Really. Never heard of this.
This needs much better advertising in that case.
Starting to think my WATTO is doing next to diddly squat.
Ā£1000 for an ML. That does seem quite steep (excuse the pun).
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What region are you in? If itās LaSER, SW or W&W then I know theyāre all doing a lot of stuff for the region.
If you believed the hassle that has been caused by people travelling within their own region for courses I would hate to see what came out if we moved to a central location for everyone.
As a side note, we have a MOU with the SCC for delivery of shooting courses and lots of ACF come to our SATTs, I see no reason why the AT people couldnāt move between forces.
If anything the ACF prefer us to Frimley due to either travel or personality issues.
Iāve seen the opposite of this within LaSER. Itās very much encouraged to use the resources of surrounding wings.
It was somewhere very unique and a lot of the cost was travel.
But I think even Plas Y Brenin are quoting Ā£700+
Iāve done a course with CCAT, admittedly and rightly we are low down on the list. My partner (SCC) was looking at doing her LLA with SW region. I know that the Windermere/Fairbourne courses are under subscribed. The courses are out there. We just need to encourage people to get on them. Squadrons or Wings should also encourage and even pay for course if that directly benefits the cadets.
It is a faff. It took me over 10 years to work to my ML but well worth it.
I do reckon it comes from Wings that have a strong AT team but also encouragement nationally and regionally is good. Again, weāve all seen the times when someone says, itās on sharepoint, expecting some level of telepathy involved that everyone should be hovering over their computer to see if events have been added!
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We can also, or at least could, apply to do courses with the regulars.
I looked into doing a canoeing course with them a while back, the biggest hurdle was getting a full RAF swim test signed off my an RAF PTI (Overkill IMO, my ability to swim 100m in a pool in coveralls is almost completely unrelated to my ability to swim out of a flowing river in a BA.)
However, the regulars donāt fully utilise BC qualifications, you can apply for the course to be recognised by BC, but it didnāt seem to me to be worth the hassle.
You could sign in to the AT portal on MODnet using the @Mod version of our email addresses once upon a time. (These have always existed, even before they became the standard format.)
Both the Squadronās Iāve commanded have done exactly that.
The way Iāve always had it agreed is that the individual pays to register with Mountain Training and the CWC then pay the cost of the individual courses.
So LLA with ESM ends up costing the individual Ā£47 (subject to price rises from MT) and the Squadron Ā£90.
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We got removed from the JSP so looks like we canāt anymore. @redowling and I were discussing this somewhere on here a while ago.
Iād leave RAFAC and shift to ACF, honestly think there would be a struggle to replace me as an OC given I was the only applicant when appointed in March.
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Thatās true, in exactly the same way the ACF are a lower priority for attending our courses at Windermere etc.
That said, Iāve never not gotten on a course (theyāve only been binned due to lack of numbers) - I did my UKCC Level 1 with them, ML assessment, TCL training & assessment, WMF and WCF, WW kayak leader training and probably some others Iāve forgotten about. All at Ā£30 a course.
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You guys apply for OC? Here itās like shaking a bucket and seeing what comes out. You get what youāre given OC wiseā¦
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A lot wouldā¦
Thatās a whole other issue that needs sorting, getting staff in uniform, making command attractiveā¦
Iād like to be very clear that Iām talking about an aviation fantasy world, a fantasy world where everything aviation is possibleā¦
It isnāt realistically possible within our structure - Iāll remain grateful to our AT folks for what they do (and hope for some local qualifications!) and do my best to fix the areas of aviation I can - which being a mere pleb is not a lot.
As a unit OC my civ com fund courses for anyone who want to do them, the second part is getting staff interested in AT. Weāve done staff only training in climbing and mountain walking, invite staff up to visit on evenings on Expeds etc.
Result is we have a massive pool of AT staff, as big as the rest of the wing combined.
I went through the process to become a LLA course director last year with @redowling which will hopefully mean we can start providing more courses for staff, which will hopefully provide accessible opportunities at Region level.
Paddle sport wise there was some great opportunities pre COVID, and a couple post Covid too, and the lower level quals from BC have provided a great entry level starting point.
I agree with AT quals being harder to get, because itās in line with the risk involved.
When I was OC, I was able to get some funding towards courses, sending cadets to specialist camps, etc.
I had to fight abit, but can be done. However (and a big however), my squadron was very well off in the coffers, and was able to do that, and easily refill the money.
Iād like to do a course that NACATC donāt offer, and even with AndyRās recommendation Iām struggling to convince Sqn/Wg to contribute to me doing it with a private provider
What course out of interest?
Whatās the course, and whatās their current objection(s)?
something niche that I think <5 CFAVs have, Iām likely to blow my cover if I say anymore! 
they have their reasons, which is fair enough (not that I agree!), and I think discussing them would sound like sour grapes. I do actually get on with the person who made the decision, so itās slightly frustrating I donāt agree with them on this particular point!