Air League
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| Founded | 1909 |
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| Type | Charity |
| Location |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Patron) Andrew Brookes (Director) Brian Burridge (President) |
| Slogan | Keep Britain at the forefront of Aviation. |
| Website | www |
The Air League is a not-for-profit aviation society in the United Kingdom, founded in 1909.
Over 100 years after it was formed, the Air League’s mission is to enhance national understanding of the importance to the UK of aviation and aerospace, and to excite young people’s interest in these areas by helping them get involved. The Air League Trust is now the major provider of powered flying, ballooning, gliding and engineering scholarships and bursaries to young people and disabled veterans.
The Patron of the Air League is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the current President of the Air League is Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge.
Founded in 1909 originally as The Aerial League of The British Empire, The Air League was formed to counter ‘the backwardness and apathy’ shown by the UK in the face of emerging aeronautical developments and to stress the ‘vital importance from a commercial and national defence point of view of this new means of communication’.
The founders of the Air League were concerned that Britain was falling behind other nations in the development of its aviation capability. The popular image of early flying in this country might be that of well heeled young adventurers seeking new thrills, but amidst the razzamatazz, serious minds were at work. They foresaw the threats, both military and commercial, to the country’s future wellbeing if aviation was not made central to government thinking. It was due in no small measure to their foresight and determination that when the First World War broke out five years later, Britain was taking aviation sufficiently seriously to be able to develop and produce aircraft that could hold their own in the rapidly evolving scramble for air superiority.
In 1938 The Air League founded the Air Defence Cadet Corps, which is now Air Training Corps.
The Mission of the Air League is to generate national understanding of the importance to the UK of aviation and aerospace, and to excite the interest of young people in these areas by helping them to become involved. The Air League has seven key aspects of interest:
Promoting air-mindedness in the young by encouraging and assisting them to follow careers in aviation and the aerospace industry. Awarding scholarships and bursaries to assist deserving young people to learn to fly. Awarding engineering scholarships to assist deserving young people to gain experience of the aerospace industry
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Wikipedia