Birmingham University Air Squadron
Encyclopedia
The University of Birmingham Air Squadron, commonly known as UBAS, is a squadron within the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 established in 1942. It is based at RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford
RAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...

, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, and flies a fleet of five Grob Tutors. In 2009 the squadron upgraded the aircraft to the Grob Tutor EA which has an advanced avionics suite. The Squadron has four Flights, A, B, C and D; each with a student Flight Commander who holds the rank of Acting Pilot Officer. UBAS is also the parent squadron of 8 Air Experience Flight, who jointly fly UBAS' Tutor fleet.

A Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...

 (currently Sqn.Ldr. Mark Richardson) is the Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

, while UBAS also has several other Qualified Flying Instructors and a Ground Training Instructor. There are some seventy students on the squadron, which accepts members from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

, Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...

, Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...

, Coventry University
Coventry University
Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...

, Warwick University, Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...

, Wolverhampton University and Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...

.

Students volunteer to join UBAS at their university's Freshers' Fair and then undergo a selection process. If successful they are attested
Attestation
Attestation may refer to:* Attestation clause, verification of a document* Various police oaths in the United Kingdom...

 and join the 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...

. UBAS activities include flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....

, sports, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 and leadership training
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

, adventurous training
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...

, charity and community work
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...

 and a vibrant social scene. The scope of UBAS, like other 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 is to let young people experience life in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

and to develop their skills in the fields mentioned.

History

Birmingham University Air Squadron was formed on 3 May 1941 and began its first undergraduate initial officer training course in October 1942. In October 1946 it began flying training at RAF Castle Bromwich on the DH Tiger Moth T Mk 2 aircraft. The Squadron re-equipped with the DHC Chipmunk T10 in July 1950 and was renamed the University of Birmingham Air Squadron (UBAS) on 15 October 1951. In March 1958 UBAS was relocated to RAF Shawbury. The Chipmunks served for 25 years until the SA Bulldog T1's replaced them in June 1975. UBAS moved "temporarily" to RAF Cosford in March 1978, and as remained there ever since. The Bulldogs were retired in 2001 and were replaced with the Grob 115E Tutor aircraft. In November 2009 the Grob 115E's were replaced with the higher specification Grob 115 EA.

Commanding Officers

  • Sqn Ldr Mark Richardson 2009 - Present
  • Sqn Ldr Chris Parkinson 2007 - 2009

Flying

All of the cadets have the opportunity to participate in the flying syllabus for the University Air Squadrons. The syllabus that is followed is below.
  • Familiarisation 0:30 (dual)
  • Effects of Controls 1 0:45 (dual)
  • Effects of Controls 2 0:45 (dual)
  • Straight & Level 1 0:45 (dual)
  • Straight & Level 2 0:45 (dual)
  • Climbing & Descending 1/Medium Turns 1:15 (dual)
  • Climbing and Descending 2 1:00 (dual)
  • Stalling 1 1:00 (dual)
  • Stalling 2 1:00 (dual)
  • Circuits 1:00 (dual)
  • Circuits 1:00 (dual)
  • Circuits – First Solo 0:30 (dual) 0:05 (solo)
  • Circuits - Dual/Solo 0:30 (dual) 0:30 (solo)
  • Circuits - Dual/Solo 0:30 (dual) 0:30 (solo)
  • Circuits - Dual/Solo 0:30 (dual) 0:30 (solo)
  • Forced Landings 1:00 (dual)
  • Forced Landings 1:00 (dual)
  • Sector Recognition 0:50 (dual)
  • Solo Sector Recognition 1:00 (solo)
  • Steep Turns 0:50 (dual)
  • Solo GH 1:00 (solo)
  • Basic Instrument Flying 1:00 (dual)
  • Solo GH 1:00 (solo)
  • Basic Instrument Flying 1:00 (dual)
  • Solo GH 1:00 (solo)
  • Navigation 1:00 (dual)
  • Solo GH 1:00 (solo)
  • Navigation (Land away) 1:15 (dual)
  • Navigation (RTB) 1:15 (dual)
  • Navigation 1:15 (dual)
  • Solo Navigation 1:15 (solo)


Successful completion of the Core Syllabus qualifies the student pilot for the award of the Preliminary Flying Badge, or 'Budgie Wings' as they are sometimes called.

De Havilland Flying Trophy

UBAS Annually takes part in the De Havilland Flying Trophy, which is a flying competition that us undertaken between Birmingham, East Midlands, London, and Cambridge University air squadrons. The flying competitions comprises 4 events, practice force landings (PFL's), aerobatics, navigation, and a ground quiz. PFl's are undertaken by 3 students whereas the aerobatics and navigation are an individual event. The squadron that wins hosts the event the following year. The following table shows the competitors that have taken part in the event for UBAS.
Year Aerobatics Navigation PFL's Winner
2009 Tim Green James Applegarth Dom Daly, Chris Rowney, UBAS
2010 Oli Burtchell James Applegarth James Dance, Charles Jervis, Chris Rowney Icelandic Volcano (No DHT Competition held)
2011 Gregory Chamberlain James Applegarth Alex Wollaston, Jack Moncaster, James Dance CUAS
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