To meet the demands of training extra pilots for the F-35B Lightning II, 727 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset is now providing elementary flying training (EFT) for the first time, relieving the burden on the traditional EFT training bases at RAF Cranwell and Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire.
Two Royal Navy student pilots commenced EFT on the squadron’s Grob Tutor T1 fleet in January 2017. The squadron confirmed EFT will be available to potentially four students per course, with a maximum of 12 per year under existing arrangements. Successful candidates will then move to RAF Cranwell to complete their training. Pilots graduating from the 727 NAS course will be selected to fly either frontline helicopters or fast jets.
