 He had a three-month contract at a salary of $1,000 per month, charged with making a survey of the Chinese Air Force.Soong Mei-ling, or "Madame Chiang" as she was known to Americans, was in charge of the Aeronautical Commission and thus became Chennault's immediate supervisor.Upon the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War that August, Chennault became Chiang Kai-shek's chief air adviser, training Chinese Air Force pilots and sometimes flying scouting missions in an export Curtiss H-75 fighter.