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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0695.PDF
Meteor 7s have equipped the Advanced Training Schools for some time. Now they are starting to be replaced by Vampire T.11s illustrated below. then go on to Air Navigation Schools. There, for ten months, they do basic flying in Ansons and in Valetta T.3 "class-rooms" (some Marathons are also to be added to the A.N.S. fleets), and applied navigation training on Varsities; fighter navigators are an exception, as they do the basic syllabus with additions, then pass on to Fighter Command for their A.I. and other training. Signallers, after selection, do a 50-week course at their Air Signallers' School which includes I.T.S. Basic instruction in the air is given in Proctors or Prentices and advanced in Ansons. Few new aircraft carry gunners, but at the Central Gunnery School at Leconfield there are various special courses for gunnery instructors, for signallers of Coastal Command—for pilot-attack instructors and so on. Meteors, Vampires and Lincolns are used— there are no longer any Spitfires or Tempests. Embryo pilots and navigators receive as cadets further education (mathematics, English, etc.) and leadership training at I.T.S. Some pilot training will continue to be carried out at Nos. 4 and 5 F.T.S., Rhodesia, for the next few months; then the Rhodesian Air Training Group will close down. Chipmunks and Harvards are used. Some pilots and navigators also receive their F.T.S. course in Canada. For pilots, the Harvard is used right from ab initio stage to wings. The trainees cross to Canada after I.T.S. and return for acclimatization followed by A.F.S. Canada plans to introduce T-33 jet trainers (two-seat Shooting Stars with Nene turbojets). Some special individual units and functions of Flying Training Command are as follows:— The R.A.F. College, Cranwell.—Selected cadets receive a two- years eight-months special course of flying training and further education to fit them for permanent commissions in the R.A.F. On completion, and having obtained their wings and commission, they join other aircrew trainees at A.F.S. Cranwell is a subformation of F.T. Com mand and at present uses Chipmunks and Harvards. Central Flying School.—At C.F.S. flying instructors courses are given on represent ative training aircraft of all types. Pilots carry out basic instructor training at South Cerney on Prentices before going to Little Rissington for applied training on more advanced types. At South Cerney also those who require it—for example pilots from Lincoln squadrons—are given a short refresher and instrument rating on Harvards before starting the C.F.S. course proper. C.F.S. is also the base of the C.F.S. Examining Wing, which visits all units and Commands at about nine-month intervals to discuss and co-ordinate flying practices and techniques throughout the Air Force, to test and assess pilots and to recategorize instructors. Western Union Examining Squadron is, incidentally, a unit with duties similar to those of C.F.S. Examining Wing, and it bases its methods on, and co-operates closely with, C.F.S. It H' is, however, of international character and composition. This year France is the host country, and the Squadron is, therefore, under a French commanding officer. The R.A.F. Flying College.—This important unit is based at R.A.F. Station Manby. Its task is to ensure that air staff officers and potential air commanders understand the capabilities and limitations of modern aircraft, weapons, navigational aids, and operational techniques so that the skill of the aircrews can be applied with the most telling effect in air warfare. Officers of the rank of Wing Commander and Group Captain are normally selected for the course, and a variety of aircraft is flown, including Meteors, Vampires, and Canberras. Research into navigation and flying techniques is carried out, and a close liaison is maintained with establishments in America and in Allied and Commonwealth countries. Practical experience and instruction is obtained when flights are made to many parts of the world, including polar areas. Officers from the U.S.A.F. and Commonwealth countries work side by side at the Flying College with those from the R.A.F. It provides a central meeting place for the solution of the problems of air operations. Its work is complementary to, but does not replace, that of the Staff College. The Central Navigation and Control School is at Shawbury. Here navigation instructors and staff navigators are trained and refresher courses are carried out. The school also caters for air- traffic control and G.C.A. controllers. The longer specialized navigation course (Spec. N.) is carried out at Manby where it can take advantage of the facilities and equipment provided for the Flying College. Flying Training Command headquarters are pleasantly housed at Shinfield Park, Reading. The present Air Officer Commanding- in-Chief is Air Marshal L. F. Pendred, C.B., M.B.E., D.F.C. Vampire Trainers with side-by-side seating, early production examples of which are shown here, are now going into service at Advanced Flying Schools. All jet A.F.S.s are to be so equipped. 'Flight" photographs
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