Fails on every level of W3C rules
As mentioned, well hidden away & not advertised.
The large buttons at the bottom of the schematic link to different documents; still very depressing reading - & action day for notification of VGS staff plans only made on 24 JunâŚ
The air cadets who learnt to fly in treesâŚ
That picture reminds me of the wheeled frame-mounted Cheetah engine which I learned to taxi aircraft with as an apprentice! No brakes, just steering and what felt like a chuffing great engine on the front.
Just been told that a cadet from our Region is attending the camp next week, on a Solo gliding course! I didnât hear much about it but great news for that lad. Hopefully the start of more solo opportunities.
Just to add context, so people can take an informed view when HQAC start spinning about how wonderful they are and that gliding is rampant like never before in the ACO - as a cadet in about 1991, I and four other cadets from just my Sqn attended a solo gliding camp.
As a cadet of that period, about a quarter to a third of the cadets I knew throughout my wing who were over 16 had flown a glider solo.
So one cadet per region? Not exactly a solid âAâ result, is it, Air Commodore?
Just thought it was at last a start, things wonât be as they were I guess. You guys seem far more clued up on gliding/flying. Our local cadet is a lucky boy!
I say gliding course but not sure if any Vikings are flying again yet, I know there are Vigilants up and running. Flying is flying
as an experience, probably yes, but the ability to learn about flying in a Glider to the point of going solo gave cadets (ime/imo) something they never got from a half hour AEF in a Chipmonk however much the pilot let them take control.
while pretty much everyone i know enjoyed an AEF trip, the Gliding course was what took people from enjoying a trip in an aeroplane to wanting to fly (or, in my case, showed me that while i enjoyed being in the air, actually flying the thing held no interest for me whatsoeverâŚ).
donât get me wrong - a quick and dirty win is still a win, and it pleases me beyond words that cadets are finally getting back into the air - but i fear that the loss of that visceral, seminal moment in a cadets life is going to deprive those kids of one of the most powerful motivating forces they will ever experience, and that their lives, whatever direction they go in, will be a great deal poorer as a result.
The whole flying experience in the Corps has been watered down so much as to be almost non-existent, box ticked for the bean counters in the MOD.
We only send newer cadets on camp so they might get a flying experience, which is a real annoyance as it is the best learning experience for NCOs to hone skills and gain experience and those who are being considered for promotion to get a broader experience.
The fact that after 2½ years of no gliding and nothing as far as I know coming out saying it when it will return definitely, that people are able to retain lucratively salaried jobs is beyond my comprehension. I canât imagine a senior manager in the company I worked for staying in their job for as long, if one of the products under their auspice went missing from the shops for 2½ weeks.
In my day we got one GS per year per sqn and because I was on holiday I missed out (why the CO couldnât have waited a week baffled me then and still does), so the fact that years later we were able to apply for places and get more on a need basis was a real bonus and I went out of my way to get cadets the chance. Even now when I see old cadets for the ones who did it, their GS was the highlight even if they didnât solo, because it was an opportunity they wouldnât get anywhere else. They even speak about flying in operational aircraft at camp and doing aeros on AEF. I bumped into an old cadet mate at a wedding and the first thing he mentioned was the flying and at the time it was 34 years ago. Everything else was hazy but he remembered that vividly.
So for people to think that flying in the Corps isnât important are talking out of their backsides. I feel for the CO when we have an intake and they talk about flying as for the last 4/5 intakes itâs almost been glossed over as this is something we do, just like shooting and camps. The things being highlighted are things that I used to gloss over.
This fact is not imo appreciated by 2FTS or anyone else in the higher command (despite the fact many would have done a GS and even FS), if it was then the fact they have procrastinated about getting gliding back as a proper and viable activity or provide an alternative is accentuated and just shows the low level of commitment they have to the cadets they are supposed to serve. If you had staff on the sqn showing such a low level of commitment their reason for being in the Corps would be questioned. Just because you have served in the RAF, took retirement and to maintain a way of life too good to lose took on a role in the ATC, doesnât mean you should be exempt from similar questioning, in fact because you are getting paid rather well for a retiree it should be more so. If you are coming into the ATC you are here for main reason the cadets and the experience you can help facilitate for them. I think itâs high time that all roles in the senior roles ATC were volunteer, after all the ACMB are on a handsome RAF pension and IIRC CAC on two in her family. If they have to get a job to make ends meet as the pension doesnât quite stretch far enough, it might just actually make them appreciate the people on sqns a little bit more.
