Yep. We don’t fly (10 AEF are offline), we don’t glide, yet according to our Wing gliding bod, the PTT must be completed in the same calendar year as the qualifying flight.
Should we be surprised?
This is what happens when you try and do something and all the parts aren’t in place and the people setting it up / organising it are only interested in getting it launched and not the nuts and bolts of the operation.
Just look at the total mess with the revamped “VGS”. Just ploughed on with and no idea when or even if they’d have gliders to put there and then spending many thousands “doing them up” and they may never get properly used. The money was diverted from as I recall RFCA money, putting back squadron new builds and stopping maintenance. I am surprised that HQAC haven’t started to ‘plunder’ sqn funds, expecting sqns to contribute and fund raise.
There is a track record for this. When the LASER Review was launched the cadet side had more varieties than Heinz.
One of the problems with this no one in full time employ really wants to take ownership. Flying in the ATC has become a fiasco and being split doesn’t help. They need someone getting paid a small fortune to take on and consolidate the whole of flying in the ATC At he moment we have gliding (well we don’t), flying (sort of) done by the “RAF” and HQAC sitting in the middle being clueless, despite being the ones coming up badge schemes.
Within 12 months I could understand (still a bit stupid though), but within the same calendar year is madness.
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Even within 12 months is a nonsense.
Between mid 2013 and the end of 2014 we had 4 out of 5 consecutive flying details cancelled either weather or not enough pilots, so a period of around 18 months and then 5AEF moved and joke of no weekend air traffic. So if we’d had this scheme c.5½ years ago even on a 12 month basis cadets would have “timed out” of PTT currency and none of it their fault.
Why do HQAC think it is OK to penalise cadets for something out of their control, just because HQAC want to introduce ridiculous rules. Who is the ATC for; young people or former RAF Officers to play at RAF? My money is on the latter.
Why don’t we have people running the organisation who actually understand how it really is and not just some theoretical notion of what happens, while they are pimping their pensions.
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my thoughts exactly!!
this would put a nail in the coffin of any PTT offered after September, if only because the chances of a having a “flying window” in the winter are slimmer so why bother going for a PTT when stage 2 (the flying bit - which is already once in a blue moon) is less likely in the winter months…
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TBH if he refuses to sanction wings because of his made up rules that bear no resemblance to the regs I’d go above his head. Either to Wg Cdr or the RAvO. Or just award them and update Bader accordingly.
Wouldn’t work in a month of Sundays - we had our last AEF in Oct cancelled (strong winds, not the AEF’s fault), next allocation is in Feb. With paucity of PTT slots too, a one year window = impossible.
It’s bad enough chasing badges as it is, never mind throwing in more obstacles.
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The Gliding or AEF programme sheet should cover this. It is signed by the Sqn before arrival and by the VGS or AEF once training complete with a record of what cadet achieved what. It should (I presume) then be held by the Sqn with a copy to Wing Aviation Officer?