Historic Army Aircraft Flight

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Historic Army Aircraft Flight
Active1980;44 years ago (1980)
(as Army Historic Aircraft Flight)–present
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army (originally)
TypeHistoric flying display unit
Role Memorial
Size7 aircraft
Location Army Aviation Centre, Middle Wallop, Stockbridge, Hampshire, England, SO20 8DY [1]
Nickname(s)HAAF
Motto(s)Let their glory not fade
Aircraft See list
Website HAAF.uk

The Historic Army Aircraft Flight (HAAF) is a charitable trust which preserves and maintains former British Army Air Corps (AAC) aircraft in flying condition. It thus brings the history of British Army flying to life. It serves as a 'living museum' for ex-service personnel commemorative and memorial purposes, as an aid to recruiting, and for supporting wider British Army heritage in public. [2] It features an aerial display group; comprising a de Havilland Beaver, a Westland Scout, an Agusta-Bell Sioux, and an Auster AOP.9.

Contents

History

Initially formed in 1980;44 years ago, as the Historic Aircraft Flight (HAF) of the AAC, then since March 1990;34 years ago, as the Army Historic Aircraft Flight (AHAF), it was an official flight of the British Army. It was created in order to save and maintain one example of each aircraft operated since the Army Air Corps inception in 1957. Its purpose was to preserve the AAC's aviation heritage for future generations.

The aircraft of the AHAF were originally supported in part by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), along with additional donations and any income from air displays it undertook. Although the AHAF was self-administered by its own charitable company, in 2013, the MoD withdrew all official public funding. This forced the AHAF into a state of dormancy or 'suspended animation'.

In order to ensure that its aircraft remain airworthy and available, four of the AHAF aircraft (Auster, Beaver, Scout, and Sioux) were transferred to the Civil Register of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA); this helps to reduce both maintenance servicing times and costs.

Now known as the Historic Army Aircraft Flight (HAAF), it operates as a Registered Charity (charity number: 1024043, as the Historic Aircraft Flight Trust), [2] governed by the Historic Army Aircraft Flight Trustee Limited. [1] The Historic Army Aircraft Flight Trustee Ltd was incorporated on 1 May 2015;9 years ago, as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital. [1] Registered in England and Wales under company number 09572211, it is listed under the standard industrial classification of economic activities (SIC) as 'Museums activities' (91020). [1]

Aircraft

The Historic Army Aircraft Flight includes the following retired AAC aircraft:

Historic Army Aircraft Flight (HAAF) aircraft
aircraft
manufacturer
aircraft
model
aircraft
type
military
registration
civil
registration
refImage
flying
de Havilland Canada Beaver AL.1 fixed-wing single-engine monoplaneXP820G-CICP [3] Beaver - RIAT 2006 (2517508701).jpg
Auster Aircraft Limited AOP.9 fixed-wing single-engine monoplaneXR244G-CICR [4] Auster AOP.9 'XR244' (G-CICR) (51753142176).jpg
Bell / Westland Aircraft Sioux AH.1 rotary-wing single-engine helicopterXT131G-CICN [5] XT131 RIAT Bthebest.JPG
Westland Helicopters Scout AH.1 rotary-wing single-engine helicopterXT626G-CIBW [6] Westland Scout - RIAT 2015 (24645449950).jpg
De Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 fixed-wing single-engine monoplaneWD325TBA
non flying
Saunders-Roe Skeeter AOP.12 rotary-wing single-engineXL812G-SARO [7] 1962 Saunders-Roe Skeeter AOP12 (XL812) at Cotswold Airport England 29Sept2018 arp.jpg

More details of the aircraft in the Flight can be seen on the website.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Historic Army Aircraft Flight Trustee Limited – overview". Find-and-update.Company-Information.Service.gov.uk. Cardiff, United Kingdom: Companies House, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, HM Government. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Aircraft Flight Trust – 1024043, Register of Charities". Register-of-Charities.CharityCommission.gov.uk. Charity Commission. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. "Beaver". HAAF.uk. Historic Army Aircraft Flight. 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. "Auster Mk 9". HAAF.uk. Historic Army Aircraft Flight. 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. "Sioux". HAAF.uk. Historic Army Aircraft Flight. 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  6. "Scout". HAAF.uk. Historic Army Aircraft Flight. 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. "Skeeter". HAAF.uk. Historic Army Aircraft Flight. 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.