He'd send for that correspondence course on aviation, and he'd get the theory of it all down pat, so that when he had enough money saved up to go into the thing right, all he would need would be the actual practice in the air.

He should think he could go to some school and work his way along; get a little practice every day, and do repair work or something the rest of the time for nothing.

A dollar a minute for learning was pretty steep, Johnny thought, but after all it was worth it.
A dollar a minute--and four hundred minutes in the air for the average course! Four hundred dollars, and only half that much saved.

And then there would be his fare back east, and his board--Johnny wished that he might cut out eating, but he realized how healthy was his appetite.

He counted three meals for every day, at an average of fifty cents for each meal.