RCAF Station Centralia RCAF Station Centralia was a Royal Canadian Air Force training base located just outside the village of Centralia near Exeter , Ontario , Canada . It became one of the largest training stations in Canada . Flying schools were established across Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during World War II . Centralia was the location for No . 9 Service Flying Training School ( SFTS ) . Service Flying Training Schools provided advanced training to pilots who had graduated from Elementary Flying Training Schools ( EFTSs ) . Trainee pilots flew the Avro Anson and North American Harvard . No . 9 SFTS had moved to Centralia from RCAF Station Summerside , Prince Edward Island , in July 1942 . Relief landing fields for Centralia were located at Grand Bend and St . Joseph . No . 9 SFTS ceased operation in June 1945 and was replaced by No . 1 Aircrew Conditioning Unit ( ACU ) . ACUs trained service personnel for operations in the war ' s Pacific theatre . When No . 1 ACU was closed after the war , the RCAF formed No . 1 Flying Training School ( No . 1 FTS ) which used Ansons and Harvards . The first , and last flying course was in January 1946 . The course lasted for three weeks before it was cancelled . Because of increasing tensions between the Soviet Bloc and the West , defence expenditures were increased and the Canadian forces were strengthened . Centralia , along with a number of other stations , underwent major rehabilitation to better accommodate aircrew training . Centralia was reactivated in January 1947 to provide accommodation and training facilities for No . 1 Radar and Communications School ( No . 1 R & CS ) that was based in nearby RCAF Station Clinton . No . 1 Instrument Flying School ( IFS ) was relocated to Centralia from RCAF Station Trenton in the spring of 1947 . This school gave students an opportunity to obtain their instrument rating qualifications . The Expeditor was the aircraft used for this training . In 1956 , No . 1 IFS moved to RCAF Station Saskatoon , Saskatchewan . RCAF Station Centralia became the aerodrome ' s official designation in September 1947 and No . 1 Flying Training School was reactivated . Students participating in this school flew Harvards . No . 1 FTS was one of Canada ' s contributions to the training of foreign airmen for a new multinational force . The last FTS course was completed in March 1957 and No . 1 Flying Training School was deactivated and merged with the Advanced Flying School at Saskatoon . The Harvards used for FTS training were transferred to western flying training schools . In April 1948 , the RCAF ' s School of Flying Control was formed at Centralia . The school trained Flying Control Officers and Aircraft Control Assistants for deployment in control towers and operations rooms in RCAF stations . In May , a flying detachment for the No . 1 Air Radio Officers School based at RCAF Station Clinton was established . Centralia was actively involved with the NATO Air Training Plan . The NATO Training & Induction School , originally located at RCAF Station London , re - located to RCAF Station Centralia in 1954 . The school ' s purpose was to inform personnel about various aspects of working with NATO . In October 1954 , the Pre - Flight School was formed at Centralia . This school provided ground instruction to students before they began flight training . In 1956 Centralia began hosting the Primary Flying Training School using the Chipmunk . Graduate pilots were sent to western Canada for more advanced training on Harvards . No . 2 Personnel Selection Unit ( PSU ) , which was responsible for officer selection for air crew , moved to Centralia from RCAF Station London in 1958 . In the late 1960s , the Canadian military was reorganized and eventually unified . The reorganization resulted in many military bases being closed , including Centralia , which closed in July 1966 . Functions provided by Centralia were moved to various other stations . Today the airport still operates as Centralia / James T . Field Memorial Aerodrome . Most of the former RCAF buildings remain . The site is now known as the Huron Industrial Park .