Central Flying School RAAF

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Central Flying School RAAF
Central Flying School's crest
Active1913–19
1940–current
CountryAustralia
BranchRoyal Australian Air Force
RoleFlying instructor training
Part ofAir Training Wing
Garrison/HQRAAF Base East Sale
Motto(s)Qui Docet Discit
("He who teaches learns")[1]
AircraftPilatus PC-21
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Henry Petre (1913–15)
Eric Harrison (1915–18)
Charles Read (1952–54)
Insignia
CallsignAladdin[2]

Central Flying School (CFS) is a

Empire Air Training Scheme
(EATS).

CFS was inaugurated at

Tamworth from April 1942, and finally at Parkes
from January 1944. It returned to Point Cook in September 1944. By the end of World War II, the school had produced more than 3,600 instructors. It transferred to East Sale in November 1947.

Since 1962, CFS has been responsible for three aerobatic display teams. The first, "The Red Sales", flew De Havilland Vampire jet aircraft. A second team, "The Telstars", was formed in 1963, also flying Vampires. The Telstars disbanded in 1968, just after taking delivery of new Macchi MB326H jets, when the RAAF curtailed display flying. The Roulettes formed in 1970, flying the Macchi, and continued to operate the type until 1990, when the team finished converting to the PC-9. As well as the Roulettes, CFS is responsible for the display work of the Air Force Balloons.

History

Origins and World War I

Two men in flying gear seated in tandem open cockpits of a biplane
Lieutenants Harrison (left) and Petre (right) in a B.E.2 at Central Flying School, Point Cook, 1914

In December 1911, the Australian

Captain Thomas White and Lieutenants Richard Williams, George Merz, and David Manwell.[3][6] Williams, who became the first to graduate, recalled the school as a "ragtime show" consisting of a paddock, tents, and one large structure: a shed for the Boxkite.[7]

Biplane flying low over field, watched by a group of men
Bristol Boxkite over Point Cook, c. March 1916

A further eleven courses were run during the war years, graduating 152 pilots to a basic flying standard.

government bonds.[14] CFS's units were disbanded in December 1919 and the school taken over by the short-lived Australian Air Corps, formed on 1 January 1920.[8][16] In 1921, CFS's function was assumed by No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS), a unit of the newly formed RAAF.[17][18]

World War II

Flying Officer I.F. Rose (centre, capless), commanding officer of the school in 1946–48.[8]

RAAF flying training was heavily reorganised soon after the outbreak of World War II in response to Australia's participation in the

RAAF Station Camden, New South Wales, on 14 May.[8]

Formerly the privately owned Macquarie Grove Aerodrome, Camden was a new air base, and the school's facilities cost

Tamworth, New South Wales, during March and April 1942.[28] Tamworth was not considered a suitable airfield for the school's Wirraways, Ansons and Airspeed Oxfords, and a further relocation was deemed necessary, this time to RAAF Station Parkes, New South Wales, on 18 January 1944. Later that year, CFS moved once more, returning on 19 September to Point Cook.[8] There it gained an aviation medicine section, which in 1956 was detached to form the RAAF School of Aviation Medicine (later the RAAF Institute of Aviation Medicine).[29][30] CFS remained at Point Cook for the rest of the war, by which time it had graduated some 3,600 instructors.[8]

Post-war era

Men in overalls working on piston engines of military aeroplane
Inspection of Australian-built Lincoln at CFS, 1946

The immediate aftermath of the Pacific War saw large-sale

Wing Commander Charles Read, who later became Chief of the Air Staff, served as commanding officer of CFS from August 1952 to May 1954. In May 1953, the school commenced jet instructor training with dual-control De Havilland Vampires.[8][38] The CAC Winjeel entered service in 1955, to replace the Tiger Moth as the Air Force's basic trainer, and began operating at CFS the following year.[8][39] In March 1957, the school took on the responsibility of training the RAAF's air traffic controllers; this continued until May 1981, when the RAAF School of Air Traffic Control was formed as an autonomous unit at East Sale.[8][40]

Single-engined military jet with twin tailbooms in flight
Vampire trainer, 1950s

CFS formed its first aerobatic team, called "The Red Sales", in 1962.

