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Aviation History
1979
1979 - 0481.PDF
Hawks over South Wales Combat flying is the art taught by RAF Tactical Weapons Units. GRAHAM WARWICK went to RAF Brawdy to see their new teaching aid: the British Aerospace Hawk. TOM HAMILL took the pictures. "•••HEY don't teach us to fly here." These are the words of a student at the Royal Air Force Tactical Weapons Unit, RAF Brawdy, Wales, where the instructors teach the students to fight, not fly. The unit's aim is to instil into newly qualified and inexperienced pilots the "fighter pilot syndrome". To students straight from the necessarily regimented and inflexible! flying training course at RAF Valley, the TWU is like a breath of fresh air. By the time they leave Brawdy for a fast-jet Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), the students will have learned the basics of air warfare and, most important of all, how to think for themselves. Formed in September 1974 when the Hunter-equipped 229 OCU moved to Brawdy from RAF Chivenor, the Tactical Weapons Unit is undergoing a change as British Aerospace Hawks replace Hawker Hunters. With the Hunter's retirement from front-line service, the unit took on the refresher role, catering for fighter pilots returning to active duty. When it was realised that the Hunter could provide useful experience for newly qualified pilots destined for fast jets—Buccaneers, Harriers, Jaguars, Lightnings and Phantoms—this role expanded to cover weapons training. Since the TWU was formed, two of the three squadrons —234 and 63—have run four-month "long courses," taking students from advanced training at Valley to OCU entry and teaching them the basics of low-level tactical flying, air combat and weaponry. The third squadron, 79, runs a compressed two-month short course for pilots returning to front-line units after a break from flying. All three squadrons' instructors have had at least one tour with a unit operating one of the five fast jet types. Their mixed experience plays a vital part in the training. The station commander at Brawdy, Gp Capt "Mac" McEwen, is himself a product of the TWU's two-month refresher course. (The instructors—usually flight lieuten ants—once trained five group captains on one course.) He makes no secret of the fact that the training is a compro mise between cost and proficiency. There is only enough time to teach the basics. As one student put it: "You just get the hang of something and they move you on to some thing else:." A pilot is still learning when he leaves the OCU to join a squadron, so only a limited amount can be achieved in four months. McEwen feels however that the course is a good compromise. The structure of the training has been influenced by the requirements of the OCUs (night flying was incorpor ated at the request of Jaguar squadrons). The instructors are there to help the students through the demanding Above Spitting flames, a Hawk carries out a rocket attack on the Pembrey range. The rockets themselves are inert (MoD picture). Below Brawdy is the scene of constant activity on a good day, with aircraft flying up to three sorties m:x :/ *
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