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survey of the various eastern flying schools and had decided on the Thomas Brothers at Bath, New York. That was the [[crossed out]] They were the [[/crossed out]] only place [[cross out]] one [[/cross out]] where he could learn to fly for $250.00 and where they did not demand an extra charge [[crossed out]] breakage [[/crossed out]] for repairing breakage. On his trip to New York, Day left the train at Buffalo and went to Bath via another railroad to make the necessary arrangements, then returned to Buffalo and resumed his trip to New York. After a week in New York he returned to Bath and the Thomas Brothers Flying School, and began his training on a single-seated Thomas pusher with [[crossed out]] where [[/crossed out]] Frank Burnside was his instructor. He made more advanced [[crossed out]] his first real [[/crossed out]] flights soon after with Walter Johnson in a Thomas flying boat at Conesus Lake. Learning of these activities his family notified the Thomas Company that he was a minor, flying without their consent. Grounded again, with most of his tuition refunded, Day returned home. After a spirited discussion he agreed to enter the University of Illinois that fall if allowed to resume flying the next summer.

The following June he enter the Wright Flying [[crossed out]] Brothers [[/crossed out]] School at Simms Stations, Dayton, Ohio, with Howard Rinehart as his instructor. Day soloed on a Wright B and was award Pilot License No. 302 after flying his tests on July on 22, 1914. He was employed at once as a test pilot by the Hensil Aero Stabilizer Company at Cicero Field, Chicago, Illinois. The company president, William Hensil, had invented an automatic stabilizer operated by compressed air. Installed in a Wright B it worked in principle but lacked sensitivity. When overcontrolling threatened stability Day would cut in the manual control and restore balance. He continued test flying for the company until fall, when he returned to school.

In April, 1915, he received an offer to fly in Mexico for Pancho Villa against Carranza. Learning that Villa was lax about paying his aviators Day wired an acceptance conditional on three months pay being deposited in advance in an El Paso bank. Villa did not reply. Day returned to Cicero Field in June, backed by town home men business who had organized The La Q Aeroplane Co. Tom Benoist, who had recently moved his factory to Chicago from St. Louis, had just 

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