At the beginning of December, AirTanker launched a Christmas Card Competition which was open to the primary schools in Carterton.  The students at each school were offered free rein to design and make a Christmas Card.   AirTanker received a shortlist of 10 from each school and picked the winners.

The winner, Keeley from the Gateway School (far left in the picture above), won an AirTanker goody bag along with £250 for her school.   The Gateway, Carterton and St Joseph’s primaries all had students who where awarded runner up prizes. 

The design will be used as part of the Company’s 2011 festive ‘egreeting’.

The opportunity to be one of the chosen 90 businesses in Oxfordshire to show their support for the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal was one that AirTanker did not want to miss. As a business with very close links to the Military we are a keen supporter of charities connected with helping all generations of the Armed Forces and their families.

Based at RAF Brize Norton, AirTanker will provide the RAF with a reliable, safe and efficient air transport and air to air refuelling service for the next 24 years. In addition to its air to air refuelling role, the aircraft will be capable of carrying passengers and freight. It will also have an aeromedical evacuation capability.

AirTanker proudly displays its poppy as part of the Jack FM and Glide FM campaign to 'Put on a Giant Poppy'

Dave Mitchard, Managing Director of AirTanker Services said: ‘Our Armed Forces give so much and the Poppy Appeal gives us the chance to honour the memory of those that are sadly no longer with us. The Royal British Legion continues to provide support to our serving Military colleagues and their families during difficult times and it is a fitting tribute to be able to display the poppy on our building.’

The contract provides the Royal Air Force (RAF) with exclusive use of one bay of the AirTanker Hub as a temporary line maintenance facility for up to two C130 aircraft over a 16 month period.  The scope includes all storage, heating, overhead lighting, power, cleaning and air services.  Amenities for up to 25 maintenance personnel are also provided on site by AirTanker within the new facilities at RAF Brize Norton.

AirTanker is a long term service provider to the RAF and this particular contract demonstrates how we are able to respond flexibly to the needs of our RAF customer.

The AirTanker Hub is more than just a hangar.  It is a maintenance facility, flight operations centre and also provides office accommodation for all those Military and Civilian personnel involved in the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme.  In addition, AirTanker has developed a purpose built, state of the art training facility which houses a full flight simulator and part task trainers as well as several well equipped training classrooms.  AirTanker personnel moved into their facility at RAF Brize Norton, as planned, in May 2011 and the first FSTA aircraft is due to arrive towards the end of this year.

Dave Mitchard, Managing Director of AirTanker Services Ltd said:

‘We welcome this early involvement with the RAF, which demonstrates the flexibility of our contract with our customer and look forward to the C130 crews joining us in our hangar from August.  Naturally, our priority is to make sure that the FSTA programme remains on schedule and that we are ready for the arrival of the first aircraft towards the end of this year’.

 The event was attended by guests from RAF Brize Norton, HQ 2 Group, Defence Equipment and Support, Thales and AirTanker. 

Speaking at the ceremony, RAF Brize Norton’s Station Commander, Group Captain Dom Stamp, said: “It’s a pleasure to see this building opening and taking its first students.  When I arrived at RAF Brize Norton the site was just rubble and in just a year it has been transformed into a fantastic learning environment”.

The AirTanker Training Centre will become the focal point for the training of all aircrew and engineers – both military and civilian – working on the FSTA programme.  It provides a modern and comfortable learning environment for personnel and it will house a full, Voyager-specific flight simulator, part task trainers as well as several well equipped classrooms with twin learning stations for every individual.

The first group of RAF engineers started their two year training programme in January 2011 and the second group will start (at the new Training Centre) in July.  Pilot and cabin crew training will commence in September this year.  AirTanker is providing the training service through its partner, Thales, who has already established a strong reputation for training in defence and civil aviation.

Director of Flight Operations for AirTanker Services, James Scott, said: “Today marks just one of many steps – albeit a significant one – in the development of our training capability.  The training provided in this building will support our delivery of the essential new air-to-air refuelling and air transport capability here at RAF Brize Norton. 

“At AirTanker, we set our standards very high and ask a lot from our team members and partner organisations.  This impressive facility – completed ahead of schedule by Thales and their subcontractors – puts that into reality for all to see and demonstrates a clear commitment to our vision to be recognised as the best service provider to the RAF.  I am delighted to be standing here today to mark the start of the future training programme for AirTanker”.    

 The first FSTA aircraft, which will be known as Voyager when it enters RAF service, will be delivered at the end of this year. 

