RAF Cranwell
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| RAF Cranwell | ||
|---|---|---|
 Station Crest |
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| Role | Officer and Aircrew Training | |
| Location | Near Sleaford, England | |
| Date Founded | 1 April 1916 (as RNAS base) | |
RAF Cranwell (IATA: N/A, ICAO: EGYD) is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford.
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[edit] Origins
The history of military aviation at Cranwell goes back to 1 April 1916 when the Admiralty commissioned the site as the Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell. As the naval personnel were held on the books of HMS Daedalus, a hulk that was moored on the River Medway, this gave rise to a misconception that Cranwell was first established as HMS Daedalus.[1]
With the establishment of the Royal Air Force as an independent service in 1918, the RNAS Training Establishment became RAF Cranwell.
[edit] Jet engine history
Sir Frank Whittle attended RAF Cranwell in the late 1920s. It was here that he formulated many of his ideas for the jet engine and it was at Cranwell on 15 May 1941, that the world's first true jet-engine flight took place of the Gloster E.28/39.
[edit] Current functions
Cranwell is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trains the RAFs new officers on a 32-week course. It is thus the RAF equivalent of Sandhurst or the Britannia Royal Naval College, and is considered by some to be the spiritual home of the RAF.
No.3 Flying Training School (FTS), training navigators and non-commissioned aircrew, is also based there. Cranwell is also home to two of the RAF bands namely the RAF College Band and the RAF Regiment Band.
It is also home to the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC). Where all applicants to the RAF as Officers or non-commissioned aircrew, are put through a 4 day rigorous selection process. This is in 2 parts. Phase 1 includes Aptitude tests, Medical and an Interview conducted by 2 boarding officers. If successful you proceed to Phase 2 which consists of a Group discussion, Group planning exercise, Leaderless hangar exercise, Individual planning exercise, Hangar command exercise, a fitness test and a final debrief.
The Leaderless and Command exercises are conducted in a purpose built hangar. The scenarios generally require the team to travel from one point to another, moving from obstacle to obstacle, whilst observing certain restrictions. i.e. transfer Alpha syndicate from point A to point B without touching the floor and also transferring a bag of fragile equipment in a 15 minute time frame.
Successful candidates are notified at a later date and are invited to attend Initial Officer Training (IOT).
Around 1970's RAF introduced the Direct Entry Scheme, where a fresh graduate from any university can be admitted into RAF after a short training at RAFC Cranwell. These entrants emerged with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
RAF College was also an engineering school offering HND and CNAA degrees courses. The students are mostly commissioned officers from RAF as well as those from the Commonwealth countries. The class sizes were very small (25) and the students had very close attention from their lecturers and instructors. RAF College also offered Non-MOD courses especially customised for air force officers from the Commonwealth countries.
In 1970 , HRH Prince Charles was at RAFC doing his flight training on the Jet Provost.
Since the mid-1990s, Cranwell has been home to Headquarters, Air Cadets.
[edit] External link
- World Aero Data airport information for EGYD
| RAF Cranwell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: N/A - ICAO: EGYD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||
| Serves | Cranwell | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 218 ft (66 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 01/19 | 4,803 | 1,464 | Asphalt |
| 09/27 | 6,831 | 2,082 | Asphalt |
| 09R/27L | 2,354 | 717 | Grass |
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