in the event of an accident. I’d like to leave Toulouse, though, because until you’re assigned to a leg of the route, you only receive a fixed stipend of 650 francs. Anyway, I hope it won’t be long. I checked into the hotel where all the pilots passing through here stay. […] If the beginning is tough, so be it. I feel I have the courage to overcome anything, and with a little luck, everything will certainly turn out fine”… He gives his address to “Lignes Latécoère.” – [15]. “I’m eagerly awaiting news from you. It’s true that I’ve only been here three days. The time seemed to drag a bit at first, since I didn’t know anyone when I arrived; now things are going better […] I plan to start my training tomorrow. At the same time, we’re doing a training course at the aircraft and engine assembly shops. I don’t think I’ll be making the Toulouse-Casablanca trip to familiarize myself with the route before the end of the month; once that trip is over, I’ll be on the verge of being assigned to a leg of the route. It takes patience, but I have plenty to spare. They put us through our paces on purpose when we first arrive; once you’re settled at a post, life is good, and I’ve had confirmation from the Director himself that earnings exceed 3,000 fcs per month”… – 18. He earns 850 F per month: “But I’ll be getting a little more than half of that since I arrived on the 13th, and if next month I fly the Toulouse–Casablanca route and two or three other legs, I’ll easily make it. […] I completed two flights yesterday. It went well; no anxiety, just absolute calm. I hadn’t realized it had been nearly six months since I’d sat in a bar. It was such a pleasure!”… – Tuesday, the 21st. He is “at the engine assembly shops right now, covered in oil all day. I think I know why they’re having us do this work before we leave: we’ll probably be setting up the stages for the Casablanca-Dakar route, which is set to open shortly, and since we won’t have any mechanics at the start—while the setup is still underway—we’ll have to do everything ourselves. Besides, it’s teaching me a lot of things I didn’t know before; it’s not doing me any harm”… [Sunday]. “I’ve got quite a bit of work right now. I’m in the workshops from morning till night. I’m really interested in construction and a whole bunch of things I didn’t know about before. I’ve completed eight test flights. They went really well. I’m the third to set out on the Toulouse-Casablanca reconnaissance trip. So it won’t be long now”… – Tuesday. “I’m leaving for Casablanca […] I’ll be gone for eight or ten days. Don’t worry about me; I’ll write to you several times. After that, I’ll be able to look to the future more optimistically because I’ll be making a few paid stops along the Toulouse–Barcelona route”… Tuesday. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family