The University Air Squadrons

There are 14 flying UASs operating the Grob Tutor aircraft at 12 regional sites.

The UASs are responsible for delivering 60% of the RAF's new pilots each year, and also train sponsored and Volunteer Reserve students of all officer branches. Incorporated within the UASs are the Air Experience Flights which provide flying experience for Air Cadets. The aircraft used for both purposes is now the Grob 115E Tutor.

UAS' were set up in the 1940's as a recruiting aid for the RAF so that the learned folk of the country would join the RAF as opposed to the Officer Training Corps (Army) which was set up many years earlier and had begun to expand rapidly.

The main objective of the UAS's has not changed much since it was conceived, offering flying training to student members along with many outdoor activities, whist developing such officer qualities as leadership, confidence, teamwork and initiative. In the past, flying training was only open to those students who had been accepted on the squadron as aircrew member, however recent changes have meant that flying training is open to all students, albeit on a smaller structured syllabus that works students towards a civilian Private Pilots License (PPL).

Life in any military organisation is different to anything you will get in any other walk of life. Although much of your time will be spent at University, you will find that the rest of your time can be spent at UAS. While your degree is obviously the priority, the UAS is a big commitment and can be demanding, but anyone that has spent time on a squadron will agree in saying that it is one of the most beneficial and satisfying organisations that a student can belong to.

As well as gaining an insight into life in the RAF, being on a University Air Squadron is an opportunity to learn to fly from the best training in the world, free of charge, while improving your individual personal skills. Best of all however, you make some of your closest friends.

The East Midlands Universities Air Squadron

EMUAS is one of the larger UAS's with some 70 Students between 2 Qualified Flying Instructors. The squadron operates from two main locations. Our Town Headquarters (THQ) located in Nottingham is where ground training is conducted on town nights each week. The squadron Flying Headquarters (FHQ) is located at the Royal Air Force College (RAFC) Cranwell, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, where we share our facilities with the No. 1, Elementary Flying Training Squadron.

Aside from flying throughout the year and the various social events, EMUAS holds camps over the easter and summer holidays during which we conduct a full flying programme aswell as partaking in many sports and adventurous training activities. A weeklong camp is also carried out over the Christmas holiday which is used to induct the new first year students, allowing them to make a start on the flying course and learn the ropes around RAFC Cranwell.

Other activities which are carried out throughout the year include Summer Vacation Attachments (SVAs) where a student can attach to an operational RAF unit for a week observing the lifestyle and work of an officer of their chosen branch.

Besides the sports, adventurous training, and courses which are mentioned on these web pages there is much more that students can undertake. Most activities are largely organised and planned by the students themselves and if the UAS does not cater to your chosen sport or activity you will be encouraged and supported to provide opportunities for yourself and the other students.

The Students

As undergraduates, your first priority is to study, get your degree and enjoy university life, with all the advantages that undergraduate status implies. Membership of the University Air Squadron falls into 3 categories:

a. Volunteer Reservists (VR’s).

b. University Bursars (UB’s).

c. University Cadets (UC’s) - Now only available for medical students.

VR’s are Officer Cadets (OC’s) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) and as such are eligible for attendance pay, travel costs and messing allowance. They have no formal commitment to join the RAF and can leave (or be dismissed) from Squadron at any time.

UB’s are OC’s who receive a bursary, currently between £1000 - 4000 pa depending on branch, on the understanding that they will, on satisfactory completion of their degree studies and UAS training, join the RAF for at least a short term commission (minimum 6 years ground, or 12 years flying).

UC’s are fully sponsored medical students chosen at the Directorate of Recruiting and Selection, holding the rank of Acting Pilot Officer in the RAF and as such are already enlisted and, therefore, paid according to seniority, approximately £9000 pa from the date of appointment to their commission.

Membership of a Squadron as a VR does not commit you to joining the RAF. You need to be a good time manager to fit in flying and the one evening per week in term time for Ground Training (THQ), not forgetting your continuous period of training during vacations. One thing is certain; the Squadron will become a much more important part of your life than you imagined and you will gain far more from it than any other aspect of your time as a student.

Many VR students are so attracted by the flying and the lifestyle, that they apply for RAF sponsorship in order to gain UB or UC status. Many further VR students choose to apply for direct entry to the RAF following graduation. This necessitates a visit to the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC) at RAF College Cranwell and members of the UAS are offered much assistance in their applications if they choose to do so.