No . 1 Basic Flying Training School RAAF No . 1 Basic Flying Training School ( No . 1 BFTS ) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . Along with No . 1 Initial Flying Training School ( No . 1 IFTS ) , it was formed in response to increased demand for aircrew during the Korean War and Malayan Emergency . No . 1 BFTS was established in December 1951 at RAAF Base Uranquinty , New South Wales , where it operated De Havilland Tiger Moth s and CAC Wirraway s . The school absorbed the activities of No . 1 IFTS in January 1955 , as aircrew requirements eased following the end of Korean War . No . 1 BFTS moved to RAAF Base Point Cook , Victoria , in May 1958 , by which time it was exclusively flying CAC Winjeel s . Its training program expanded in the mid - 1960s owing to Australia ' s commitments in the Vietnam War . No . 1 BFTS was re - formed as No . 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook in January 1969 . History . Prior to World War II , all pilot training in the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) was conducted under the auspices of one unit , No . 1 Flying Training School ( No . 1 FTS ) , at RAAF Point Cook , Victoria . With the dramatic expansion of aircrew training under the wartime Empire Air Training Scheme , No . 1 FTS was supplanted in 1940 – 41 by twelve Elementary Flying Training Schools ( EFTS ) and eight Service Flying Training Schools ( SFTS ) . Post - war rationalisation saw all the EFTSs and SFTSs disbanded . No . 1 FTS , re - formed using the personnel and equipment of No . 5 Service Flying Training School in Uranquinty , New South Wales , returned to Point Cook and again became the RAAF ' s sole facility for training new pilots . Formation at Uranquinty . In response to demands for more aircrew to meet Australia ' s commitments to the Korean War and Malayan Emergency , flying training in the RAAF was again expanded in 1951 – 52 , resulting in the functions of No . 1 FTS being split among three separately located units . No . 1 FTS itself was renamed No . 1 Applied Flying Training School ( No . 1 AFTS ) in March 1952 , and assumed responsibility for advanced weapons and combat training on CAC Wirraway s . Meanwhile , in November 1951 , No . 1 Initial Flying Training School ( No . 1 IFTS ) was raised at RAAF Station Archerfield , Queensland , to impart students with general aeronautical and military knowledge , after which they received their flight grading during twelve hours on De Havilland Tiger Moth s . Graduate pilots of No . 1 IFTS went on to another new unit , No . 1 Basic Flying Training School ( No . 1 BFTS ) at RAAF Base Uranquinty , New South Wales , where they underwent further aerial instruction that included instrument , formation and night flying , as well as aerobatics and navigation . The first part of their training at No . 1 BFTS included 40 hours on Tiger Moths , after which they would fly 50 hours on Wirraways . Successful students finally transferred to No . 1 AFTS , before graduating as sergeant pilot s . When No . 1 BFTS formed at Uranquinty on 1 December 1951 , it had 377 staff , 37 Tiger Moths and 37 Wirraways , and came under the control of Headquarters Southern Area ( Training Command from 1 October 1953 ) . The first pilots ' course commenced on 1 April 1952 , and graduated on 1 August . The first course of graduates from No . 1 IFTS transferred in the same month . As well as RAAF pilots , No . 1 BFTS trained students from the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Navy ' s Fleet Air Arm . In February 1953 , a prototype CAC Winjeel , designed and manufactured in Australia , arrived at the school to undergo trials . From January 1956 to February 1957 , the Winjeel gradually replaced both the Tiger Moth and the Wirraway as No . 1 BFTS ' s training aircraft . In addition to these aircraft , Link Trainer instrument flying simulators were employed at the school . By November 1954 , following the end of the Korean War , the RAAF ' s need for further aircrew to fulfill its international obligations had eased and the decision was made to combine the syllabus of No . 1 IFTS with No . 1 BFTS starting in January 1955 , after which No . 1 IFTS was disbanded . Relocation to Point Cook . In May 1958 , No . 1 AFTS relocated to RAAF Base Pearce , Western Australia , to re - equip with De Havilland Vampire jet trainers . Its place at RAAF Base Point Cook was taken by No . 1 BFTS , which transferred from Uranquinty . RAAF Base Uranquinty closed on 18 December 1958 , and No . 1 BFTS commenced operations at Point Cook the following day . Trainee pilots could now expect to fly approximately 85 hours on Winjeels at No . 1 BFTS , followed by 125 hours on Vampires at No . 1 AFTS , and gain a short - service commission as a pilot officer upon graduation . On 31 December 1958 , the Flying Training Squadron at RAAF College , Point Cook , was closed , and graduates undertook their basic flying training at No . 1 BFTS . From 1961 , cadets at the recently established RAAF Academy ( successor to RAAF College ) were given between 25 and 50 hours " motivational flying " at No . 1 BFTS , as practical relief from the " hard grind " of their four years of academic study . By mid - 1964 , the school had a staff of 182 , including 22 flying instructors , and was operating 30 Winjeels . Students were flying 124 hours , including eight at night , over a 40 - week course , and were generally expected to go solo after eight or nine hours in the air . The pace of flying training increased in the mid - 1960s as the RAAF expanded and enlisted more aircrew to fulfill Australia ' s commitment to the Vietnam War . According to Air Force historian Alan Stephens , " It was not uncommon for thirteen aircraft , some flown by inexperienced solo students , to be in the circuit simultaneously at Point Cook , creating something of a ' sink or swim ' environment for the trainees " . The ratio of students to instructors was generally around 3 : 1 ; junior instructors might fly four times a day , plus twice more when night training . By mid - 1967 , No . 1 BFTS had 34 instructors , was operating 40 aircraft , and was logging around 2 , 000 flying hours per month ; its training program necessitated the use of as many as five additional airstrips at the nearby RAAF Base Laverton and Bacchus Marsh , to augment the four runways at its home airfield in Point Cook . On 31 December 1968 , No . 1 BFTS was disbanded at Point Cook , re - forming there as No . 1 FTS on 1 January 1969 . At the same time , No . 1 AFTS was disbanded at Pearce and re - formed as No . 2 Flying Training School . Subsequent rationalisation of RAAF flying training saw the disbandment of No . 1 FTS at Point Cook on 31 January 1993 . Initial flight grading and basic instruction has since been conducted by civilian contractors at the Australian Defence Force Basic Flying Training School .