Nestled in the north Shropshire countryside is an airbase with a difference. Reporter Emma Kasprzak went along to RAF Shawbury to take to the air for a bird’s eye view of the military’s second busiest airfield an the district’s second biggest employer.
I find myself in a unique position as I buzz over Grinshill in a Squirrel helicopter. As far as I am aware I am the first Chronicle reporter to view the newspaper’s patch from the sky.
I am happily enjoying myself as we zoom along over trees, fields and villages. Kate Simmonds, my pilot, explains to me the basic controls and shows me where to position my hands and feet on the various pedals and levers.
“There you go, now you’re flying the helicopter,” she says.
I think it’s probably some sort of trick relying on the dual controls but when my left foot touches the pedal and the helicopter twitches to the left in response, I’m forced to have a rethink. I better not make a mistake, I muse, I imagine helicopters are quite pricey to fix.
Contrary to popular belief, RAF Shawbury is more than a helicopter flying school. Here’s a quiz question: Which is the longest continually running school in the armed forces? Answer: the Central Air Traffic Control School, which has been going since 1950. Other schools might have been running for longer but not in one place as they have at Shawbury.
RAF Shawbury, despite the name, does not just teach RAF pilots to fly, it is in fact the defence helicopter flying school for all military pilots, navy and army as well.
In addition, it is also a major storage and maintenance facility for the forces various flying machines.
On top of that, the base also houses the Assault Glider Trust, an award winning heritage project.
Now I must issue an apology: I am extremely grateful to Kate for my flying lesson but I am also sorry if by thanking her she is subjected to a ‘slabbing’. In military speak ‘slabbing’ means that anyone who gets their name or photo in the press must buy a slab of beer for their colleagues. For this reason I must also apologise to David Mills of 660 sqn, Dylan Burns of 60 sqn and Mike Thomas of 705 sqn.
All three of the students joined me for lunch at the base. They have a range of experience behind them, David, who is originally from Oxford, has served for eight years in the armed forces. Dylan, from Telford, has served for eight and a half years, Mike, from Preston, is the newest of the three having joined in June 2006.
I wanted to find out how the local community reacted to having military personnel living in their midst.
Dylan says: “The public find it difficult to differentiate between us and the army barracks which were here for a long time. We’re still getting tarred with the same brush.”
David agrees although he does think the situation is improving, he says: “There’s a misconception about the military but it’s something we’re trying to combat. We do community projects and aim for as much positive PR as we can get but there’s still a long way to go.
“The public perception has changed a lot over the years. When I first joined there was a danger of wearing the uniform in public but it’s not so much anymore.”
David adds that he thinks the reception the military receive in Shropshire is generally better than a lot of other places.
Mike says he doesn’t let the negative reactions get to him. “The public have a right to their opinion,” he adds.
The overwhelming feeling I get from meeting Mike, David and Dylan is how positive they are.
Mike sums it up when he says: “My ambition is to fly an apache, as long as I can do that I’ll be happy.”
On my day at Shawbury I am taken on a tour of the three flying squadrons: 660 – army, 705 – navy and 60(R) – RAF. Behind the high wire fence the base is made up of a series of buildings, airfields, hangers and green space. The weather is sunny and students sit out on the grass taking notes and listening to their instructor. The whole scene reminds me of a university campus.
I visit the air traffic students who are being examined in mock control rooms. A highlight of the tour is seeing the computer simulated control tower. The students sit at their computers in front of a screen which shows an airfield with computerised planes and helicopters taking off and landing. There are even animated fire engines and recorded helicopter noise is played to coincide with what is happening on the screen.
Another thing which surprises me about RAF Shawbury is the sheer volume of people passing through the gates of the base as part of their military careers. Not only does every air traffic controller for the RAF and navy earn their stripes in Shawbury but 450 students per year are trained by 660 sqn alone. There are also 130 instructors, 25 Squirrel helicopters and five Griffin helicopters.
705 sqn, which takes students who have learned the basics, teaches more advanced skills such as navigation, reading instruments and flying in confined areas.
Finally, 60(R) sqn, which trains pilots mainly for the RAF, has clocked up a massive 240,466 flying hours as of July this year. As well as the helicopters pilots are taken through their paces in a top of the range flight simulator.
Another fact that staff at the base are less happy about is that RAF Shawbury generates more noise complaints than any other military airbase.
Flight Lieutenant Craig Finch explains the quandary the base faces: “We’re having to do more night vision goggle training, more than we’ve ever done before because in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s safer to fly at night as they are less likely to shoot at you then.”
With the addition of a wet summer, what flying there has been has been compacted into a smaller period.
Staff at the base do their best to accommodate residents who complain but it is a difficult balance to strike as pilots need to be prepared for where they are going to be sent.
One of my final calls for the day is to the air traffic control tower which looks out over the base.
It is, as my guide for the day Sqn Ldr Neil Hope, the base’s community relations officer, calls it: “The best view in north Shropshire.” To that I would have to agree.
