Formed on 8 September 1958 at White Waltham Airfield, the squadron moved to RAF Abingdon in 1973 and then to RAF Benson in 1992. From 26 November 1995 it was parented by London University Air Squadron but when London UAS moved to RAF Wyton, 6 AEF remained at RAF Benson with parenting being taken over by Oxford University Air Squadron, both units being equipped with Grob Tutor T Mk 1s.[1]
No. 6 Air Experience Flight Chipmunk T.10 WP805 at RAF Fairford 1987
The two-seater Grob Tutor, took off from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire and was part of No 6 AEF's fleet of planes.[7] Flight Lieutenant Michael Blee was a retired Wing Commander with 38 years' service in the RAF before becoming a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Officer at 6 Air Experience Flight in 2005, where he assumed the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He was killed in the crash along with CCF cadet Nicholas Rice. Nicholas Rice, who was 15 years old, was a student of the Elvian School in Reading, and was from Calcot, Reading, Berkshire.[5][8] The pilot of the glider survived, having bailed out before his aircraft crashed.[6]
Current operations
The Air Experience Flight is currently commanded by a Flight Lieutenant on Full-Time Reserve Service and like the University Air Squadron, comes under No. 6 Flying Training School.
^"RAFVR Units". Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation : RAF Volunteer Reserve Units
