This was used for primary instruction in France during WWI.
Clipped-wing planes were used for short hops, and cadets graduated to
full sized planes--Bleriots, I think.

David

Jose wrote:
I'm wondering about how piloting is taught. Getting to the point, why
not use a long runway and have the student take off just enough for
the wheels to leave the ground and then immediately touch down?


This excercise would not teach what you think it would. Much of the
"trick" to landing is the approach, and in order to teach how to
approach the runway, you need to be far enough away from it, and
pointing in an appropriate direction. One then flies a pattern
(generally one flies parallel to the runway, and then makes a squarish
u-turn while descending and adjusting speed, flaps, and other controls.
If you do this right, the next "trick" is learning when to flare and by
how much. This requires learning the "sight picture" of what the runway
looks like when close on approach. This is different from what it would
look like just after takeoff.

One thing sometimes done in training is to approach and then fly a few
feet above the runway. This helps new pilots learn not to overcontrol.

btw, there's no such thing as a "trainer runway". Student pilots use
regular runways, and mix with regular air traffic. They just have an
instructor aboard until they can handle that much on their own.

Jose
(r.a.student retained, though I don't follow that group; I'm on
r.a.piloting)