The Real Aeroplane Company (RAC) was founded in 1989 by Tony ‘Taff’ Smith as the operating company of his airstrip on the former World War two bomber base at Breighton, near Selby. It had been Taff’s dream to establish a flying group where like minded individuals could operate their ‘Real’ aeroplanes away from the pressures of normal aero club flying, in addition, he needed an operating base for his own growing collection of veteran aeroplanes – Breighton was the ideal setting.
Initially, the site consisted of a workshop, two hangars and four aeroplanes. It now has thirteen hangars and over forty magnificent flying machines in residency ranging from classic military types such as the Miles Magister and PT-22 to the very non-warlike Aeronca 100, which was built in 1936 one of very few factory built examples currently airworthy.