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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0794.PDF
796 FLIGHT Peeling-off in smart style: an Oakington Vampire fighter-bomber with two Vampire Trainers following suit. ONE of the hardest-working units in the R.A.F. is the FlyingTraining School. Just as a factory produces aircraft, theF.T.S. produces pilots to fly them; but while the factory must perforce submit to various technical delays, the F.T.S. maynot. Though unpredictable delaying influences such as weather and unserviceability are allowed for, much careful organizationand hard work is still needed to produce a finished human product to schedule. The F.T.S.'s task is not simply to turn out pilots, but to pro-duce G.D. officers who will be an asset to the R.A.F. throughout their Service career. And just as there is more to being an officerthan wearing a different uniform from an airman, there is more to flying than being able to take-off and land. The extra qualitiesrequired are to some extent complementary. A certain amount can be done to bring them out in the air, but more is done in theslower environment of the ground training block. Nevertheless instructors are always aware that good pilot and officer materialis innate rather than instilled. Since preliminary weeding out, both from the leadership and flying point of view, has been doneby selection centres and in the basic flying stage, the jet F.T.S. such as Oakington can concentrate on developing the latent quali-ties of student officers as pilots and leaders. A recent visit to No. 5 F.T.S. at Oakington served to show OFFICER MATERIAL A Flying Training School Works to Produce the Complete G.D. Officer •:.-; "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS how this is being done. The station is organized on the tradi-tional three-wing basis with administrative and technical wings supporting the flying wing under which student officers work.There are four squadrons in this wing, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and H.Q., the last-named concerned principally with standardization oftraining methods and supervision of instructional standards. In command of the flying wing is W/C. D. S. Hoare. Until recently Oakington's main source of Provost-trainedstudent pilots has been Ternhill in Shropshire, but now the piston F.T.S.s are pooling their output and distributing itaccording to capacity among all the jet F.T.S.s. After receiving their wings and commission parchments, pilots are then sent onto fighter O.C.U.s, like Chivenor or Pembrey. There they fly Vampires for tactical training for some time before converting toHunters. This is a big step for them, but they take it without undue difficulty. By the time they reach Hunters they can be termed pickedpilots, with a sound background of jet and tactical flying. The majority of pilots now go first to fighter squadrons and gain theexperience which will make them suitable for more complex flying—all-weather, instructing or bomber work. During theirtraining courses some may be chosen for Coastal or Transport Commands. The qualities required of a Service pilot are difficult to set outin writing, but an experienced instructor can spot at once many of the qualities which make a man unsuitable. It should beremembered that most pilots nowadays complete a tour on fighters before going elsewhere, because they are not acceptable forbombers and all-weather fighters without the ability and experi- ence gained from a fighter tour. The fitness of pilots is thereforeinitially judged in relation to their aptitude for fighter flying, especially since the effective handling of a fighter now alsorequires the precise piloting, detailed knowledge and skill needed for larger aircraft. Leadership in the air is one of the most necessary adjuncts. No (Left) Maps and charts: a familiar scene in the operations room. (Right) Four of Oakington's Vampires lined up tor refuelling while (in the background) another lands after an exercise.
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