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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0005.PDF
January 1955 ,.;;."•;•-.; '\ ••••' - THE NEW TRAINING First Provost-Vampire Course Completed IHE first course to complete training entirely in the Provost-Vampire sequence passed out from No. 5 F.T.S. at R.A.F. Station, Oakington, on December 22nd. The reviewingofficer at the parade was Air Marshal T. G. Pike, C.B., C.B.E., D.F.C., Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, who congratulated thecourse on its good performance and wished them luck as pioneers of the new training system. The parade was also the first occa-sion on which the parchments of the Queen's Commission were actually presented to pilots when they marched up to receive theirWings. Thus is a pre-war custom resumed. The parade commander, and winner of both the Trophy ofHonour and the Ground School Trophy (awarded respectively, for all-round and ground-school achievement) was F/O. A. B.Musgrave. He is a university graduate, and served in a univer- sity air squadron before taking a regular commission. The AirPilotage Cup for the greatest proficiency in general flying was won by P/O. J. R. Potter, and the No. 5 F.T.S. Aerobatic Trophyby P/O. G. T. Hussey. No. 5 F.T.S. was first formed at Sealand, Cheshire, in 1922and, after a distinguished war-time record of pilot training, was transferred in 1946 to Thornhill, Southern Rhodesia. In June1954, No. 206 Advanced Flying School, Oakington, was renum- bered No. 5 F.T.S. and became the first training school to pro-duce pilots under the new Provost-Vampire scheme. The Vampire T.I Is and 5s are operated at Oakington, the Provost stage beingcompleted at other airfields—Ternhill, in the case of No. 101 course which passed out on December 22nd. The course went through the Aircrew Selection Centre at Horn-urch in June, 1953, and completed initial training at No. 2 T.S., Kirton-in-Lindsey, in August. Flying training began inmid-September, 1953, and the Provost stage of 120 hours ended on April 21st last year. During this stage, seven trainees werefound to be unsuitable and rejected. Of the 20 who went on to Vampires at Oakington, only two were rejected, leaving 18to qualify. Three of the 18 are National Servicemen, and since only the best are now allowed to train as pilots during theirNational Service, they were placed very high in the final assess- ments. Flying performance as a whole was classed "good average" withinstrument flying, aerobatics and formation flying "very satis- factory." Each pupil completed at least ten hours' night flying,and the average time to acquire a white instrument rating was 14 hours. Average time to solo on Vampire was 7 hr 50 min.Half of each working day was spent on ground training, and the wings examination was taken in the 26th week of the course.F/O. Musgrave here set a very high target for future courses by achieving an average of 85 per cent. Because all the Vampire T.I Is were completely new and atfirst required a number of modifications, serviceability was not Other award winners in the course were (left) P/O. G. T. Hussey, Aerobatics Trophy, and (right) P/O. J. R. Potter, Air Pilotage Cup. "Flight" photographs Air Marshal T. G. Pike, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, presents the commissioning parch- ment to F/O. A. B. Musgrave, who won the Trophy of Honour as well as the Ground School Trophy. very good, and a backlog of flying built up which it was foundvery difficult to dissipate. Eventually, a five-week extension of the course was granted. Bad weather subsequently intervenedto make the situation even more difficult, but with evening and week-end flying the position was substantially retrieved. During a total of about 2,700 Vampire sorties (most solo flyingis done in Vampire 5 s) there were only two avoidable accidents, both of them involving voluntary retraction of the undercarriageon the ground after landing too fast. Few conclusions can yet be drawn as to the precise effect of thenew training sequence, but it is certainly true that the main stumbling-block of jet conversion is now overcome before a pilotgains his Wings so that, as soon as he reaches this stage, his use- fulness to the Service is guaranteed. Under the older system,he spent some 12 months and 220 flying hours on a piston- engined aircraft, received his wings and then required a jet A.F.S.course lasting four months—and this often proved his downfall. The new sequence takes approximately the same time as the old,but involves the saving of 70 flying hours with, in contrast, 30 hours' more jet flying than before. Both the saving of flyinghours and the better-guaranteed human product constitute distinct economic advantages. As for the pilots themselves, their early acquaintance with jetaircraft has not led to any particular problems. On the contrary, it has enabled their suitability to be conclusively assessed at amuch earlier stage of training than before. The proportion of rejections between basic and advanced flying are evidence ofthis. Both the Provost and Vampire are more advanced than their respective predecessors but, though they may be slightly morecomplex, they are not inherently difficult to fly. They are cer- tainly more inspiring, because of their greater power and per-formance, and they offer the pupil much better flying experience during training—the sort of experience that will be of most imme-diate value on joining a squadron. Though it is considered important that emphasis should be laidon the power to absorb knowledge and skill quickly in present flying training methods, instructors are well aware that some ofthe better pupils develop slowly. If this is found in a particular case, it is not impossible for a pupil to be retained for a longerperiod of training. However, in many cases, slow progress may be irremediable and advancement may eventually ceasealtogether, in which case rejection is the only course left. In some cases, progress will cease more or less abruptly, andlead finally to rejection. The cause is extremely difficult to trace, even when it is possible to subject the individual to close exami-nation. Under the former scheme, which provided for jet A.F.S. training after receipt of Wings, the many pilots who were rejectedhad to give up their brevets. This is considered to have been a bad practice, regardless of the reason for it, and to have had adetrimental effect upon morale. Incidentally, National Service trainees who do not undertake to complete an engagement withthe Auxiliary Air Force after their full-time service retain their Wings but do no more flying. Of the 18 who passed out at Oakington, one is to complete hisNational Service in a non-flying posting, one is to go to bombers, and the remainder are to be divided between day, night or ground-attack fighter units. They will fly the various marks of Meteor or Venom. It is probably true to say that the new trainingsequence is paying excellent dividends, but a more detailed judg- ment will probably not be possible until a number of the newcourses have been completed.
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