Moth bounced up into the air and Finucane barely recovered to make a heavy landing, although this time he was praised by his instructor. As they climbed out, they saw that the landing gear had been destroyed. Further heavy contact, said Finucane, "[and] there would have been no more Brendan or Mr. Morris!" Roland Morris was an experienced instructor, with more than 2,000 hours. He was critical of Finucane's habit of trying to force the aircraft to do what he wanted, instead of coaxing it. Despite a series of blunders, Finucane wanted to fly solo. At that time, Finucane was five hours flight training behind the rest of his group, but he made a successful solo trip on 21 September, after the completion of 14:05 hours piloting. The flight was not without fault; Finucane nearly stalled the aircraft after taking off. Finucane was now one of the 45 pilots in his class to have completed 100 hours of piloting time on aircraft since joining the RAF. After completing basic flight training on 28 October 1938, Finucane was classed as an average pilot, but deemed to be competent enough to be assigned to advanced flying school. With effect from the following day, he was granted a short-service commission as an acting pilot officer (on probation) and sent to 8 Flying Training School, RAF Montrose in Scotland. On 12 November, he left King's Cross railway station travelling on the Flying Scotsman to Glasgow, arriving at Montrose after a 10-hour journey. At Montrose, Finucane struggled with the more powerful Hawker Hart which was used for advanced training. His positioning in the air was poor and he struggled to hold a good landing pattern. One of his instructors remarked, "the ground was never quite where Paddy expected it to be!" After failing a test with Squadron Leader Dickie Legg, his situation was reviewed. Legg was persuaded to keep him after Finucane showed improvement and a steely determination. Finucane moved on to the Hawker Fury on 21 March 1939. On 23 June, he was classed as average again, but with low marks: 2,010 out of 3,400 or 59 per cent. Pilot ability was assessed as 400 out of 750; officer qualities 450 of 750; and in the written exams 837 of 1,300. Examined in navigation, meteorology, engine mechanics, and armament, he achieved marks of 77, 54, 50, and 65 percent. At this time, he flew