Background of
No. 2 Flying Training School, used by the RAF for training prior to 1997. Prior to the establishment of the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) in 1997, each of the UK's air-arms provided their own helicopter crew training. The
Royal Air Force (RAF) trained crews using the
Westland Gazelle HT.3 at
No. 2 Flying Training School based at
RAF Shawbury in
Shropshire and
705 Naval Air Squadron of the
Fleet Air Arm (FAA) operated the Gazelle HT.2 from
RNAS Culdrose in
Cornwall. In October 1996, a
private finance initiative contract was placed with FBS, a
consortium of
Flight Refuelling Aviation (FRA – later
Cobham),
Bristows Helicopters Ltd and
Serco, each holding a 33.3% share of the company. The 15-year contract ran from 23 November 1996 to 31 March 2012. Serco left the consortium during 1998. The contract included the provision of thirty-four
Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters (known as the Squirrel HT1/2 in military service) and eleven
Bell 412EP (known as the Griffin HT1), as well as helicopter engineering and support which were already being provided by FRA Serco under an existing contract. The helicopters were civilian owned but military registered and 40% of instructors were to be civilians. Compared to the existing training arrangements, the government expected the DHFS to provide £80m of savings over the 15-year contract period.
Establishment of the Defence Helicopter Flying SchoolThe Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) was established on 1 April 1997, with RAF Shawbury being selected as the new home of military helicopter training. The RAF's
No. 60 Squadron disbanded at
RAF Benson and the squadron number-plate was transferred to the RAF element of the DHFS. The squadron was joined at Shawbury by 705 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) and No. 660 Squadron of the Army Air Corps. The school was officially opened on 9 April 1997 by the then
Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis. Between 1997 and 2018, the DHFS comprised a headquarters and five squadrons in the following roles.
10th anniversary In May 2007, the DHFS celebrated its 10th anniversary when the
Prince of Wales, who is
Colonel in Chief of the Army Air Corps, attended a ceremony at RAF Shawbury. The ceremony included a flypast of four Griffin and eight Squirrel helicopters in a number '10' formation. In the first ten years, 2,885 students passed through the school and its Squirrel fleet accumulated over 250,000 flying hours.
Contract renewal In 2012, the initial 15-year contract with FBS (later FB Heliservices) came to an end. A new £193m four-year contract with two possible one year extensions, was placed with FB Heliservices and commenced on 1 April 2012. The contract involved the continued provision of helicopter flying training at RAF Shawbury, RAF Valley and AAC Middle Wallop, together with support services at Shawbury and Middle Wallop. After purchasing Bristow's share of the company in July 2013, Cobham became full owner of FB Heliservices.
UK Military Flying Training System Juno of the Defence Helicopter Flying School. In 2016, the Ministry of Defence selected Ascent Flight Training to deliver the
UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS), a 25-year contract to provide fixed-wing elementary, basic, multi-engine and fast-jet pilot training, rear crew training and helicopter training to the UK military. Subsequently, as part of the Rotary Wing Training Programme, Ascent selected
Airbus Helicopters to supply thirty-two helicopters to replace the DHFS Squirrel and Griffin aircraft. Airbus have provided twenty-nine
H135 airframes, known as Juno HT1 and three
H145 airframes, known as Jupiter HT1. Due to the reduced requirement for search and rescue (SAR) training, following the privatisation of SAR provision, only three of the larger H145 aircraft are required, compared to the larger number of Griffins which were operated. The new fleet is entirely twin-engine, replacing the single engine Squirrel, as nearly all helicopters now operated by the UK military are twin-engined, apart from the Gazelle AH1, which is due for retirement. With the new aircraft achieving full training capability, Squirrel and Griffin operations ceasing on 1 April 2018 and the aircraft returned to their owners. Other changes include the DHFS becoming a sub-unit of the Shawbury station headquarters, rather than an independent lodger unit, which it has been since in creation in 1997. Two wings were created, 2 Maritime Air Wing (2 MAW) and No. 9 Regiment.
Renaming The DHFS was renamed as
No. 1 Flying Training School on 28 February 2020. ==Operations and training==