Flying Vist- Central Flying School

The 1950s saw the introduction of the first jet instructor’s course, on dual Vampires in 1953. The Winjeel was introduced in 1955, and replaced the Wirraway in 1957. The Winjeel was in fact the 27th type to be operated by the school since 1914. The last instructor’s course on the Winjeel was conducted in 1966, as the RAAF moved toward an all jet training scheme. The first all-through jet instructor’s course was conducted in 1967 on Vampires, in preparation for the introduction of the Macchi MB-326H.

The 1970s saw the role of CFS further expand, to include training courses for regional air forces, and the first PNGDF twin training course on Dakotas was completed in 1974, with five pilots graduating.

The First World War was under way when the first training course commenced, and the first four graduates were issued their flying licences after fourteen weeks of training. Twelve courses were conducted between 1914 and 1918, and no less than 152 pilots were trained. With the end of the Great War, the Australian Flying Corps was disbanded, and flying training suspended. CFS still existed but very little activity took place. This subsequently changed with the establishment of the RAAF in March 1921, when CFS was renamed as the Flying Training School. The FTS then became 1 FTS in 1925.

CFS was reformed in 1940, when the pressures of the growing Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) became evident. In 1939 there were no more than 27 instructors in this country, and the requirement to train 11,000 aircrew annually clearly required a much larger number. As a result, “C” and “D” Flights of 1 FTS were amalgamated to reform CFS, with the principal purpose of training instructors.

The CFS moved from Point Cook to Camden in NSW in May, 1940, then from Camden to Tamworth in 1942. In 1943, concerns about the quality of flying standards in operational units led to a decision to assign the CFS with an additional role: the supervision of instructional standards in operational RAAF units. The expanded role of the CFS required a much more diverse range of aircraft types, and the school was relocated to Parkes in NSW in February, 1944, only to be relocated again in September, 1944, to its old home at Point Cook.

The RAAF Roulettes formation aerobatic team is comprised of CFS instructors who devote a considerable amount of their own time to the team’s activities. The CFS PC-9 aircraft are all painted in the colourful Roulettes livery, to provide spares for the team, with all aircraft used for instructional flying as well as display. (Defence PR)

The first CT-4 Airtrainers (Plastic Parrots) arrived in 1975, and the type served until its eventual replacement by the PC-9 in the early 1990s. The late seventies and eighties saw the CFS conducting instructor courses on both the CT-4 and MB-326H, and the first PNGDF QFI (Instructor) graduated in 1979. CFS parted with its Dakotas, used for training and transportation, in 1979.

The first PC-9 arrived at CFS in 1987, heralding the arrival of a new phase in the evolution of the RAAF’s flying training scheme. The first PC-9 instructor course took place during 1992.

Central Flying School – Operations

Central Flying School today performs a wide range of tasks primarily centred around the instruction of pilots. The school is responsible for flying instructor training, conversion courses, refresher courses, familiarisation flights for non-aircrew, the setting of flying and instructional standards, providing expert consultancy on flying matters and display flying for public relations.

CFS is structured around three flights and an administration section. The school’s A flight with six QFIs and one Ground Training Officer is focused upon instructor training and conducts three Flying Instructor Courses of 18 weeks duration annually. The flight is also responsible for ground training, and conducts courses in air operations, meteorology and other applicable topics. The FIC typically involves 30 hours of conversion training and 70 hours of instructional training.

The school’s B flight is responsible for conducting refresher courses for aircrew previously desk-bound through assignment, conversion courses to the PC-9/A, and the very important role of instructional and instrument examining throughout the RAAF’s operational units and other ADF flying units. In the latter role, CFS QFIs visit other units to examine resident instructors, these including instrument rating examiners.

The activities of C Flight are centred around flying standards definition, and the Flight Commander is also the CFS’ Chief Flying Instructor (CFI), essentially a senior consulting position. All three Flight Commanders report to the Commanding Officer, CFS, who also presides over the unit’s four-strong admin section. Display pilots for Roulette and Solo displays are primarily B Flight aircrew, who in taking on the commitment often forgo half of their annual weekends to provide the time. CFS also maintains a close relationship with 2 FTS at Pearce, and assists in areas such as flight training syllabus development and standards definition.

Formation Aerobatics at CFS

The RAAF established its first permanent formation aerobatic display team in 1961, when the Red Sales were formed, flying a display team of four DH Vampire T.33s. This team had a short history, as all four aircraft were destroyed in a formation accident in August, 1962. A formation barrel roll recovery went wrong, and all four pilots tragically died in the crash. A new aerobatic team was formed in 1963 and named the Telstars. The Telstars flew public aerobatic displays until 1968, when the team was disbanded due to a shortage in available flying hours.

The Roulettes came into existence in 1970, when the RAAF Golden Jubilee saw the creation of a Mirage aerobatic team and a Macchi aerobatic team, the latter comprised of CFS aircraft and instructors. Initially, the team flew a four-aircraft display, later supplemented by a single solo aircraft. In 1974 the team transitioned to a five-aircraft formation display.

The Roulettes parted with the Macchi in 1989, with the introduction of the PC-9. The departure of the Macchi removed a hitherto essential basic element of all aerobatic displays – noise. The new PC-9, whilst more agile than the Macchi and allowing tighter displays, is much quieter and somewhat slower and thus the formation was expanded by one aircraft to six to compensate.

The CFS’ Roulettes are in solid demand for public events. The team has seven members and these are typically committed to 20 public display events annually. Two solo display pilots are available for smaller displays, and typically fly 15 events annually.

Renewing the Acquaintance – Low Level Training in the Pilatus PC-9

One of the pleasures in visiting CFS was the opportunity to renew the acquaintance with the Pilatus PC-9. The author was given the opportunity to sample a slice of the QFI course syllabus, a low level training sortie down the Macalister River valley.

The author flew in the back seat (DoD rules prohibit non-ADF personnel from flying in the front seat) with Flt Lt Ben Cawte, a B Flight QFI and PC-9 solo display pilot, in the front. We departed Sale on RW 35, the author thoroughly enjoying the takeoff acceleration and climbout, a far cry from the usual sluggishness of piston-engined GA types. The PC-9 is always smooth and a sheer pleasure to fly.

We climbed above the foothills of the ranges and descended into the Valley North of Mt Margaret, where Ben took the controls and commenced the 18nm (33km) run at 220 KIAS (410kmh) and about 200′ AGL. The ride was exhilarating and the sustained G punishing by GA standards, the run involving repeated sustained 4G turns, unloadings, and reversals. The big difference between the PC-9 and GA aerobatic trainers is its ability to sustain the G in turns, much like tactical jets. The five-minute run was about as strenuous as several typical GA aerobatic sequences. I decided to pass on the offer to fly some aerobatics.

We subsequently climbed out to 10,000ft through the broken cloud, and then descended steeply to 500′ along the ocean shore, where we flew a 250 KIAS (460kmh) 500′ low level run along the coast, before returning to East Sale.

The post-flight observation made to the author by one CFS pilot was that the physical demands of flying the PC-9, much like flying fast jets, are not trivial and take several hours of flying time to become adjusted to, for former transport pilots or those previously desk-bound. The experience has increased the author’s respect for those who do tactical flying for a living. It is not for the weak of body or soul!

In summary Australian Aviation had the opportunity to get a very close look at the RAAF’s premier flight training establishment, which maintains a very high operational standard, continuing a long and established track record for excellence. Central Flying School without doubt sets a standard of which to be proud.

Special thanks to CO CFS, Wg Cdr Simon Ford, for his extensive support in the preparation of this article.