RAF Coningsby 16th June 2009

Royal Air Force Coningsby's mission: 'To develop the future, deliver the present and commemorate the past of the Royal Air Force's combat air power', reflects the diverse array of aircraft based here. These aircraft include Typhoon, Harrier GR9, Tornado GR4 and the wonderfully evocative Spitfires and Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and, of course, Typhoon, the Royal Air Force's most modern and versatile fighter aircraft.

From its creation shortly before World War II to today, RAF Coningsby has had a wide variety of roles. Originally built as a station for Bomber Command, Coningsby went on to host the world-famous 'Dambusters' of 617 Squadron and Vulcan jet bombers before transferring to Fighter Command in the 1960s.

After a period of uncertainty following the cancellation of the TSR2 project, the station became synonymous with Phantoms and for 20 years was responsible for the training of all RAF Phantom pilots and navigators. When this much-loved aircraft was finally replaced by the Tornado F3, Coningsby was again chosen as the main training base and this trend has continued with the Typhoon, the RAF's latest high-tech fighter.

This was a visit full of diversity from the huge nostalgia of exploring the 13 aircraft from WW2 including 5 Spitfires. Hurricanes, 1 Lancaster and Dakotas to climbing inside the cockpit of a Typhoon this visit had it all. We watched an experienced Tornado pilot going through his training to fly a Spitfire and it was not easy. Apparently the Spitfire is not an easy plane to fly or to land and takes some training to be able to handle. Since there are so few left, damaging any of the WWII planes is something today's pilots dread and of course there are no simulators to assist with the training.

At the other end of the historical framework is the new Typhoon. This plane will form the backbone of the RAF's fighter planes until 2035. Four squadrons will fly the Typhoon with RAF Leuchars becoming the second home for the Typhoon squadron in 2010.

Simulators again play an important role in training with fuel costs alone being £7000 to fly for an hour or £70,000 if you add in depreciation and maintenance costs. However, running the simulators is not cheap either; it costs £45,000 per week in electricity run computers on the Typhoon training facility.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafconingsby/