| Type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Flying training |
| Founded | (January 1, 1948) |
| Headquarters | Wycombe Air Park, Booker, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Services | Gift Flights, JAR PPL, NPPL, Night Rating, IMC |
| Owner(s) | Arora Family Trust |
| Website | http://www.airwaysflyingclub.co.uk |
The Airways flying club was formed in 1948 under the name of the Airways Aero Club, by employees of British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The club is operated by Airways Aero Associations Limited, and flies out of Wycombe Air Park.
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The flying club was established in 1948 by three predecessor airlines of British Airways; British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA) as a means to provide private flying at an affordable rate for corporation staff. Originally the club flew from Denham, Hurn and Whitchurch, operating a fleet of Miles Magisters.
During the early part of the 1950s the parent Corporation's withdrew from Whitchurch and Hurn, and as Denham was too small for the club the flying base was transferred to Croydon Airport. As the decade continued the club operated pilot, navigator and engineer training programmes for BOAC, BEA, the Air Ministry and Lufthansa, and helped to set up the National Flying Training School at Bremen as well as Baghdad and Kuwait Flying Schools.
With the closure of Croydon Airport, the club moved again, first to White Waltham Airfield before moving to its present home at Wycombe Air Park in 1965.
The club is operated by Airways Aero Associations Limited which until November 2007 was a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways when it was purchased by the Arora Family Trust.[1]
The Airways Flying Club operates from Wycombe Air Park, with a fleet of Piper Warrior, Piper Dakota and de Havilland Chipmunk aircraft. The flying club acquired the long term lease to the airfield in 1965, following the closure of RAF Booker, previously on the site. The lease was sold to Surinder Arora, the hotel entrepreneur, in 2007.[2] The lease expires in 2014 and there is increasing speculation that the airfield may close soon to become the site of a new stadium for London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers.[3]
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