Three young people pose beside a light training aircraft at a civilian-operated flying school, part of the informal social record kept alongside official training in the US Navy's V-5 Aviation Cadet program. During World War II, thousands of prospective Naval Aviators passed through such contract flight schools for primary instruction before advancing to military airfields. Snapshots like this one, preserved in personal scrapbook albums, document the camaraderie and everyday life surrounding formal flight training. Project: 218570