The No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) is the oldest military pilot training school in the world, currently used to deliver rotary training to aircrew of the British armed forces.

History

First formation (1919 – 1931)

On 23 December 1919, 1 FTS was officially formed by renaming the Netheravon Flying School,Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 134. which had been formed on 29 July 1919Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 193. at

Netheravon Netheravon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Avon (Hampshire), River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain. The village is on ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, out of the 2nd incarnation of No. 8 Training Squadron,Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 276. which in its turn had been formed on 15 May 1919 out of No. 8 Training Depot Station, all at Netheravon. During this part of its service life, 1 FTS and its predecessors flew aircraft such as the

Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A is a British single-engined light bomber that was designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, cruciall ...

, the

Avro 504 The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro, Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind ...

, the Bristol F.2 Fighter, and the

Sopwith Snipe The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe is a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of the ...

. 1 FTS was disbanded on 1 February 1931. Part of its mission, the training of

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

(FAA) officers, had already been taken over by

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

since 15 February 1928.

Second formation (1935 – 1942)

The second incarnation of 1 FTS occurred at

on 1 April 1935, tasked with training

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officers for the

. On 26 August 1938, the unit returned to its birthplace at

RAF Netheravon The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...

, and on 1 September 1939 it was renamed No. 1 Service Flying Training School. It disbanded on 7 March 1942, when Netheravon was required for Army Cooperation Command use. Aircraft flown in this period included the

Fairey IIIF The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...

Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...

Westland Wapiti The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wa ...

Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind is a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931 in aviation, 1931. Design and development An improved Ha ...

Hawker Audax The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...

, de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth,

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 ...

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

and

Miles Master The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft, Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) durin ...

Third formation (1947 – 1948)

After the

Second World War 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 ...

, 1 FTS was briefly reconstituted by the renaming of No. 17 Service Flying Training School RAF (17 SFTS) on 18 June 1947 at

RAF Spitalgate Royal Air Force Spitalgate or more simply RAF Spitalgate formerly known as RFC Grantham and RAF Grantham was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station, located south east of the centre of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England fronting onto th ...

. The school had RLGs (Relief Landing Ground) at

RAF Folkingham Royal Air Force Folkingham or RAF Folkingham is a former Royal Air Force station located south west of Folkingham, Lincolnshire and about due south of county town Lincoln. Opened in 1940, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and Unit ...

between 28 July 1947 and August 1947, and at

RAF Bottesford Royal Air Force Bottesford or more simply RAF Bottesford is a former Royal Air Force station located on the Leicestershire-Lincolnshire county border, north west of Grantham, Lincolnshire and south of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. Opened ...

after that; it was disbanded again on 25 February 1948. Aircraft flown in this period were the

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 the

Fourth formation (1950 – 1955)

RAF Oakington Royal Air Force Oakington or more simply RAF Oakington was a Royal Air Force station located north of Oakington, Cambridgeshire, England and northwest of Cambridge. History Second World War Construction was started in 1939, but was affected ...

saw the fifth incarnation of 1 FTS, when it was reformed once again on 1 December 1950 with the North American Harvard T.2B. On 31 October 1951 the school had completely moved to

RAF Moreton-in-Marsh Royal Air Force Moreton-in-Marsh or more simply RAF Moreton-in-Marsh is a former Royal Air Force station near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. It was opened in November 1940 with three concrete and tarmac runways and five aircraft hangars. It c ...

and had been given Percival Prentice T.1s, but disbanded again on 20 April 1955.

Fifth formation (1955 – 2019)

On 1 May 1955 No. 22 Flying Training School RAF (22 FTS) at

RAF Syerston Royal Air Force Syerston, commonly known simply as RAF Syerston , is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during t ...

was renamed to 1 FTS. It flew the

Percival Provost The Percival P.56 Provost is a basic trainer aircraft that was designed and manufactured by British aviation company Hunting Aircraft, Percival. During the 1950s, the Provost was developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a replacement for the ...

