Affinity Flying Training Services is looking to extend its support for military aircrew instruction in the UK and for potential international customers.
Elbit Systems UK/KBR joint venture Affinity currently provides a sub-contracted service with a fleet of 42 fixed-wing aircraft in support of the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS), which is delivered by Ascent Flight Training.
Affinity provides 23 Grob Aircraft G120TP ‘Prefect’ trainers, along with 14 Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs and five Embraer Phenom 100s. Those in-service assets have so far accumulated more than a combined 70,000 flight hours.
Acquired via a follow-on UKMFTS deal, Affinity procured four additional Texan aircraft, with the 14-strong fleet based at the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) Valley site on Anglesey, north Wales.
“We are expecting [Texan fleet] flying hours to start going up later this year,” says Affinity managing director Iain Chalmers, with the uplift to be supported by an additionally procured flight training device delivered by Lockheed Martin, and additional Ascent qualified flying instructors. “Texan is pretty critical in the delivery of fast jet flying training at the moment,” he says.
The Texan aircraft enable Affinity to meet demand, while typically having one spare airframe, he notes.
The turboprop-powered Texan also has the potential for future upgrades, he suggests, such as increased use of live virtual and constructive technology and the addition of a helmet-mounted cueing system.
Meanwhile, Affinity is in the process of embodying updates to its supplied fleet.
“We are doing quite a lot of modifications for the customer on all the platforms,” Chalmers told FlightGlobal at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on 20 July. “Most of that is around traffic avoidance systems – some are being integrated directly into the aircraft, and some through an iPad-enabled solution.
“That means that the students are seeing more information and data presented to them on their screens. Flying nowadays is a lot about information management and decision-making, so those systems are allowing them to do that.”
Regarding fleet operations, he says: “All of our aircraft are managed electronically, and the data we get out of that is excellent. We are forecasting fleet management out to 2033. In terms of managing major maintenance or major upgrade programmes that the customer wants, it is allowing us to be far more forward-thinking in terms of capacity management,” he says.
“It also allows us to work more closely with Ascent, so that when we see they have got a large demand for student courses coming in we can manage our maintenance programme accordingly. That whole piece is working really well.”
However, he notes that the non-transference of UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency licences, due to Brexit, “has reduced the manpower pool that we have access to”. Additionally, the CAA’s policy since 1 January 2024 towards the certification of aircraft components also is presenting a challenge for non-UK-based suppliers, he notes.
Overall, Chalmers says Affinity is currently delivering about 80% of the maximum contracted hours for the UK Ministry of Defence across its three-type fleet.
Looking to build on its service delivery, Chalmers confirms that Affinity also is pursuing potential overseas opportunities where it is not in competition with either of its shareholders.
“We will only bid internationally if it’s something that they are not going for, either because of the scale, or if it’s a scope that’s very close to what we do, using the same types of platforms as we are operating out of Cranwell [the Phenom and Prefect] or Valley.
“Government aviation is where we are interested,” he adds. “We have got good skills in complex modifications, regardless of size and scope.”
