CHAPTER 1 - THE EARLY DAYS

CHAPTER 2 - THE 1970'S

CHAPTER 3 - THE 1980'S

CHAPTER 4 - THE 1990'S AND THE FINAL DAYS

CHAPTER 1 - THE EARLY DAYS:

(THE FOLLOWING IS EXTRACTED DIRECTLY FROM AN OLD CLUB ALBUM CURRENTLY IN THE POSSESSION OF FORMER CLUB MEMBER ROGER GOODWIN. IT COVERS THE PERIOD FROM THE CLUB'S FORMATION TO EASTER 1970):

"The RAF Laarbruch Flying Club was formed in the summer of 1967 by Major Nichols of the Army's 21st Signals Regiment, based at the station.Its' first aircraft was an old Auster 3, G-AREI, commonly referred to as "The Yellow Peril," and with it flying training began.

"Later that year Squadron Leader 'Phil' Phillips was posted in and within 24 hours of arrival was installed as Chief Flying Instructor of the club. Within six months of his arrival the first four pilots received their PPL's.

"With the only aircraft grounded for three months through lack of spares, and restricted by bad weather during the winter, getting in sufficient flying time was rather difficult.

(PETE YOUNG ADDS: The Yellow Peril was not certified as airworthy but Phil was one of the very few RAF pilots who were also qualified engineering officers.We had spent some time working on G-AREI and he wanted to do a taxi test and invited me along. This I remember being carried out at 1000ft around the taxiways.)

"Nevertheless the members did not waste their time or energy but channelled it in other directions, namely the club house and the bar.

"However, some months later, another Auster 3 G-ATAX was obtained which, owing to an unscheduled ground-loop, needed a complete overhaul.

"Now the two main tasks which the club members faced were the completion of the bar, and the cannibalisation of the two Austers to produce one airworthy aircraft. Both tasks were achieved with immense success.

"So came the big day and a completely rejuvenated, all-singing all-dancing G-ATAX was rolled out of the hangar

"Flying training was continued but the big problem now was how to cater for an ever-expanding student list.

"Simple, get another aircraft. The wheels were set in motion and with the assistance of The Nuffield Trust another aircraft was obtained.

"This aircraft turned out to be a Bolkow Junior 208C G-ATVX which was used as an advanced trainer.

"Life went on, and as more and more students passed their FHTs and became PPL holders, someone (Phil) decided it would be a great idea if the Cranwell Flying Club could come to Laarbruch for an Easter Rally.

"This idea was duly implemented and during Easter 1969, Cranwell sent two Tigers for the Rally.

"The Rally was such a success that it was decided for the following year to extend invitations to other private flyers in the UK. So Easter 1970 saw the arrival of 10 light aircraft from the UK."

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THIS ALBUM, COVERING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CLUB, ARE INCLUDED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION OF THIS SITE.

CHAPTER 2 - THE 1970'S

On completion of his tour, Phil Phillips, who had done more than anyone to establish the club on a firm footing, handed over as QFI to Flt Lt Graham Chilvers, the squadron test pilot on No 16 Squadron (Canberras). Training continued, and a major stage in the development of the club came with the acquisition of an ex-Luftwaffe Dornier Do 27.

One of the most active club members at the time was a serving Luftwaffe Major, Wulf Ehrhardt. The Luftwaffe was in the process of disposing of its fleet of Do 27 liaision and communications aircraft, and Wulf arranged for one of them to be released to the club at a knock-down price.

The Dornier was a different order of business from the Auster and Bolkow. This was a real grown-up aeroplane and not really suitable for the basic training role. Instead it was kept busy earning its keep chucking out parachutists and as a chariot to and from UK.

Sadly, it was also to figure in the worst incident and greatest tragedy that the club experienced.

Following the success of the two earlier rallies, it was decided to hold a third during the Whitsun Bank Holiday 1971.

On 28 May 1971, while practising for a low level display for the rally, the Dornier crashed in the middle of the airfield, killing Graham Chilvers and his passenger Gerry Kingwill, a fellow pilot on No 16 Squadron. Graham, a popular and highly effective CFI, left a wife and two very young children.

No-one felt much like carrying on with the rally, and indeed the Laarbruch station commander, Group Captain Beddows, wanted it cancelled. But 12 aircraft were already airborne en route to Germany from UK, so the show had to go on, albeit with a much curtailed programme and in a very sombre atmosphere.

