RAAF Base East Sale
| RAAF Base East Sale | |
|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | YMES |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 7 m (23 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 6 km east of Sale |
| Basic data | |
| opening | April 22, 1943 |
| operator | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Runways | |
| 04/22 | 2437 m × 46 m asphalt |
| 09/27 | 2230 m × 46 m asphalt |
The RAAF Base East Sale is a military airfield of the Royal Australian Air Force about 200 km east of Melbourne in the state of Victoria . Alongside RAAF Base Pearce, it is one of two main training airfields of the RAAF, where not only their own but also prospective aircraft crews from the other Australian armed forces receive their basic aeronautical training.
history
The RAAF base East Sale opened as a training center in the middle of World War II in 1943. The first main users was by Bristol Beaufort the No.1 Operational Training Unit (OTU 1). In addition, there were associations for maritime surveillance and convoy protection.
Two years after the end of the war, the Central Flying School (CFS) moved from RAAF Base Point Cook to East Sale in 1947. The school received its first jet aircraft in 1953 with the Vampire , of which four copies formed the aerobatic team "The Red Sales" from 1962. On August 15 of that year there was a fatal training accident with six fatalities. Only six months later, "The Telstars", a new aerobatics team was set up that initially operated the Vampire and later used the Aermacchi MB-326 . However, it was dissolved again in 1968 for reasons of budget and insufficient aircraft availability. Two years later, on the 50th anniversary of the RAAF, the "Roulettes", the team that still exists today, were set up that initially also used MB-326.
The CFS received their first PC-9A at the end of 1987 and two years later the "Roulettes" also converted to the new pattern. Five years later, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) established a new school concept on the former RAAF base in Tamworth as part of a PPP with BAE Systems and only a few CT / 4 were stationed in East Sale from then on. As early as 1989, East Sale was home to a newly established transport unit, the 32nd Squadron equipped with HS 748 . The unit converted to the King Air 350 in 2004 .
The ADF announced in 2015 that from 2019 the basic flying training would be relocated back to East Sale in 2019 and in 2017 the first PC-21 ordered for this purpose arrived in Australia.
Todays use
The following associations are stationed at the RAAF East Sale today (2020).
- Central Flying School , equipped with the PC-21 since 2017
- No. 1 Flying Training School , equipped with the PC-21 since 2019
- 32nd Squadron , equipped with the King Air B350 since 2004
There are also other non-flying school associations of the RAAF, a regiment of the Australian Army , a few other users and the 30th (City of Sale) Squadron of the RAAF, which operates the base.
Web links
Individual evidence
