Central Flying School is the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

(RNZAF) unit which is responsible for training the force's

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

s. It was established at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the Flying Instructors School and assumed its current name 1941. The unit was stationed at RNZAF Base Wigram from 1945 until 1993 when it moved to

RNZAF Base Ohakea RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatū. It is also used as an alternate airport for civilian aircraft. The ...

History

Following the outbreak of World War II, the RNZAF established a Flying Instructors School (FIS) at

Māngere Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...

near

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. The unit was subsequently transferred to Hobsonville and relocated again to

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

in 1941. At the time of the move to Tauranga the FIS was renamed the Central Flying School (CFS). After the conclusion of World War II, the CFS was transferred to RNZAF Base Woodbourne near the South Island town of Blenheim. At about this time the unit established an

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

team, which was renamed the Red Checkers in 1967. This team was disbanded in 1973 as a result of the

1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...

, but was reformed in 1980; the team is currently staffed by volunteers from the CFS and the RNZAF's Pilot Training Squadron. The CFS moved to

on the North Island in 1993, where it remains. In addition to its flight training role, the CFS also operates the RNZAF Historic Aircraft Flight's

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

and

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

aircraft. The CFS shared Aerospace Industries CT-4E Airtrainer aircraft with the Pilot Training Squadron, and ran five month long flying instructor courses. Graduates of this course were posted to the Pilot Training Squadron, and may then be transferred to the RNZAF's operational squadrons after completing a six-month probationary period. In addition, the CFS was also responsible for auditing flying standards within the Air Force. At this time the CFS was the smallest flying unit of the RNZAF. RNZAF T-6 Texan II In 2015 the Airtrainers were being phased out of service with the introduction of the

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by Textron Aviation. It is a license-built Pilatus PC-9, a trainer aircraft. The T-6 replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T-37B Tweet and the United States Nav ...

. In March 2015 the School came under command of the re-introduced position of Base Commander Ohakea, with the disestablishment of No. 488 Wing. In March 2022 the

Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand The Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand is a combined civilian and military organisation that operates preserved aircraft of types that served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was established in 2022 and replaced the RNZAF H ...

was established as part of the Central Flying School.

References

{{List of RNZAF Squadrons

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...

Air forces education and training Military units and formations of the RNZAF in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939