Air Commodore Brian Eaton, the team chose the Italian Macchi MB-326H as it met all requirements, could be licence-built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia, and was relatively inexpensive.[44] The Telstars began flying the Macchi in February 1968, but the RAAF cut back on display flying shortly afterwards, and the team disbanded in April.[41] A new aerobatic team flying Macchis, the "Roulettes", was formed at CFS in August 1970, in preparation for the RAAF's fiftieth anniversary celebrations commencing in March 1971.[45][46]

Single-engined aircraft with red-and-white livery, in flight
PC-9 of the Roulettes aerobatic team, May 2012

The introduction of the Macchi permitted a brief flirtation with "all-through jet training" starting in 1969, as it was expected to reduce the time necessary to turn out high-quality pilots, and CFS had begun preparing to train instructors for this purpose in 1967.

Queen's Colour by Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen in September 1978.[8] In December 1987, CFS took delivery of its first Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainer, to replace the Macchi for advanced flying instructor training.[48] The Roulettes converted to the PC-9 in 1989–90.[41] The CT-4 was phased out at the school in favour of the PC-9 in December 1991.[8]

CFS continued to operate the PC-9 for pilot instructor training at East Sale, until their phase-out and replacement by the PC-21 in December 2019, under the control of the Air Force Training Group's Air Training Wing,[49] and to administer flying standards across the RAAF.[50] Practising and performing with the Roulettes, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2020, remains a secondary task for team members after their instructional duties.[45][51] As well as the Roulettes' displays, the school is responsible for the training and public relations work of the Air Force Balloons, which are co-located with No. 28 Squadron at HMAS Harman in Canberra.[52][53] In their role supporting RAAF recruitment and public awareness, the two hot-air balloons are often employed in rural areas as an economical alternative to displays by the Roulettes or other aircraft.[52][54]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 168–169
  2. Australian Aviation
    . Phantom Media. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 2–4
  4. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, pp. 710–711
  5. ^ a b Odgers, Air Force Australia, pp. 13–14
  6. ^ a b Wellfare, John (21 April 2005). "Alone in the dark". Air Force News. Canberra: Department of Defence. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  7. ^ Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 8–10
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n RAAF Historical Section, Units of the Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 137–139
  9. ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 5–9
  10. ^ Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 1–3 Archived 21 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp. 4–9
  12. ^ Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 23
  13. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 9, 16
  14. ^ a b c Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 12–14
  15. ^ "First World War Embarkation Roll – Eric Harrison". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  16. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 17–18
  17. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 41
  18. ^ a b c Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 29, 67–68
  19. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, pp. 72–73
  20. ^ a b c Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 97
  21. ^ a b "'Nerve-centre' of RAAF". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 6 November 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 2 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "Camden aerodrome taken over". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 2 April 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 2 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ a b Mordike, The Home Front, p. 29
  24. ^ Weate, Bill Newton VC, pp. 19–22
  25. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 165
  26. ^ Schaedel, Australian Air Ace, pp. 114–115
  27. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 634
  28. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, pp. 485–487
  29. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 441–442
  30. ^ "Past Exhibitions – Safety Through Knowledge: 50 Years of RAAF Aviation Medicine". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  31. ^ Mordike, The Post-War Years, pp. 5, 10
  32. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 146
  33. ^ ""Air university" moves to Sale". The Argus. Melbourne. 6 December 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 2 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  34. ^ "RAAF 'university'". The Daily News. Perth. 9 December 1947. p. 8, Home Edition. Retrieved 2 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  35. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 51
  36. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 145
  37. ^ "School for Air Force instructors". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 9 April 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  38. ^ Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, pp. 155–157
  39. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 159–160
  40. ^ Stackpool, Andrew (9 June 2011). "SATC celebrates 30th". Air Force News. Canberra: Department of Defence. p. 7. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  41. ^ a b c d "Central Flying School (CFS)". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  42. ^ a b Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 169–170
  43. ^ "Six pilots die in jet disaster". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 August 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  44. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 161–163
  45. ^ a b Curran, Aaron (2010). "Roulettes roll out for 40th anniversary" (PDF). Defence Magazine. No. 7. Department of Defence. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  46. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 451
  47. ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 199–200
  48. ^ "Pilatus PC-9/A". RAAF Museum. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  49. ^ "Air Force Training Group". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  50. ^ Wilson, Royal Australian Air Force 1921–2011, p. 12
  51. ^ McPhedran, Air Force, p. 79
  52. ^ a b "FAQ about the Balloon". Royal Australian Air Forceaccessdate=2 January 2016.
  53. ^ "Exercise Arnhem Drifter". Media Galleries. Department of Defence. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  54. ^ "Air Force Balloon". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

References

Further reading
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