| No. 2 Flying Training School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 26 Apr 1920 – 15 Dec 1933 1 Oct 1934 – 3 Sept 1939 3 Sept 1939 – 14 Mar 1942 23 Jul 1947 – 1 May 1952 1 Feb 1953 – Dec 1966 Dec 1966 – 16 Jan 1970 16 Jan 1970 – 2 Dec 1974 31 Mar 1976 – 30 Mar 1997 31 Jan 2014 – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying training school |
| Role | Glider training |
| Part of | No. 22 (Training) Group |
| Headquarters | RAF Syerston |
| Mottos | Verbum sat Sapienti (Latin for 'A word to the wise is sufficient')[1] |
| Aircraft | Grob Viking T1 |
| Website | https://www.raf.mod.uk/rafsyerston/ |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Group Captain Barry "Baz" Dale LLM CMgr FCMI RAF |
| Notable commanders | Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder |
No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of theRoyal Air Force (RAF). It is part ofNo. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to theRoyal Air Force Air Cadets. Its headquarters is located atRAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire and gliding takes places from several sites throughout the UK using theGrob Viking T1. The RAF Central Gliding School is also under its command.
Throughout its history, No. 2 FTS has had various roles including being the first military flying school to use jet-powered aircraft throughout pilot training.
No. 2 Flying Training School (FTS) was formed atRAF Duxford inCambridgeshire[2] as part ofNo. 3 Group on 26 April 1920, from No. 31 Training Squadron. The school had a special flight attached to it to carry out research for the Professor of Aeronautical Services atUniversity of Cambridge. At the end of August 1921 the school was transferred toNo. 1 Group, but returned to No. 3 Group on 1 July 1923. Initially equipped withAvro 504K's and Ns for basic training, it usedAirco DH.9As,Bristol F.2B's andSopwith Snipes for service training. The 504s were eventually replaced by theAvro Tutor, whereasArmstrong Whitworth Siskins andGloster Grebes replaced the Snipes. The school moved toRAF Digby inLincolnshire on 30 June 1924, but ceased operations on 29 July 1933 and disbanded on 15 December of that year.
The school reformed on 1 October 1934 as part ofNo. 23 Group at its previous home of RAF Digby, now equipped with Tutors for basic training andHawker Harts &Furies for the service training phase. In 1936,Hawker Audaxes were added and in September 1937 the school moved toRAF Brize Norton inOxfordshire, to move it away from the likely area of operations in the event of a war. By August 1939, basic flying training was being carrying out at civilian run Elementary and Reserve Flying Training Schools and the FTSs were concentrating on the service flying phase of training. To that end it was equipped withHarvards andAirspeed Oxfords.
With the outbreak of theSecond World War on 3 September 1939, the school’s title was changed toNo. 2 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) and on 24 June 1940 it was reclassified as a Group II school concentrating on twin engined training with Oxfords. By 1942 theCommonwealth Air Training Plan was in full swing and most aircrew were being trained up to SFTS level in Canada, South Africa or Southern Rhodesia, before arriving in or returning to the UK. It was therefore decided to convert the SFTSs to (Pilot) or (Observer) Advanced Flying Units. These units would concentrate on training personnel arriving from overseas in the techniques and conditions of flying in a blacked-out northern Europe. As a result, No. 2 SFTS becameNo. 2 (Pilots') Advanced Flying Unit on 14 March 1942.
On 23 July 1947, No. 20 FTS atRAF Church Lawford was re-designated No. 2 FTS and on 6 April 1948 it moved toRAF South Cerney inGloucestershire. It was equipped withde Havilland Tiger Moths and Harvards but in June 1949 the Tiger Moths were replaced byPercival Prentices. However, the school did not last long as it was re-designated asCentral Flying School (Basic) on 1 May 1952.
History of 20 FTS
20 FTS was formed on 10 July 1940 atCranborne inSouthern Rhodesia asNo. 20 Service FTS and disbanded there during April 1945. The unit was reformed at Church Lawford, England as 20 FTS on 3 April 1945 but was renamed 2 SFTS on 4 September 1946.[3]
As a result of theKorean War there was an increase in demand for pilots and No. 2 FTS re-formed on 1 March 1953 atRAF Cluntoe in Northern Ireland, with Prentices and Harvards. It moved toRAF Hullavington inWiltshire on 1 June 1954, equipped withPercival Provosts andChipmunks.
