Flying Officer James Bell became the 100th student to complete Elementary Flying Training (EFT) on the Prefect. After debriefing his Final Handling Test, he was congratulated by his instructor, Officer Commanding 57 Squadron, Squadron Leader Mike Waring, on a successful sortie. The mixed-profile sortie consisted of General Handling, Navigation and Instrument Flying around north Lincolnshire and the Trent valley, including a practice diversion into RAF Coningsby.
Flying Officer Bell will now be selected for either Multi Engine, Rotary or Fast-Jet training as the next stage of Military Flying Training System (MFTS) training, on his journey to earn his pilot wings, and progress to the front line.
‘The performance of the Prefect is enough to put a smile on any student's face. Finishing EFT is a great milestone for me, and to be the 100th graduate is an unexpected, added pleasure.’
Flying Officer James Bell
Mr Brian Braid, the Ascent General Manager at RAF College Cranwell said:
‘It is amazing that we are already up to the 100th student to graduate the new EFT course. The students work incredibly hard to get the very best from the instruction they receive from a mix of military and civilian instructors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience. I’m sure that Flying Officer Bell has found the course challenging and rewarding and I have no doubt that he will reap the benefits of this new training system at his next stage of training.’
The Ascent General Manager at RAF College Cranwell
Mr Brian Braid
Group Captain Eugene Moriarty, the Commandant of No 3 Flying Training School (FTS) said:
‘The graduation of the 100th Prefect student from EFT is a significant achievement for the whole force team that makes up 3 FTS. We are immensely proud of the progress made so far – but recognise there is more hard work to come as we grow to our full operating capacity. The graduation of Flying Officer Bell as our 100th student signals that we are well on the way. The Prefect has proven to be a superb elementary training aircraft and, supported by the range of synthetic systems, it provides a step-change in capability which more closely matches the requirements of our modernised front-line.’
Also Read: Another Milestone for the UK Military Flying Training System