Developments
The RAF Central Flying School (CFS) moved to Scampton, and the base was home to Red Arrows aerobatic team. In the mid 1990s, Scampton was mothballed under the Front Line First programme, with the CFS moving to nearby RAF Cranwell. The Red Arrows, though, continued to train in the restricted airspace surrounding the airfield. Scampton, however, continued to be used as overflow from RAF Waddington. More recently, the Red Arrows moved back to Scampton to free space at Cranwell, and they are the only permanent users of the airfield.
As part of a reorganisation, Air Combat Service Support units of 2 Group and personnel from RAF Boulmer and elsewhere were planning to move to Scampton, making its future more secure. However, financial problems meant that infrastructure improvements were not possible and these units moved to RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire instead.
RAF Scampton is now the home of Control and Reporting Centre Scampton, the Mobile Meteorological Unit in addition to RAFAT (Red Arrows). This provides a mix of fighter controllers, reservists and aircrew. It has administrative control over a satellite site, RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, 15-miles to the North of the Scampton site. RAF Scampton is the home of No. 1 Air Control Centre, the main operational unit for fighter controllers and aerospace systems operators in the RAF. Operators usually train at the Control and Reporting Centres of Boulmer and Scampton before putting their training into practice at 1ACC or on E3 Sentry Aircraft.
It has been announced that a portion of Peter Jackson's remake of the 1954 film Dambusters will be filmed at RAF Scampton. Nigger, a Wing Commander's dog who was also a feature of the film, was buried in the grounds of the RAF station after he was run over and killed by a car on the nearby road.
Read more about this topic: RAF Scampton
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