Air Operations Acquaintance Centre

Run on volunteer staff, unless you have a large pool and in the Linton area is not likely, how do you provide a service?

The need is for real getting in the air flying.
The flight sim training may work well for people doing it for a living, but 12-18 years are not really impressed with sitting in front of a screen which that can do at home. The Air Cadets needs plenty of the sort of flying experiences that inspired or just gave them a thrill ride. The VGS “pause” and lack of anything really replacing it and problems within the AEF Tutor based set up, has allowed the RAF to believe that cadets will be just happy with computer games which are cheap and don’t carry the same dangers.

I don’t doubt that and I quite like the premise of what they do, but either we need more of these or a wider reach for the courses they run.

I’m not aware of something as gucci (any topic area) anywhere else that North don’t have and don’t ever see… Anyone?

Nothing down south

Operating a properly-put-together sim, with instruction is not something that the cadets can “do at home”, any more than pretty much anything else we do is.

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The full sims are pretty funky to use.

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But it has to be more than what this suggests.
We’ve had cadets do the PTT and we built it up for the first one and the cadets came back seriously underwhelmed. They did little / nothing more than they had done at the squadron and now it is seen as a box to tick. So if you were to put as I said the time commitment from staff and associated costs for going to this place or similar it needs to be off the scale. This doubt this is at that point and is little more than a fancier flight sim, in a place with an odd title.

A member of my staff has had this discussion with our RC and HQAC.

He is a qualified CFI and now teaches type raitings on 747s, circa 13k hours in his log book (probably more than most RAF pilots when they leave the RAF).

Now we have one of these Gucci flight sims on par if not better than the PTT ones…so why cant he sign off the sim work so they can go to the VGS and AEF for the actual flying bit

He probably could if he went and completed the PTT instructors training and delivered the syllabus at a PTT.

What you’re suggesting is like saying I’ve done lots of shooting so why can’t I just take a load of cadets on a range and show them how to shoot…

Its not really though is it. The staff member in question is a flight instructor and teaches people how to fly for a living with thousands and thousands of hours experience. He is qualified to a higher standard than VGS staff.

Its more like an artillery instructor teaching someone how to fire a spud gun.

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Well he isn’t is he? Unless he’s a QGI of some description?

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Lets not mix “levels” with “standards”. Unless a person holds the right ticket they cannot do a job, even though they may have the capability.

I like the concept of the AOAC and wish it was more widely available. I’m not so keen on the naming, nor whatever mythology they might have built around themselves to sell the idea (cf. QAIC, JL…)

I’m just gutted they’re a bit too far for us to travel to!!

The kit will be similar to this https://viperwing.com/f-18-flight-simulator/

I would love to have this sort of kit local

14 posts were split to a new topic: Using existing civilian or previously earned qualifications in the RAFAC

Following some recent comments on various social media platforms, the OC AOAC has released the following statement.

If you have any questions or queries, please do feel free to DM this account!

https://twitter.com/AOAC_ACRHQN/status/1164852900042088449?s=20

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Sorry, it really is “jobs for the boys & girls.” I’m probably around the same number of flt hrs, & in my assessment, anyone who has done a PPL syllabus could easily instruct the PTT lessons / demonstrate the PTT. It’s super-simple principles of flight / effects of controls lesson 1.

Just seeing Middleton’s name linked to the AOAC says it all - a huge distraction / waste of resources when the focus at the time (& now) should have been to get flying / gliding back on-line & fight tooth & nail for resources to do so. How much was granted from the RAF Charitable Trust? At least £250,000 & this FoI answer.

Now, if our cadets want to progress on the Aviation Syllabus, we have to trek up to 614 VGS for PTT (only); that’s a day of my time wasted - & yes, I do see it as wasted for what is on offer. I’d rather go 10 miles to our local BGA site & get cadets to do some real flying - last gliding for our cadets was at this BGA site about 2-3 yrs ago having jumped through all the hoops for ACTO35. Ah, now “prohibited” for flights in Non-Service Aircraft. :rage:

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@AOAC Why the St Edwards Crown on the unit crest/badge/whatever the term is, rather than the Astral Crown like almost every other RAFAC unit?

Just curious, do you have a direct CoC through RC(N), CAC, AOC 22 Gp or someone else?

Quick question. What has happened to the Air Operations Acquaintance Centre now that Linton-on-Ouse has closed?

Twitter has basically been dead since Oct 2019 apart from one sporadic post a couple of weeks ago about xmas

Is this the same AOAC otherwise known as the…

Cash sink white elephant personal glory project?