Graham was replaced as CFI by Flt Lt John Bent, an ex-V-bomber pilot then suffering a ground tour as an ops officer. John faced the difficult task of revitalising a demoralised club. Without his energy and enthusiasm it is questionable whether indeed it would have survived - which, largely thanks to John, it did with conspicuous success.

Training continued with students from all over Germany queing up for flight time. As ever the problem was keeping sufficient flying hours available in the programme to meet the demand. The aged Auster spent more and more time in the hangar, which effectively placed the whole load on the single Bolkow. Sometimes even routine servicing could stop flying for several weeks.

The time had come for the Auster to move on to a less demanding home, and she was sold on to a Cornish owner who based her at Bodmin airfield, Cornwall.

(AL LEMON WRITES: I well remember flying her home for sale across the channel in un-forecast thunder storms when the engine changed note slightly.  Our planned UK destination on the South Coast was out in hail and thunder. The aircraft had no radio, of course, so I diverted to Manston, arriving unannounced on the main runway under a 100-foot cloud base. Air Traffic didn't know that I had landed until I phoned them from the refueller's tea bar.  They were just about to get the air sea rescue chopper up as we were posted overdue and without a radio no one knew where we were.  The sobering thing was that on shut down whilst checking the mags I got a dead cut on one set, which was why the engine note changed mid-channel. That's why that trip is very firmly fixed in my memory!!!)

The Club decided to replace the Auster by standardising the fleet on the popular Bolkow Junior, so on 11 November 1972 John Bent flew in a second example, G-ACGX. The Gods of the English Channel must have been in a benign and forgiving mood that year, at least so far as the LFC was concerned. As John flew her across the watery miles of the Channel from Southend, it is as well that he did not know what was brewing under the bonnet.

The next day club member John Chorley flew her to Kamp Lintfort, a local German flying club with which the LFC always enjoyed good relations. On the return flight John, a newly-qualified PPL, had the character-forming experience of an engine failure after take off when she spat out an improperly-tightened spark plug. He successfully put her down in a ploughed field where inevitably she flipped, leaving him trapped upside-down in the cockpit for a heart-stoppingly lengthy period before he could be rescued. Thus ended GX's service with the club - less than 24 hours. John Chorley, meanwhile, gets jumpy at the smell of petrol to this day.

John Bent's tour was drawing to an end and in early 1973 he left Laarbruch, and shortly after the RAF, to embark on what was to become a distinguished career in civil aviation. His place as CFI was taken over by Flt Lt Ian Thomas, another GD Pilot suffering withdrawal symptoms on a ground tour as an Ops Officer.

With the club once again down to a single aircraft, the faithful Bolkow Junior G-ATVX, steps were again taken to acquire a second machine. This time a different direction was taken, and in due course Piper Caribbean G-AREL appeared.

The Caribbean - essentially a poshed-up Tri-Pacer - was the club's first four-seat aircraft since the Dornier, and the first in the club's history which could be flown by the club's PPL's. At last, club members had the chance to fly friends and relatives as passengers. Even so, "away-days" had to be organised in order to do it, as the burdensome and overly-restrictive regulations still imposed in those days by RAF and MOD bureaucracy, prevented doing so from an active airbase.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, because the Club "Fly-Away" weekends organised for some of the 1973 Bank Holiday weekends were a great success. Expeditions included a memorable weekend spent enjoying the scenery and hospitality of the Moselle region, with the aircraft based at Koblenz and venturing out to other local airfields in the region.

( Information needed to cover the late 1970's. Please contact Webmaster)

CHAPTER 3 - THE 1980'S

( Information needed for this period. Please contact Webmaster)

At some point in the early 1980's, the club's name was changed to The Neiderrhein Powered Flying Club (NPFC).

CHAPTER 4 - THE 1990'S AND THE FINAL DAYS

( Information needed for this period. Please contact Webmaster)

At some point in the 1990's, the club's name was again changed, this time to The Royal Air Force (Germany) Flying Training Centre (RAF(G) FTC).

Kevin O'Neill, the club's last Chief Engineer, recalls that by 1996 the club was operating two aircraft, a Robin Regent G-FTIL and Slingsby T-67B G-BLTU. The Chief Pilot and Officer In Charge of the club was then Squadron Leader Bob McCloud, now retired. A second T-67B G-BLPI was purchased in 1967. These three aircraft continued to serve the club until the end came in summer 1999, made inevitable of course by the closure of RAF Laarbruch itself later that year.

But in a sense the club lives on even yet, its aircraft and, we understand, some at least of its memorabilia and assets being transferred to the Pathfinder Flying Club at RAF Wyton. For the latest news, check the Pathfinder Club web-site via the link on our links page.