James Scott, Director of Flight Operations for AirTanker Services Ltd and Officer Commanding RAF Brize Norton, Gp Capt Domonic Stamp unveiling the plaque.

“It’s great to see the aircraft in the UK for the first time”, said Phill Blundell, Chief Executive of AirTanker Ltd – the company delivering the FSTA programme to the Ministry of Defence.  “The initial testing phase has gone very well and the aircraft is proving to be a reliable, mature and very effective platform.  This is going to provide a fantastic new air-to-air refuelling, transport and aero medical evacuation capability for the Royal Air Force.  The new service will make a significant difference to the RAF and all of our servicemen and women when it starts later this year.”

The RAF also confirmed today that the FSTA will be known as ‘Voyager’.   

Air Officer Commanding 2 Group, Air Vice Marshal Phil Osborn, responsible for combat support, said:

“As we have seen over the last few weeks, an effective tanker and transport force is an essential ingredient to this era of expeditionary warfare.  Over the next few years Voyager will join the versatile A400M transport, C-17 strategic airlifter and well-proven Hercules transport aircraft to form an RAF fleet that can handle any task that comes its way in the future.  I look forward to a successful trials programme that will keep the aircraft on track for delivery at the earliest opportunity.”

Until now, the first two development aircraft have been through a comprehensive military conversion process and initial flight testing programme at Airbus Military’s facility near Madrid, Spain.  The following 12 aircraft destined for the Voyager fleet will be converted by Cobham at their facility in Bournemouth.

 The two-bay hangar and support building at RAF Brize Norton, which will be a maintenance facility, flight operations centre and office headquarters for the programme, was officially opened on 31 March 2011. 

Voyager will be the largest aircraft ever included in the RAF’s strategic transport fleet (wingspan and length).

The new facility – called the AirTanker Hub – is designed to provide full support for the future fleet of 14 A330 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA).  It consists of a two-bay hangar, workshops, stores and three floors of office accommodation, which means that the Hub operates as a maintenance facility, flight operations centre and main headquarters for all military and civilian personnel working on the FSTA service.  The Engineering Team from AirTanker Services has already moved into the building to prepare for the relevant approvals needed to operate as a maintenance and repair organisation but the majority of AirTanker personnel will move onto the Station in May 2011.

Dave Mitchard, Managing Director of AirTanker Services, said: “Today’s opening event is an important milestone in this unique programme, which continues to run on schedule three years after Contract signature.  It marks our imminent move onto RAF Brize Norton and the final countdown towards the arrival of the first aircraft later in the year.  We have already established some very good working relationships with personnel at RAF Brize Norton and we look forward to developing these further when we become part of the Station in May.”

The official plaque unveiling by Air Commodore Ager took place in front of approximately 300 guests, which included personnel from RAF Brize Norton, AirTanker, the Mayor of Carterton, local schoolchildren, sub-contractors and suppliers working on the programme. 

Photo above shows (from left to right): Phill Blundell, Chief Executive of AirTanker Ltd; Air Commodore Jon Ager RAF, Air Officer Air Transport and Air to Air Refuelling; Dave Mitchard, Managing Director of AirTanker Services Ltd and Tim Rowntree, Director Air Support, Defence Equipment & Support.  Image accredited to RAF Brize Norton photographers.

During the event, Phill Blundell, Chief Executive of AirTanker Ltd, said: 

“Today represents a significant milestone in the development of the FSTA Service.  This service is more than an aircraft or a hangar.  It is a complex and ambitious programme – we are doing something that has never been done before.  We are very proud of what has been achieved so far alongside the Ministry of Defence and Royal Air Force with the support of our shareholders and lenders.  This event today demonstrates that significant investment in time and effort and a strong partnering approach between all parties provides a solid platform for measurable success. 

“We will be providing an essential, much needed capability for the RAF and with this programme, the RAF will be getting a flexible asset: it will be used to transport our forces to wherever they need to go in the world; we will bring back injured soldiers from the frontline with our aeromed capability and we will be providing a significant improvement in air-to-air refuelling, which is necessary to project air power to wherever it is needed around the world.  We are on time; there is still a lot of work to be done but we are confident that with the support of our partners, shareholders, suppliers and staff, we will succeed.”

