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The East Midlands Universities Air Squadron

EMUAS is one of the larger UAS's with some 80 Students between 5 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.

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. So what can you expect? For those students accepted as aircrew members, the flying course will constitute a large part of your UAS life, but there is much more on offer, and many reasons why so many students apply each year as ground branch members as well.

Aside from flying throughout the year, EMUAS holds 2 four week camps over the easter and summer holidays during which we conduct a full flying programme aswell as partaking in many sports and adventurous training activites. A week long camp is also carried out over the christmas holiday which is used to induct the new first year students and allow them to make a start on the flying course.

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 activites 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 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 role of today's UAS' has not changed much, although technology has moved on slightly. The main aim is to provide elementary flying training to young men and women in parallel with a University Education.

It is an opportunity to learn to fly to a high standard from the best training in the world, free of charge.

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 the one half day a week for 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.

The Elementary Flying Training Course

Students selected as pilot members fly an RAF training syllabus of approximately 60 hours over two years. Students are expected to fly once a week during term time and during vacations. Additional continuous flying instruction is made available at Summer, Easter, and Christmas camps. All are expected to attend for at least one 2 week continuous period of training per year.

The instructors are serving or retired RAF officers, all of them qualified flying instructor graduates of the RAF’s Central Flying School.

From the outset learning to carry out your checks from memory is the first hurdle. This is standard for any military flying and you soon realise why. If you've flown before and filtered through an open check list, enjoy it whilst it lasts.

The flying syllabus is a structured 60 hour course which is intended to last two years. This time is considerably shorter for serving RAF officers but this has to be balanced with your degree. The course will teach you all the basic skills needed to fly an aircraft safely and confidently. If you have completed a Flying Scholarship or a private pilots course before, the handling will be useful, but you will still find the flying very challenging and extremely rewarding even in the early stages. Later on you can enjoy aerobatics, instrument flying, medium and low level navigation and finally formation flying. All is done Solo as well as Dual, no civilian company would give you so much responsibilty at such an early stage in your flying career.

It is made very clear early on that your degree must come first although your flying will require some commitment and hard work.

The Grob 115E Tutor Aircraft

The current EMUAS aircraft is the Grob 115E Tutor which has now replaced the British Aerospace Bulldog T Mk1, since 2001 all squadrons have been equipped with the Grob 'Tutor'. The technical specifications of the aircraft are detailed below: