Air Experience Flight

Royal Air Force air component of the British Armed Forces

Components
Royal Air Force RAF Regiment RAF Volunteer Reserve RAF Medical Services Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) Royal Auxiliary Air Force RAF Police
History
History Timeline
Aircraft
List of RAF aircraft
Structure
Air Command No. 1 Group No. 2 Group Joint Force Air Component Headquarters (JFACHQ) No. 22 Group No. 38 Group Stations
Personnel
Officer ranks Other ranks

An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 2010, twelve AEFs are active.

History

The AEFs, numbered from 1 to 13, were formed across the United Kingdom in 1958, all but two forming on the same day, 8 September.^[1] All were equipped with the Chipmunk T.10 trainer. An exception was No. 5 AEF, which also operated a single Beagle Husky (XW635) from 1969 to 1989.^[2]^[3]

In the mid-1990s they were merged with co-located University Air Squadrons (UASs), the Chipmunks being replaced by the existing UAS Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1s. No. 13 AEF at RAF Aldergrove was disbanded in 1996.^[1] In 1999, the Grob Tutor T.1 began to replace the Bulldog.^[1]

On 10 March 2016, Mr Julian Brazier (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)) announced the return of 13 AEF and a new 14 AEF.^[4]

Current flights

No. 1 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF St Athan
No. 2 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Boscombe Down
No. 3 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Colerne
No. 4 Air Experience Flight RAF - Glasgow Airport
No. 5 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Wittering
No. 6 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Benson
No. 7 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Cranwell
No. 8 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Cosford
No. 9 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Linton-on-Ouse
No. 10 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Woodvale
No. 11 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Leeming
No. 12 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Leuchars
No. 13 Air Experience Flight RAF - TBA, planned
No. 14 Air Experience Flight RAF - JHFS Aldergrove, - planned

Aircraft

Grob Tutor T.1 - current
Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 - historic
Beagle Husky - historic
de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10- historic

Chipmunk T.10 in RAF colours
Bulldog T.1 in RAF colours
10 AEF Grob Tutor and hangar at RAF Woodvale.
No. 8 Air Experience Flight Grob Tutor in flight

References

1 2 3 "RAFVR Units". Air of Authority. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
↑ "Beagle D-5/180 Husky aircraft". airliners.net. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
↑ "UK Serials (XW)". ukserials.com. UK Serials Resource Centre. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
↑ "Air Cadet Aviation Relaunch:Written statement - HCWS605". MoD. Retrieved 10 March 2016.

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