In 1955, it became the first school in the world to offerab-initio training on jet aircraft when it introduced theHunting Percival Jet Provost T.1 to a selected group of students. The experiment led the way to the introduction of the Jet Provost to all RAF flying training schools. On 18 November 1957, the school moved toRAF Syerston inNottinghamshire and in December of that year was renamedNo. 2 (Basic) Flying Training School, until it disbanded on 16 January 1970. However, the same day the Primary Flying School atRAF Church Fenton was renamed No. 2 FTS. Equipped with Chipmunks, aBulldog section was added in 1973 which operated as theRoyal Navy Elementary Flying Training School (RNEFTS). No. 2 FTS disbanded on 2 December 1974, although the RNEFTS transferred to the control ofNo. 1 FTS atRAF Linton-on-Ouse.
On 31 March 1976, the school was reformed asNo. 2 (Advanced) Flying Training School atRAF Ternhill inShropshire, to provide advanced training to helicopter pilots. On 8 October 1976, it moved to nearbyRAF Shawbury to become No. 2 FTS once again, where it took over control of theCentral Air Traffic Control School RAF as well as continuing to train helicopter pilots and crewman at both basic and advanced levels.
On 30 March 1997, No. 2 FTS was disbanded and was replaced at Shawbury by theDefence Helicopter Flying School, which now trains helicopter pilots for all three British armed services.[4]
The school reformed at RAF Syerston on 31 January 2014 and took control of the RAF'sVolunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) and the Central Gliding School (CGS), previously part ofNo. 3 Flying Training School.
In April 2014, three months after reforming, all gliding operations were 'paused' due toairworthiness concerns with theGrob Viking T1 conventional glider andGrob Vigilant T1 motorglider.[5] Almost two years later, on 10 March 2016, theMinistry of Defence (MOD) announced it would relaunch and drastically reduce gliding provision within theAir Cadet Organisation.[6] The MOD's relaunch was heavily criticised.[7][8] The nationwide fleet is to be reduced to 73 Viking TX1s and 15 Vigilant T1s, from a former total of 146 aircraft. The VGS listed below disbanded between 2016 and 2018.[6]
It was anticipated that the relaunched Vigilants would be disposed of in October 2019, however this was brought forward and the Vigilant was retired from service on 5 May 2018, leaving the Viking T1 as the RAF's only glider aircraft.[9]
Headquarters No. 2 FTS was heavily criticised for not communicating the plans to withdraw the Vigilant T1 from service and the restructuring resulting in closure of many volunteer gliding squadrons.[10] Criticism was also voiced with respect to its retention policy of volunteer personnel, management of its contracted maintenance organization, failure to achieve continued airworthiness management organisation approval during two years of non-flying,[11] limited recovery of aircraft, and the approach for acquiring Part Task Trainers with grants from the RAF Charitable Trust.
During 2017,No. 621 VGS & No. 637 VGS atLittle Rissington, No. 644 VGS atSyerston and No. 645 VGS atTopcliffe returned to flying.
By February 2019, seven VGS had returned to flight (No. 621 ,622, 632, 637, 644, 645, and 661). The remaining three squadrons,No. 614, 615 and 626, are awaiting return to flight, but continue to train cadets on ground school elements and Part Task Trainers.[12]
No. 2 Flying Training School provides glider training to RAF Air Cadets through several Volunteer Gliding Squadrons located throughout the UK.
The Central Gliding School teaches qualified gliding instructors who will go on to teach students within a VGS. The CGS also maintains instructor standards. CGS provide instructor training and standardisation both from their base at RAF Syerston and on visits to squadrons. The RAF Central Gliding School is co-located with HQ No. 2 FTS and the Gliding Examining Wing of theCentral Flying School.
No. 2 Flying Training School is part of the RAF Air Cadets (RAFAC) within No. 22 Training Group.[13]
The unit is commanded by aGroup Captain in Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS), the first full-time flying appointment given to an officer of that rank.[14]
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