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View Full Version : Jet Provost T.Mk.1 courses at No.2 FTS, Hullavington, 1955 - 1957


Vampiredave
7th May 2012, 08:22
I wonder if anyone has any anecdotes about the three experimental courses carried out at No.2 FTS, Hullavington, with the Jet Provost T.Mk.1? The school ran three courses to experiment in all-through jet training to ascertain if they could achieve a saving in flying hours before the students progressed to AFTS on Vampires at Swinderby.

The three courses were: No.113 (Jet) Course, Sept 1955 - July 1956; No.120 (Jet) Course, July 1956 - Feb 1957; and No.125 (Jet) Course. This last course began training in March 1957 but was obviously not completed as the school disbanded in July 1957.

Any comments would be most welcome.

brakedwell
7th May 2012, 10:06
Your dates for the first course could be wrong. After completing the Piston Provost course at Ternhill on 25.10.1956, I started the Vampire course at Swinderby a few days later. I am almost certain the first all through Jet trainees from Hullavington arrived some time after us. They thought they were god's gift to aviation, we thought we were better pilots, having trained on a more difficult tailwheel aircraft!

John Farley
7th May 2012, 10:06
Not really what you have asked for but I was on the Piston Provost there from late 55 and got the impression that the aim was to reduce the time and cost to wings at the end of the Vampire. Not a comparison with the PP hours.

Vampiredave
7th May 2012, 13:56
Brakedwell: I stated September 1955 because that was the first date mentioned in the ORB:

Sept1955: first JP course begins – No.113 (Jet) Course; pupils firstflew on 22 September and all had gone solo with an average of 10.55 hours.

On 24 April 1956, six students from this course were transferred to No.8 FTS at Swinderby to experiment on their suitability for Vampire instruction at their present stage of training.

John: you may be correct - again, quoting from the ORB

brakedwell
7th May 2012, 14:25
On the other hand I could be wrong - it was a long time ago!

Background Noise
8th May 2012, 19:08
My father was on the first JP1 course. I'm not sure that the courses were experimental, just the latest state of the art progression from prop BFT to jet training. Some of them were taken from Hullavington, having gone solo, and given the same again on Vampires at Swinderby to see whether they could in fact have started directly on Vampires which up to then had been jet conversion. After some flying and with no real conclusion being revealed to the students they returned to complete their training on the JP.

He later went through CFS and was credited as the first all through jet trained chap to do the CFS course on the Piston Provost. I guess I could get more accurate dates and probably flesh out my woolly account above.