It relocated to RAAF Base Pearce in 1958, where it converted to De Havilland Vampire jet trainers.

Responsible at that stage for all flight instruction of air cadets, its aircraft initially included one Avro Anson, two De Havilland Tiger Moths, and 55 CAC Wirraways.

[2][3] In response to demands for more aircrew to fulfil Australia's commitments to the Korean War and Malayan Emergency, RAAF flying training underwent significant change in 1951–52.

1 Initial Flying Training School was raised at Archerfield, Queensland, to impart students with general aeronautical and military knowledge, after which they received flight grading on Tiger Moths.

1 AFTS relocated to RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia, to re-equip with De Havilland Vampire jet trainers.

Pearce's long runway made it more suitable for jet operations than the airfield at Point Cook.

In addition to flying training, the school was responsible for search and rescue operations off the West Australian coast, utilising C-47 Dakotas that were later augmented by a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter.

By the mid-1960s, the aging Vampires were increasingly prone to system failures and the RAAF began evaluating replacements.

[5] A team led by Air Commodore Brian Eaton selected the Italian Macchi MB-326H as the RAAF's new jet trainer, as it met all requirements, could be licence-built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia, and was relatively inexpensive.

By this time the Vampires had all been retired and ground staff were fully dedicated to work on the Italian jets, which nevertheless proved a more challenging proposition to maintain than its predecessor.

[5] The introduction of the Macchi led to a brief flirtation with "all-through jet training" in the Air Force between 1969 and 1971, as it was expected to reduce the time necessary to turn out high-quality aviators.

The practice was dropped after ten courses, being labelled "an expensive way of finding out that some pupils lacked the aptitude to become military pilots".

[4][5] The school began replacing its Macchis with Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainers in July 1989, the process being completed in September 1991.