Mark Hillier

Royal Flying Corps Combat Flying Log Mark Hillier

Reginald Collis joined the newly formed Royal Flying Corps in June 1912. Trained initially as an Air Mechanic, he was quickly selected for flying training and took his first flight in January 1913, becoming only the third Air Mechanic and the 14th NCO in the RFC to receive Royal Aero Club certification. Collis knew and flew with a virtual Who's Who of aviation greats, including Trenchard, McCudden and Lanoe Hawker. He became an instructor, training many future aviation personalities, before being sent to France as a newly-commissioned second lieutenant with 6 Squadron in June 1915. Collis experienced aerial combat in the earliest days of the war, and recorded every "dogfight", "Archie" encounter and mechanical failure in great detail in his log book. One of the earliest known examples to have survived, Collis's unique flying log book is presented here in full, along with many historical photos, accompanied by extensive historical notes and meticulous research by well-known aviation author Mark Hillier.