There is/was one at Henlow still being used, aerotowed. Glides like a brick.
so i wrote to Dr Murrison with this pointâŚhis reply is perhaps predictable as it doesnât answer the points being raised.
I will happily take any suggestions offered for suitable replies in reaction to his
Get him to push for a new (simple!) protocols so that cadets can return to flying in Non-Service AircraftâŚ
âCan you help improve our ability to get cadets flying?â
âWe have more CCF cadets now which is great!â
Am I missing something, or is the answer completely irrelevantâŚ
yes and no.
yes - you have missed he is a politician and therefore unable to answer a direct question with a direct answer, or one relevant to the question
no - the answer is completely irrelevant, see above
Not only does it not address the question, but it indicates how relevant it is - there is more demand (due to expansion in CCF) yet no provision for the flying opportunities to match that demand
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It is very interesting that he took the small section âincrease oppurtinuties in cadetsâ and foccused on the general oppurtunities (Which I am sure the increase of CCFâs has helped to make) rather the flying oppurtunities.
While I wish we could get a straight answer out of a politician these days though.
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What shocks me most is him referring to you as Steve while you called him Dr MurrisonâŚ
Oddly too familiar in my opinion. Youâre his constituent, not his friend.
Has an increase in the number of CCF cadets also led to an increase in general funding for the RAFAC? As if not, then that increase has actually made things worse in terms of budget per cadet.
If you mean funding down from the RAF, I heard that funding this Financial Year is down by over 20%; that the reason for the awaited reduction in VA day fiasco 
And if my memory serves me correctly the initial funding for new CCF units was limited in terms of years (2/3) ? Its another case of a lack of joined up thinking made worse by a belief that synthetic training ( certainly useful in military training) is a direct substitute for the thrill of that first glider launch and the real teamwork experienced on a working glider airfield.
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Why would it if the majority of new CEP CCFs are army or Navy sections?
Iâve heard of very few RAF AC CEPs with one of the blockers being that if they start a second section they have to get a completely separate cadet management system.
Funding is for five years I believe & then it becomes a standard grant.
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I mean, how many ânewâ CCFs actually have a RAF Section? my CCF has had one for some time⌠our expansion has gotten us a RN Section, and the only other CCFs I know of are Army only and have no plans to expand to RAF Sections⌠then again I was in Wales and there are precisely⌠last I checked, something in the order of single digits.
As for opportunities I can only lament. I spoke to one of the seniors who left two years before me, who spoke of multiple opportunities to fly per year. Thanks to a mix of âcovidâ and various and assorted unserviceability problems, I had, in my 5 years as a CCF (RAF) Cadet achieved the grand total of one sortie. Which quite frankly was and is disheartening.
Westminster? Is that you? Or am I dreaming?
Yep if you want a multi section CCF you can use a single system to manage both if you have ARMY & RN or you can two sections working on two independent systems with RAF + one other.
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RAFAC doesnât do itself any favours, does it? What are the arguments (if any) in favour of using the separate Bader system over Westminster?
Sunk cost fallacy
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That and the VR(T)/ATC/RAFAC âexceptionalismâ Iâve spent the best part of a decade fighting againstâŚ
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Certainly seems this way more and more 
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Many new CCFs have RAF sections. In fact, some have ONLY RAF sectionsâŚ
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Now might be a good time to point out that the original idea for CEP was under Gordon Brown, who wanted it to happen without any additional funding. That led to a proposal for the MOD to close the âfive worst performing CCFsâ every year to fund it. Nobody could agree what that meant and it didnât happen. Then there was indeed some funding for CEP, with quite a lot short term (e.g. LIBOR fines) rather than long.
How am I not surprised. I mean, worst performing CCF is⌠a term open to interpretation.
Now I think about it, what metric would you even define that by?
But I must admit the last couple of years made me extremely nervous for CCF (RAFâs) future. Thanks to Covid, and my particular school putting on other stuff, everyone who wouldâve progressed to be a senior evaporated overnight. The year above mine didnât have the skills to run a CCF, and I was stuck on my own trying to teach 2 lessons a week because I was the only senior cadet with MOI.
Obviously Flying Opportunities have gone out the window, as iâve achieved the grand total of 2 flights (one courtesy of the French Cadet Forces on IACE) in 5 years in. Not helped by the fact our local VGS got vanished, so most of us canât even progress up the wings classification because not enough Sim time.
People see this, go âheh, this isnât air cadets, thereâs no flyingâ, leave, and so RAF slowly contracts. Then of course we get our âstrategic pauseâ and that worries me even more. Honestly I just wish some more funding or at least thought would go into AEFs. Itâs not as if itâd go amiss.