No. 8 Air Experience Flight (8 AEF) is an

Air Experience Flight 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 cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 20 ...

based at RAF Cosford.

History

8 AEF was formed in October 1958 at Cosford, later moving to RAF Shawbury in 1960. It then returned to Cosford in 1978, moved again to Shawbury in 1979 and finally back to Cosford, where it has remained since April 1996. From 1 April 1996, it has been parented by the

University of Birmingham Air Squadron The University of Birmingham Air Squadron, commonly known as UBAS, is a squadron within the Royal Air Force established on 3 May 1941. It is based at RAF Cosford, Shropshire, and flies a fleet of six Grob Tutors. In 2009 the squadron upgrad ...

, and they are equipped with 5 civil registered, Grob Tutor 115EA Mk 1s which are provided and maintained by Babcock, formally VT Aerospace.

Background

No. 8 Air Experience Flight is one of thirteen

s run by the Air Cadet Organisation of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. 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 The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

(RAF Section) and occasionally, the

Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets The Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets (GVCAC) is a voluntary uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom for girls aged between 11 and 20. It is a registered charity, and a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVY ...

and the

Air Scouts Air Scouts are a part of the Scout movement with a particular emphasis on an aviation themed programme and/or flying-based activities. Air Scouts follow the same basic programme as other Scouts, but they devote certain amounts of time focused o ...

. It is based at

DCAE Cosford Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton. History Origins RAF Cosford opened in 1938 as a joint aircraf ...

and is used primarily and is parented by the

(UBAS).

References

08 Royal Air Force independent flights {{RAF-stub