On 3 February, the Director was quoted in an article in The Times on the importance of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to British aviation and security.

Following a speech by the Chief of the General Staff advocating cheaper alternative to fast jets, the Director of the Air League was quoted in The Times on 22 January 2010 underlining the importance of Typhoon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to British defence. He was interviewed on the BBC Today progamme on 23 January.

On 13 January 2010, the Director appeared on BBC and Sky News to comment on the arrival of the first Chinook Mk3 helicopters at RAF Odiham.

Following the 15 December decision to disband RAF fast-jet units and delay the Nimrod MRA4 to fund equipment for the Afghan conflict, the Director warned in 'The Times' that the MoD was once again engaged in saving money in the short term at the expense of greater costs in the long term. Coincidentally, the National Audit Office took the MoD to task for making a short-term saving of £450 million on the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier project by delaying the building programme, only to find that in the long term the cost would rise by £674 million.

In the Daily Telegraph, the Director said that the cuts raise the risk to the UK in the event a future conflict with a modern state armed with combat jets and bombers. He said: “If you cut back the premier league capability of UK forces in order to win a counter insurgency campaign against the Taliban, which has no air force and has no tanks and has no warships, when you finally do pitch up against a state that has those capabilities you could end up losing a conflict that really matters."

The Director also appeared on the BBC 'Today' programme to counsel against hollowing-out the UK's major war fighting capability. He underlined that the UK had been involved in four unforeseen inter-state conflicts over the past three decades.

The Air League Educational Trust is offering flying bursaries to be flown in the summer of 2010. The awards are for a fixed sum of money, sufficient to cover between 3 to 5 hours flying, to assist young flyers to gain additional flying qualifications or to renew a rating in their licences.

Applicants must be permanently resident in the UK who hold a current pilot’s licence issued by the CAA, which includes a valid SEP (Land) aircraft rating and valid medical certification.

The closing date for completed application forms is 26 February 2010.

Send your name and address to scholarships@airleague.co.uk for an application form or download an application form now.

The Air League Educational Trust is offering one or two week long engineering scholarships during June-August 2010. The scholarships provide a placement in the UK aerospace industry for young people considering careers as aerospace engineers.

The competition is open to young people permanently resident in the UK who are at least 17 but under 26 on 1 April 2010.

The closing date for completed application forms is 26 February 2010.

Send your name and address to scholarships@airleague.co.uk for an application form or download an application form now.

The Air League Educational Trust is offering gliding scholarships to be flown in the summer of 2010. The awards offer the opportunity for solo glider pilots or Air Cadets who have reached Gold Wings standard to gain gliding experience and qualifications with cross-country gliding, aerobatic gliding or SLMG flying at civilian gliding schools.

Applicants must be permanently resident in the UK who have reached their 16th but not their 26th birthday on 1 April 2010 with relevant gliding experience for the activity being applied for.

The closing date for completed application forms is 26 February 2010.

Send your name and address to scholarships@airleague.co.uk for an application form or download an application form now.