King’s Birthday Honour for Stephen

Huge congratulations to Ascent’s Stephen Main, BFT QFI at RAF Valley, who received an Air Officer Commanding No 22 Group Commendation in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Stephen is an ex-RAF Hawk T1 Tactical Weapons QFI and QWI and joined Ascent at RAF Valley in 2010 as a Hawk T2 sim instructor. He then transferred to Texan T1 at its introduction to #UKMFTS service and flew out to Wichita, Kansas in March 2018 as part of the first QFI course to convert on to the aircraft at the Textron factory.

The AOC 22Gp Commendation was awarded to Stephen for his part in developing, trialling and implementing (in a short timespan) a new phase for BFT called Elementary Fighter Manoeuvres (EFM). This phase will expand the BFT syllabus to include an air-air element (utilising more of the aircraft’s abilities), while allowing more dynamic exercises with which to assess trainees’ ability in a more dynamic and faster paced environment.

The phase will tie together and consolidate previous BFT teachings, making them more relevant and allow a more front line orientated end of course phase. As an upshot, the phase will also act as a small introduction to the Basic Fighter Manoeuvres Phase, as flown later in the training pipeline on the Hawk T2.

Stephen said: “My previous experience as a Hawk Tactical Weapons QFI made me the ideal guy to pull it all together. I was surprised and very honoured to be considered for a commendation.”