T.1,

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (or Chippie) is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World Wa ...

T.10 and

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

T.11, moving to

RAF Linton-on-Ouse Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse or more simply RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a former Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (Brit ...

on 18 November 1957. Initially equipped with Vampire T.11 and Provost trainers, 1 FTS re-equipped with the Hunting Aircraft Jet Provost T.3 from 1961. The unit's tie to the Jet Provost continued with the BAC Jet Provost T.4 and the pressurised BAC Jet Provost T.5, until 1989, when synthetic training took over until the introduction of the

Short Tucano The Short Tucano is a two-seat turboprop basic trainer built by Short Brothers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a licence-built version of the Brazilian Embraer EMB 312 Tucano. On 14 February 1986, the prototype conducted its maiden fligh ...

T.1 from May 1992. From 1 April 1995, 1 FTS absorbed the

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 ...

(CFS) and No. 6 Flying Training School RAF (6 FTS) Tucano elements, including No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron RAF (72 Sqn) and No. 207 (Reserve) Squadron RAF (207 Sqn). The school marked its 90th anniversary in July 2009 with a flypast of Tucano aircraft over

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

and other events at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. 1 FTS was stationed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse with the role of basic training of pilots and navigators for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and the

, flying 78 Tucano aircraft.

Sixth formation (2020 – present)

In February 2020, the

Defence Helicopter Flying School The Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) was a military flying school based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, England. The school, established in 1997, was a tri-service organisation and trained helicopter aircrews for all three British armed ...

based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, was renamed No. 1 Flying Training School and operates 29 Airbus H135 'Juno' and 3 Airbus H145 'Jupiter'.

Operations and training

No.1 Flying Training School trains all military helicopter crews for the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army's Army Air Corps. Airbus provides and maintains the Juno HT1 and Jupiter HT1 helicopters and Babcock and

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

have contracts for infrastructure and ground Based Training Equipment. 1FTS has 161 instructors, 102 of which are military and 59 which are civilian. The school is expected to train 286 students per annum. Four classes per annum go through Shawbury on six-month courses, two with 705 NAS and two with No. 660 Squadron AAC. During the initial course students are taught basic rotary-wing skills and emergency handling, including engine-off landings, leading to a first solo flight and a handling check. Students then develop their basic skills into more applied techniques such as non-procedural instrument flying, basic night flying, low-level and formation flying, mountain flying in

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

and an introduction to winching for FAA students. Several other courses, sometimes bespoke, are available to British and international students. As well as live flying, the training courses make use of synthetic training equipment, including full size replicas of the aircraft cockpit instruments, crewman cabin area and support helicopter passenger/freight loading and unloading space, within seven flying training devices (provided by CAE Inc.) and two virtual reality trainers and a mock Chinook cabin. All aircrew instruction is carried out by Central Flying School (Helicopters) (CFS(H)) Instructors. These Instructors are a mix of military and civilian personnel. No. 1 FTS uses grass airfields at

RAF Ternhill Royal Air Force Tern Hill, or more simply RAF Tern Hill, was a Royal Air Force station at Ternhill in Shropshire, England, near the towns of Newport, Shropshire, Newport and Market Drayton. The station closed in 1976, with the technical and a ...

and Chetwynd for helicopter training, both are located in Shropshire.

Squadrons

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * Sturtivant, Ray with John Hamlin. '' RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912''. Staplefield, West Sussex, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. .

External links

*
A former 1 FTS Jet Provost T3 is on display, in 1 FTS colours, in a Yorkshire pub beer garden
(BBC News, 10 August 2018). See BAC Jet Provost#Aircraft on display. {{coord, 54, 02, 047.3, N, 1, 14, 51.9, W, display=title, region:GB_type:airport:GNS-enwiki Military units and formations established in 1919 Organisations based in North Yorkshire 01 History of North Yorkshire Military history of North Yorkshire Aviation in Yorkshire