Air Experience Flight
Encyclopedia
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 Air Cadet
s or the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force
. , twelve AEFs are active.
trainer. An exception was No. 5 AEF, which also operated a single Beagle Husky
(XW635) from 1969 to 1989.
In the mid-1990s they were merged with co-located University Air Squadron
s (UASs), the Chipmunks being replaced by the existing UAS Scottish Aviation Bulldog
T.1s. No. 13 AEF at RAF Aldergrove
was disbanded in 1996. In 1999, the Grob Tutor T.1 began to replace the Bulldog.
, RAF St. Athan, collided in mid air over Kenfig Nature Reserve, Porthcawl
killing both crews. The two ATC Cadet passengers were cousins
and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 14, and Nikitta Walters, 13, and the RAF pilots were named as Flying Officer
Hylton Price and Flight Lieutenant
Andrew Marsh.
, Oxfordshire
.
A Combined Cadet Force
cadet, 15 year old Nicholas Rice, and the 62 year old Flight Lieutenant
Michael Blee, died after their plane, the Grob Tutor, crashed. Nicholas Rice was a student of the Elvian School
in Reading
, and was from Calcot, Reading, Berkshire
, Berkshire
. Flight Lieutenant Blee was a retired Wing Commander
with 38 years' service in the RAF before becoming a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Officer at 6 Air Experience Flight
in 2005, where he assumed the rank of Flight Lieutenant. The two-seater Grob Tutor, took off from RAF Benson
in Oxfordshire
.
The pilot of the glider, Henry Freeborn, from Lee-on-the-Solent
in Hampshire
, parachuted to safety and survived. The glider was registered to Mark Holden, who lives in Locks Heath
, Southampton
. However, he was not involved in the incident.
Air Cadet Organisation
The Air Cadet Organisation is the collective name for the UK cadet forces sponsored by the Royal Air Force. The organisation is subordinate to No. 22 Group RAF, with a serving RAF officer as Commandant Air Cadets. The current Commandant is Air Commodore Barbara Cooper CBE...
s or the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
. , 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. All were equipped with the Chipmunk T.10De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years...
trainer. An exception was No. 5 AEF, which also operated a single Beagle Husky
Beagle Husky
-See also:...
(XW635) from 1969 to 1989.
In the mid-1990s they were merged with co-located University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
s (UASs), the Chipmunks being replaced by the existing UAS Scottish Aviation Bulldog
Scottish Aviation Bulldog
|-See also:-External links:...
T.1s. No. 13 AEF at RAF Aldergrove
RAF Aldergrove
RAF Aldergrove was a Royal Air Force station situated northwest of Belfast. It adjoined Belfast International Airport, sometimes referred to simply as Aldergrove which is the name of the surrounding area...
was disbanded in 1996. In 1999, the Grob Tutor T.1 began to replace the Bulldog.
February 2009 air collision incident
At approximately 11:00 am on 11 February 2009 two Tutors from 1 AEF1 Air Experience Flight
No. 1 Air Experience Flight is one of twelve Air Experience Flights run by the Air Cadet Organisation of the Royal Air Force. The primary purpose of the AEF organisation is to provide air experience to members of the Air Training Corps, Combined Cadet Force Section and occasionally, the Girls...
, RAF St. Athan, collided in mid air over Kenfig Nature Reserve, Porthcawl
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
killing both crews. The two ATC Cadet passengers were cousins
Cousins
Cousins may refer to:* Cousins * Cousins * Cousins * Cousins * More than one cousin* Cousins , people with the surname Cousins...
and were named as Katie Jo Davies, 14, and Nikitta Walters, 13, and the RAF pilots were named as Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Hylton Price and Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Andrew Marsh.
June 2009 air collision incident
At approximately 2:30 pm on 14 June 2009, an RAF Grob Tutor and a civilian Standard Cirrus glider collided above Sutton CourtenaySutton Courtenay
Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon and northwest of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Today:...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
A Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
cadet, 15 year old Nicholas Rice, and the 62 year old Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Michael Blee, died after their plane, the Grob Tutor, crashed. Nicholas Rice was a student of the Elvian School
Elvian School
The Elvian School was an independent school in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom run by the Licensed Trade Charity as a coeducational, nondenominational Christian school. It was previously the Catholic boys' school Presentation College, Reading, until it went into administration in 2004...
in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, and was from Calcot, Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. Flight Lieutenant Blee was a retired Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
with 38 years' service in the RAF before becoming a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
Officer at 6 Air Experience Flight
6 Air Experience Flight
No. 6 Air Experience Flight is one of twelve Air Experience Flights run by the Air Cadet Organisation of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in the 1950s, along with the other AEFs, with the aim of teaching basic flying to members of the Air Training Corps, Combined Cadet Force and occasionally,...
in 2005, where he assumed the rank of Flight Lieutenant. The two-seater Grob Tutor, took off from RAF Benson
RAF Benson
RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
The pilot of the glider, Henry Freeborn, from Lee-on-the-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a small seaside town in Hampshire, England about five miles west of Portsmouth. The town is located on the coast of the Solent and forms part of the borough of Gosport...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, parachuted to safety and survived. The glider was registered to Mark Holden, who lives in Locks Heath
Locks Heath
Locks Heath is a western residential suburb of Fareham, in the south of Hampshire, England. It lies to the southeast of Sarisbury east of Warsash, to the west of Titchfield, and to the south of Park Gate and Swanwick...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. However, he was not involved in the incident.
Aircraft operated
- Grob Tutor (current aircraft)
- Scottish Aviation BulldogScottish Aviation Bulldog|-See also:-External links:...
- Beagle HuskyBeagle Husky-See also:...
- de Havilland Canada Chipmunk
Current AEFs
- 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 ColerneRAF ColerneRAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...
- No. 4 Air Experience Flight RAF - Glasgow AirportGlasgow AirportGlasgow Airport may refer to:*Glasgow International Airport, in Renfrewshire, the primary airport serving Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.*Glasgow Airport , also known as Wokal Field, in Glasgow, Montana, United States.It may also refer to:...
- No. 5 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF WytonRAF WytonRAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England.In terms of organisation RAF Wyton is now part of the combined station RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow, a merger of Wyton with two previously separate bases, RAF Brampton and RAF Henlow. Wyton is the largest of the three. It...
- No. 6 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF BensonRAF BensonRAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....
- No. 7 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF CranwellRAF CranwellRAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
- No. 8 Air Experience Flight RAF - DCAE Cosford
- No. 9 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF Church FentonRAF Church FentonRAF Church Fenton is a Royal Air Force airfield at Church Fenton in North Yorkshire, England.- History :Plans for a new airfield adjacent to the village of Church Fenton were announced in June 1935, it was subject to protest from the local population particularly concerning the waste of valuable...
- No. 10 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF WoodvaleRAF WoodvaleRAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force Station located south of Southport, Merseyside in a small town called Formby. Although constructed as an all-weather night fighter airfield for the defence of Liverpool, it did not open until 7 December 1941...
- No. 11 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF LeemingRAF LeemingRAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, UK.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Leeming. The Station Commander is Group Captain Anthony Innes....
- No. 12 Air Experience Flight RAF - RAF LeucharsRAF LeucharsRAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. It is located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews.-Operations:...