RAF Shawbury (Defence Helicopter Flying School)

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SKB
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RAF Shawbury (Defence Helicopter Flying School)

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Introduction
The Defence Helicopter Flying School or DHFS is a military flying school based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, England. The school, established in 1997, is a tri-service organisation and trains helicopter aircrews for all three British armed forces, using the Airbus H135 Juno HT1 and Airbus H145 Jupiter HT1 helicopters.


Background History
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. The Army Air Corps (AAC) trained crews at ACC Middle Wallop in Hampshire.

Frontline First: The Defence Costs Study, published by the Ministry of Defence in July 1994, recommended that UK military helicopter training be amalgamated into a new tri-service Defence Helicopter Flying School, to be based either at RAF Shawbury or Middle Wallop. The study also recommended an increase in the use of civilian instructors.

In October 1996, a private finance initiative contract was placed with FBS, a consortium of Flight Refuelling Aviation (FRA – now 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
The 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:


* Ground Training Squadron – provided initial academic training prior to students moving onto a flying squadron.

* No. 660 Squadron (ACC) – the Single Engine Basic Rotary Wing Squadron provided basic helicopter flying training using the Squirrel HT1/2.

* 705 Naval Air Squadron (FAA) – the Single Engine Advanced Rotary Wing Squadron provided advanced helicopter flying training using the Squirrel HT1/2.

* No. 60 (R) Squadron (RAF) – the Multi-Engine Advanced Rotary Wing Squadron provided RAF students with multi-engine helicopter flying training using the Griffin HT1.

* Search and Rescue Training Unit – based at RAF Valley on Anglesey in Wales, taught students search and rescue techniques using the Griffin HT1.

All DHFS helicopters featured a black and yellow colour scheme. The Squirrels received codes reflecting the last two digits of their serial number, whereas each of the Griffins of No. 60(R) Squadron had a single letter applied, which together spelt 'SIXTY RULE OK'.


UK Military Flying Training System
In 2016, the Ministry of Defence selected Ascent Flight Training to deliver the UK Military Flying Training System, 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.

The first two Juno and a Jupiter were delivered to Shawbury on 3 April 2017. Deliveries continue throughout 2017 and early 2018, with the final Juno arriving on 24 May 2018. 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


Operations and training
The DHFS trains all military helicopter crews for the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army's Army Air Corps.[20]

Airbus provides and maintains the H135 Juno HT1 and H145 Jupiter HT1 helicopters and Babcock and Lockheed Martin have contracts for infrastructure and ground Based Training Equipment. DHFS has 161 instructors, 102 of which are military and 59 which are civilian. The school is expected to train 286 students per annum.

Four classes per annum year go through Shawbury on six-month courses, two with 705 NAS and two with No. 660 Squadron AAC. During the initial course students are taught basic rotary-wing skills and emergency handling, including engine-off landings, leading to a first solo flight and a handling check. Students then develop their basic skills into more applied techniques such as non-procedural instrument flying, basic night flying, low-level and formation flying, mountain flying in Snowdonia and an introduction to winching for FAA students.

Several other courses, sometimes bespoke, are available to British and international students.

As well as live flying, the training courses make use of synthetic training equipment, including full size replicas of the aircraft cockpit instruments, crewman cabin area and support helicopter passenger/freight loading and unloading space, within seven flying training devices (provided by CAE Inc.) and two virtual reality trainers and a mock Chinook cabin.

All aircrew instruction is carried out by Central Flying School (Helicopters) (CFS(H)) Instructors. These Instructors are a mix of military and civilian personnel personnel.

The DHFS uses grass airfields at Ternhill and Chetwynd for helicopter training, both are located in Shropshire. The DHFS is part of No. 22 Group RAF.

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SKB
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Re: RAF Shawbury (Defence Helicopter Flying School)

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(Forces TV) 2nd September 2019
Forces TV was granted special access into how a new, £1.1 billion pound facility is training the UK's next generation of military helicopter pilots. New simulators, training aircraft and buildings are all part of the upgrade at RAF Shawbury which is now considered a world-leader in its field. The Defence Helicopter Flying School has already seen its first set of pilots graduate and now boasts 29 Juno helicopters, the biggest fleet in the country, as well as three Jupiter aircraft.
RAF Shawbury is north-east of Shrewsbury in Shropshire. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/RAF ... 7?hl=en-GB

Airbus H135 Juno HT1 thread: https://www.ukdefenceforum.net/viewtopi ... =43&t=1001
Airbus H145 Jupiter HT1 thread: https://www.ukdefenceforum.net/viewtopi ... =43&t=1002

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