The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine (RAF CAM) is a medical organisation run by 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 ...

and based at RAF Henlow in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. It is the main organisation conducting aviation medicine research in the UK.

History

Formation

The centre was formed on 1 December 1998 as a result of the merger of the School of Aviation Medicine based at

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and the Aviation Medicine Training Centre based at RAF North Luffenham in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. The centre's predecessor was the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (RAF IAM), which closed in 1994.

Expansion

The RAF Medical Board and RAF Institute of Health moved from

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

to the centre on 1 June 2000, becoming the Occupation and Environmental Medicine Wing. It was formerly part of RAF Personnel and Training Command, becoming part of RAF Air Command in 2007. In April 2022, the centre retired its two BAE Systems Hawk T1 which were based at MOD Boscombe Down in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The aircraft were used for trials by the centre's Aviation Medicine Flight. The flight moved to

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...

to continue its work using Hawks operated by the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

Future

Due to anticipated closure of RAF Henlow, It is planned to relocate the centre to a new purpose-built facility at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

by 2026.

Function

The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine is the lead authority in the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

for aviation medicine and provides: * advice, support and services to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and Royal Air Force,

Military Aviation Authority The Military Aviation Authority (MAA) is an organisation within the British Ministry of Defence and is the single regulatory authority responsible for regulating all aspects of Air Safety across Defence, with full oversight of all Defence aviation ...

Air Accidents Investigation Branch The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...

, Defence Accident Investigation Branch, academia and commercial organisations * support in the development of aircraft and other systems, including urgent operational requirements * the RAF Medical Board and clinical assessment of military aircrew and air traffic controllers *

chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...

(CBRN) training for aircrew * aviation medicine training to the British armed forces and aircrew and medical personnel from other nations * aviation medicine & aeromedical policy *

occupational health Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

and

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...

support

Flying research

The centre researches the medical effects of flying, such as

hypoxia Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to: Reduced or insufficient oxygen * Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of the specific environment * Hypoxia (medical), abnormally low level of oxygen in the tis ...

and the effects of G-force. Flying fast-jet aircraft puts the cardiovascular physiology of the human body under extreme physical stress. Without intervention, exposure to high G force would cause a pilot to lose consciousness through lack of blood to the brain, otherwise known as G-induced loss of consciousness or G-LOC. Eurofighter Typhoon pilots regularly experience 9G. Other dangers include rapid uncontrolled decompression from failure of cabin pressurisation, and the centre has four

hypobaric chamber A hypobaric chamber, or altitude chamber, is a chamber used during aerospace or high terrestrial altitude research or training to simulate the effects of high altitude on the human body, especially hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypobaria (low ambient ...

s. Airlines that do not have their own aviation medicine research establishments (e.g.

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

) have contracted out work to the RAF's Centre.

Academic support

King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital ( Southwark), King's College Hospital ( Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital ( La ...

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

has run a

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

programme in aviation medicine, which involves the RAF's Centre, specifically the practical experience of

G-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

s, decompression,

whole-body vibration Whole body vibration is a generic term used when vibrations (mechanical oscillations) of any frequency are transferred to the human body. Humans are exposed to vibration through a contact surface that is in a mechanical vibrating state. Humans are ...

, and vestibular (balance sensory system) and visual disorientation.

Training courses

The centre provides training for aircrew from the RAF and other organisations (via International Defence Training or Horizon Training) in subjects such as using

night vision goggle A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The devi ...

s and dealing with

.International Defence Training courses
/ref> It provides training for the on-board Critical Care Air Support Team (CCAST, similar to the

Critical Care Air Transport Team The Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) concept dates from 1988, when Col. P.K. Carlton and Maj. J. Chris Farmer originated the development of this program while stationed at U.S. Air Force Hospital Scott, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Dr. C ...

of the USAF)

Facilities

The new RAF High G Training and Test Facility at RAF College Cranwell was opened on 4 February 2019 and is used to provide high-G training.

References

External links

Online catalogue

Medical training support website

News items

BBC's ''Inside Out'' visits the hypobaric chamber to test the effects of hypoxia

Price Edward tours the centre in October 2006

BBC Breakfast RAF pilots get new G-force training centre
{{authority control Aviation medicine organizations Aviation research institutes Health in Bedfordshire Organisations based in Bedfordshire Organizations established in 1998 Royal Air Force Medical Services Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Medical research institutes in the United Kingdom Military medical training establishments Military research establishments of the United Kingdom Science and technology in Bedfordshire Training establishments of the Royal Air Force Aviation organisations based in the United Kingdom Military medical research organizations of the United Kingdom Henlow