RAF Valley

Initially named RAF Rhosneigr, before becoming RAF Valley some two months later, the airfield opened in February 1941 and has been the home of many different aircraft in its more than 80 year lifetime. During World War II, for example, the station operated as a fighter station which defended Merseyside and the Irish Sea from enemy air and sea activity and, from 1943, became a staging post for USAAF aircraft arriving to help the war effort.

In the years following the war, RAF Valley became a flying training station for both the RAF and Royal Navy and is now the home of No 4 Flying Training School which operates the BAE Hawk TMk2, an advanced jet trainer. From late 2019, RAF Valley became the home of Basic Flying Training; the second phase of Fast Jet training for the RAF and Royal Navy. Basic Flying Training uses the Texan T1 advanced turbo-prop trainer to prepare students for Advanced Flying Training on the Hawk T2 jet trainer.

Plane spotters would be advised to check out the Valley Aviation Society who, in addition to a regular presence at the colloquially named spotter’s car park, also have advice for the best locations to take photographs of the various aircraft that use the base and host a variety of events throughout the year. Membership prices range from £6 to £12 annually.

There are no fixed flight times at the base, though members of the Aviation Society will often share advanced information in their private Facebook group.