The Cleveland Aviation Society are a group of aircraft enthusiasts based in the northeast UK. The club has been running since 1986 and has visited all the main flying bases both American and British across the UK. 

April 2011 saw our 25th Anniversary, and that is no mean feat as our staple food - Military Aviation is now much rarer to find in the UK, and will become even worse following the recent drastic chops made to the RAF line up. Yet another flying station has passed into history, with the effective end of flying at RAF Lyneham, and the transfer of the Hercules fleet across to Brize Norton on Friday 1st July.

The disbandment last November of another long standing BoB heritage Squadron, No 19 at Valley overshadowed the reforming of former Harrier IV Squadron as a replacement pilot training Squadron, as a direct replacement for No19 Valley, equipped with the new Hawk T2.

On a local note, Friday 13th Jan saw the disbandment of yet another Squadron, RAF Linton On Ouse's 207 Tucano Sqn.   Meanwhile, not all the news from Linton was sad, the base is beginning to become the RAFs' premier aircraft colour scheme experts, and is once again rolling out another aircraft in a special colour scheme, this time for HM The Queens Jubilee celebrations. 

(pics from GAR)

One high note is that the MoD have ordered the eighth C-17 Globemaster transport for 99 Sqn at Brize Norton, which should be delivered later this year.  Staying on the subject of aircraft procurement, three or possibly four Avro RJ (Regional Jet - AKA 146) jets are to be purchased by the MoD.  Two of these aircraft are being bought in line with an Urgent Operational Requirement for a mid- capability freight / passenger jet capable of operating from hot n high, semi prepared strips.  It is widely believed, but not confirmed at this time, that these two aircraft will be former TNT -200QT aircraft, several of which the company have up for sale.  The third, and possibly fourth aircraft are to be conventional a/c similar to those currently operated by 32 (TR) Sqn at Benson, but will be based at Boscombe Down, as part of the ETPS, to give students another more modern jet for them to work with as part of their curriculum.

As individuals and as a group we are always keen to meet new fellow enthusiasts and to discuss the many and varied aspects of our hobby, which sadly are shrinking seemingly on a daily basis.

We try to visit as many active flying bases as we can for tours 'inside the wire', something which has become harder to manage in recent years.  We are keen to foster links with outer groups, big or small.

I do try to keep this site updated, but like the RAF, I find it difficult to do all the jobs I have to do , never mind the ones I want to with the limited resources available to me...

Please note that from now on until November, meetings will be back on our usual night on the 2nd Tuesday.

EVENT NEWS !

The March meeting will as usual be the Societies' AGM.

For the tech - savvy or anyone with a smartphone that has a QR code reader app installed, the Societies' QR code (the weird black and white square thingie!) is shown at the bottom of the page.    Scan it with your QR reader.

Our October meeting will see another talk, this time by another local author Peter Caygill. 

Peters newest book forms the basis of the talk, Meteor From The Cockpit.

All are welcome, we don't bite !   Please arrive promptly, the meeting opens at 7.45 to allow the talk to start at 8.00.

Our July Meeting, saw local author and Vulcan fan Craig Bulman along to give the society a talk on his latest book The Vulcan B.Mk2 from a Different Angle.
 

This night was open to non members, and we were happy to see quite a few new faces. Craigs attention to detail is fascinating - his knowledge of the Vulcan airframes is built up of many years of close study and detailed analysis, to the point that he can identify an airframe from almost any angle because of equipment fit, minor details such as variations in the camouflage patterns and other aspects - and led to an extremely interesting talk.  the level of detail in the book echoes this talk, and if you want to know anything abut the Vulcan, buy this book.

members of the CAS and audience with Craig's 'small' Vulcan model !
 

For anyone new to the Society or just fancying coming along we meet at the Middlesbrough Municipal Golf Centre, Ladgate Lane, Acklam.

16/03/2012