A Cutting Tradition

My brother is currently in the process of getting his private pilot's license. Before Christmas he took his first solo flight where he flew without his instructor for the first time. When he was scheduling his solo flight his instructor told him to wear an old shirt he didn't mind getting cut up. Once my brother was back on the ground after his solo flight his instructor congratulated him and then cut off the tail of his shirt! This seems like an odd tradition but it's story is interesting. In the early days of flight during and after World War One, when young pilots were learning to fly their instructor would sit in the seat behind them in the cockpit. The instructor would then guide the student pilot by pulling on his shirttail in the same manner the pilot would move the yoke of the aircraft because the aircraft was too loud to hear. Once the instructor thought the student was competent enough to fly on his own the instructor would cut off his shirttail so he could no longer pull on them when flying. This tradition is still carried out today by flight instructors.