Founded in London in 1966 and limited to 100 active members, the Air Squadron encompasses pilots from all walks of life, including farmers, surgeons, ex military personnel and investment bankers, all of whom have in common a passion for flying.
The Air Squadron has close links with the air arms of the three British services and does a lot of work with R.A.F. charities. Members also take air cadets and instructors flying in their own aircraft. A sword of honour is presented annually to the top air cadet at R.A.F. Cranwell and another to the top U.S.A.A.F. cadet.
Each year the Air Squadron arranges trips abroad for its members, a recent venture being a round-the-world flight via Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Siberia to Alaska, a trip which took the 10 participating aircraft 36 days to complete.
This year, for the first time, the chosen destination was Menorca, influenced by the fact that one of the members, Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen, owns a villa overlooking Maó harbour and another, Sir Jeremy Bagge, is a resident in Ses Salines.
Eleven aircraft, including a Piper Super Cub, Cessnas, a Beech Bonanza, a Beech Baron and an Aztec, made their way to the island arriving between Wednesday and Friday; some, like Rodney Blois, a Suffolk farmer who flies a Cessna 172, taking the journey leisurely and stopping in France for meals.
For the majority of the pilots and their companions this was an introduction to the island and, despite the fact that the visit will be brief with most returning to the U.K. on Tuesday, they are managing to fit in a variety of activities, including horse riding, sailing and a visit to the Illa del Rei, and one of the group, Martin Gosling, flew his Robin DR400 in Sunday's air race, finishing in sixth place.
Menorca seems to have made a good impression on the group with many, such as vascular surgeon John Scurr, owner of a turboprop and a helicopter, determined to return in the future.
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