In the last episode of Combat Pilot the trainees embark on the final phase of their training with a place on the frontline at stake. They've already seen one of their original group fall by the wayside after Flying Officer Richard Fawkes struggled to cope with the reality of being a fighter pilot, but will the others make it through?

As the trainees enter the most demanding phase of the course, the group is split up further as Squadron Leader Dave McBryde remains in Wales and Flying Officers Mark Baker and Lee Ahern, from Abergavenny are sent to Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada, with Valley unable to meet the extent of the RAF's demand for fighter pilots.

The emigrants take immediately to their new surroundings in Alberta, with pilots from all over the world, some fresh from service and a vast air space, allegedly the size of three quarters of Europe to fly in.

The final stages of training involve a weapons exercise in Valley's multimillion pound weapons simulator, low level flying and an exercise in evading an incoming missile or spike while inside the cockpit.

Almost a year to the day that they embarked on the course, the trainees gather in the Officers' Mess to learn their fate. It's not as simple as being told whether they've passed or failed, the pilots will also be assigned a particular aircraft to fly in.

For Dave McBryde, the tension is almost unbearable. A navigator for 18 years in the Tornado F3 before being accepted onto the training scheme at Valley, Dave is desperate to become a combat pilot in the same plane.

But the trainees must undergo a bizarre ritual involving a wheel of fortune, a football and a lot of alcohol before they find out if they've finally earned their wings.

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