An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch), often abbreviated to RAFVR(T), was a Volunteer Reserve element of the Royal Air Force specifically appointed in a cadet training role within the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Members o ...

whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 2019, thirteen AEFs are active.

History

The AEFs, numbered from 1 to 13, were formed across the United Kingdom in 1958, all but two forming on the same day, 8 September. All were equipped with the de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 trainer. An exception was No. 5 AEF, which also operated a single

Beagle Husky The Beagle Husky (originally, the Auster D.5 and initially designated the Auster J/1Y) was a three-seat British light aircraft built in the 1960s which originated from a Portuguese Air Force requirement for a liaison/training aircraft,Wenham 2 ...

(''XW635'') from 1969 to 1989. In the mid-1990s they were merged with co-located

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering ba ...

s (UASs), the Chipmunks being replaced by the existing UAS

Scottish Aviation Bulldog The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat) training aircraft designed by Beagle Aircraft as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at Shoreham Airport. The first order for ...

T.1s. No. 13 AEF at

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alde ...

was disbanded in 1996. In 1999, the

Grob Tutor The Grob G 115 is a general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009). The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in service wi ...

T.1 began to replace the Bulldog. On 10 March 2016, Julian Brazier, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence), announced the return of 13 AEF and a new 14 AEF.

Role and operations

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) an ...

(RAF) Air Experience Flights (AEF) are co-located with

(UAS) units; the co-located AEF and UAS units pool resources and share aircraft. Air Experience Flights provide basic flying experience, and

aerobatics 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 "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

to eligible members of

Royal Air Force Air Cadets The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a former ser ...

(RAFAC), otherwise known as the

(ATC), along with the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF-RAF), and other air-minded youth groups such as Air Scouts and 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 ...

(GVC-AC). When two separate AEFs are co-located at the same airfield, such as No. 9 Air Experience Flight ( 9AEF) and No. 11 Air Experience Flight (11 AEF) at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

, the two individual AEFs share the same fleet of aircraft. Just like the University Air Squadrons, all Air Experience Flights are currently commanded by No. 6 Flying Training School RAF (6 FTS).

Current flights

* No. 1 Air Experience Flight RAF –

MoD St Athan Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...

* No. 2 Air Experience Flight RAF –

MoD Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the De ...

* No. 3 Air Experience Flight RAF –

Colerne Airfield Colerne Airfield , now known as Azimghur Barracks, is a British Army facility just north-west of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire, England. History RAF Colerne was opened on this site in 1940, and was in operation until 1976. From 1940 to 1955 ...

* No. 4 Air Experience Flight RAF –

Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *eas ...

* No. 5 Air Experience Flight RAF –

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire i ...

* No. 6 Air Experience Flight RAF –

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...

No. 7 Air Experience Flight RAF No. 7 Air Experience Flight (7 AEF) is one of thirteen Air Experience Flights (AEFs) run by the Air Cadet Organisation of the Royal Air Force. The primary purpose of the AEF organisation is to provide air experience to members of the Air Tra ...

–

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 tra ...

* No. 8 Air Experience Flight RAF –

RAF 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 ...

No. 9 Air Experience Flight RAF No. 9 Air Experience Flight (9 AEF) is one of thirteen Air Experience Flights (AEFs) run by the Royal Air Force for the Air Cadet Organisation. The primary purpose of an AEF is to provide air experience to members of the Air Training Corps, C ...

–

* No. 10 Air Experience Flight RAF – RAF Woodvale * No. 11 Air Experience Flight RAF –

* No. 12 Air Experience Flight RAF –

Leuchars Station Leuchars Station is a British Army installation located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the historic town of St Andrews. Formerly RAF Leuchars, it was the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingd ...

No. 13 Air Experience Flight RAF No. 13 Air Experience Flight (AEF) is an Air Experience Flight of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF, based at Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove in Northern Ireland. Sharing three Grob Tutor T1 trainer aircraft with the Northern Ir ...

– JHC FS Aldergrove * No. 14 Air Experience Flight RAF – TBA

Aircraft

Previously operated: *

T.1 *

* de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10 File:DHC 1 Chipmunk.jpg, Chipmunk T.10 in RAF colours File:G-BZMD.jpg, Bulldog T.1 in RAF colours File:Woodvale08 019.JPG, 10 AEF Grob Tutor and hangar at RAF Woodvale File:Grob G 115E EA-3.JPG, No. 8 Air Experience Flight Grob Tutor in flight

References

{{reflist

External links

RAF Air Experience Flights
* Royal Air Force Air Cadet organisations British Cadet organisations Youth organisations based in the United Kingdom