Speaking about the event, Group Captain Domonic Stamp, Station Commander of RAF Brize Norton, said: “Today marks a very real and significant milestone in the FSTA Programme. The event itself, attended by a mixture of military and civilian personnel from RAF Brize Norton, AirTanker and the major shareholders is in itself indicative of the good working relationships we have already established. I am confident that these relationships will continue to grow and improve as the programme moves forward and the first aircraft comes into service.”

Before the plaque unveiling itself, approximately 50 school children from five local primary schools were shown around a C-17 aircraft by the RAF before taking part in an engineering challenge in the AirTanker Hub.  The competition – a joint initiative between AirTanker and Carterton Community College – involved each of the primary schools launching their own paper aeroplanes in the hangar to see which would fly the furthest. 

Dave Mitchard continued: “We have developed a very good link with Carterton Community College as we feel it is essential to invest in the engineers of the future.  You never know, some of the children here today could be working for us in 15 years’ time.  Congratulations to all those who took part in today’s challenge but a particular mention goes to Carterton Primary School, the winning school.”

Photo above shows pupils from Carterton Primary School collecting the trophy for the Engineering Challenge from Dave Mitchard, MD of AirTanker Services.  Image accredited to RAF Brize Norton photographers.

AirTanker Services currently employs just over 50 staff but this number will increase to approximately 200 by the time all 14 aircraft are in service in 2016.  The Company is already very active in the local community, supporting many charities and events such as the Royal British Legion (Carterton branch) and Families’ Day at RAF Brize Norton.

The first Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) for the Royal Air Force deployed hoses on both its underwing pods and fuselage refuelling unit (FRU) simultaneously last week. This photo was taken from a Spanish Air Force F-18 during a recent handling qualities flight as the FSTA nears achieving both civil and military certification. Two FSTAs are currently flying and the first is on schedule to transfer to Boscombe Down in the UK in the second quarter of this year to begin qualification flights with the specified receiver aircraft types, leading to delivery of the first aircraft towards the end of the year.

This is a significant development in the FSTA programme, which continues to run on schedule. The flight testing programme will carry on in Spain until spring this year, when receiver clearance trials are due to switch to Boscombe Down. The first FSTA aircraft is due to be delivered to the RAF at Brize Norton towards the end of this year.

AirTanker’s newly built Headquarters at RAF Brize Norton provided much needed emergency shelter during the bad weather on Sunday 19th December for the RAF’s standby medivac C-17 aircraft.  

The C-17 is operated by 99 Squadron from RAF Brize Norton and it plays a crucial role in providing the air bridge between the UK and Afghanistan. Due to the extreme weather conditions over the weekend, the standby aircraft – specifically allocated for aeromedical evacuations – was at risk of not being able to fly when required if it was unable to find shelter.  AirTanker’s new building is still undergoing an internal fit out but the company was approached by 99 squadron to consider the possibility of the C-17 spending the night in one of the hangar’s bays to ensure immediate capability should the need arise.  On Monday 20th December a second C-17 was accommodated by AirTanker to again minimise disruption to the airbridge.

Wing Comander Mark Hunt, Officer Commanding the Engineering and Logistics Wing, said “This has been a fantastic example of how Brize Norton and Air Tanker Services are already working together and we are very grateful to them for assisting us during this period of extreme weather.”

AirTanker’s Managing Director, Dave Mitchard, said, “We are delighted that we were able to work with Brize and Babcock to allow this to happen under such unusual circumstances.  It was a unique opportunity for us to do our little bit to help keep the aeromedical evacuation aircraft on stand-by.”

AirTanker’s Headquarters building at RAF Brize Norton – built and maintained by Babcock – includes a two bay hangar, office accommodation for all Brize personnel working on the FSTA programme, flight operations room, workshops and stores.  AirTanker plans to move into the new building on the base in May 2011 with the first FSTA aircraft due to arrive at Brize towards the end of 2011.

AirTanker can confirm that the first Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) has successfully completed its first Fuselage Refuelling Unit (FRU) dry contacts with receiver aircraft during a test flight on 13 December 2010 from Airbus Military’s base near Madrid, Spain.   

During this flight and on a subsequent sortie, FSTA #1 achieved several contacts with the Spanish Air Force’s F-18s at various test points throughout the full flight envelope, testing the FRU’s capability throughout a range of different speeds and altitudes. 

This is a key aspect of the flight testing completed successfully for the FSTA programme, which continues to run on schedule. The testing programme will continue in Spain into next year until the aircraft move to Boscombe Down for UK receiver clearance trials in spring 2011. The first FSTA aircraft is due to be delivered to the RAF at Brize Norton towards the end of 2011.