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At least they havenât scraped the idea of soloâs fully imagine that!!! Iâm excited to see at least some cadets taking to the sky at last but agree, on a much bigger scale would be nicer 
I never did a GS (BGT) in my day but was on the list, did get lots of Fam trips though loved it
We recently had a visit from a recently appointed Regional Staff Officer responsible for flying (resplendent in his new Wing Commanderâs uniform) to tell us about gliding. Apart from merely reciting the âcompany lineâ he repeatedly said three things:
âWe are where we are.â as some sort of reason for staying there (up s**t creek without a paddle and facing the wrong way?)
âI donât know much about air cadet glidingâ in which case what is he doing there? There must be hundreds of CFAVs with a lifetime experience of air cadet gliding.
âWe are responsible for other peopleâs childrenâ to which I pointed out as a civil airline pilot I had been for decades. Whilst he is perfectly correct is working out that grounding all aircraft will stop all flying accidents it is hardly what we should be doing.
I do not know what others think, but shouldnât a senior VR(T) officer be fighting to save air cadet gliding instead of just agreeing with what the Group Captain says, or is that why no Wing and Region staff positions are held by civilians who might have an opinion of their own and be prepared to state it.
Maybe not thirty pieces of silver, but three blue rings instead.
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Saying Iâm responsible for flying and then saying I donât know much about it is classic for a âcompany manâ as someone put into a job as theyâre likely not to cause any problems. I imagine a life-long flyer would ask awkward questions and not be happy with the stock answers. When we get people like this put into prime roles, itâs no wonder we are experiencing the problems we have been.
Why anyone from the volunteer side should worry if they upset one of ACO gliteratti baffles me, itâs not like youâd lose money if they kicked you out of the job.
The âresponsible for other peopleâs childrenâ (âtotal safetyâ) line seems to be at the crux of things currently and for me is a glorious cop out. There are thousands of schools and colleges and universities who are âresponsible for other peopleâs childrenâ much more than we are and they donât stop doing things or get as excited about it as the ATC seems to be recently. They take reasonable precautions but canât cover every single eventuality, as seems to be the line from Cranwell. Maybe we should give the ACMB and others at Cranwell and elsewhere with responsibility for the ATC proper jobs to worry about rather than fringe things. Not that safety is a fringe thing but it shouldnât be given the profile it is, because it implies that we are and have been unsafe.
Iâd like to know what happened to project looking at annual camps that the CO spoke about a few years ago? I suppose the people doing it got bored as it was proving difficult.
Well, after a year of pushing & prodding, getting the relevant revision to ACTO35, plus extensive liaison with our local gliding club, our approval from 2FTS for cadets to fly in ânon-Serviceâ gliders has come through. Grateful thanks to CAPE SO2 for the assistance & flexible approach.
Yes, we will have to pay, but hopefully it will kick-stsrt our cadets into looking at gliding as a core activity!
If you are near a suitable gliding club, there is no reason why your sqn shouldnât look into this option.
Weâre already looking into it with the 2 of the gliding clubs near to the Sqn.
Done this now for both powered flying & gliding. If anyone wants guidance concerning the ACTO35 paperwork, please let me know.
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Our main issue is how did you jump through the DBS hoop?
From what I have seen, you canât escape the DBS aspect.
Itâs not about escaping, itâs how did you get them done if the pilots donât already have it?
Easiest route would be as CWC members which forgoes a lot of BS, assign as such on local sqns and away you go, or, the ATC stumps up the cash for the clearances from the unused gliding budget.
With everything there are get ways to get around things, you just need the will to do it. The problem we have is that the hierarchy lack imagination and canât see beyond the skin on their eyeballs. At school we have some parents who come in to assist less able children with reading and maths at lunchtime, they are all DBSd by the school and given the usual CP âwalk aroundâ.
It would however give someone a job to come up with a dozen policies and forms and several meetings (with tea, coffee and assorted cakes and biccies) to discuss ⌠so donât expect anything this side of Christmas 2021.
This was completed under the direction of RC LASER, in fairness I think this was mostly picked up by the ARC as obviously the RC has recently changed and may have been busy retirement planning.
This Camp Review Presentation was given at the 2016 ACO Convention.
The ACO Camp Study Final Document can be found on SharePoint in the LASER Site.
So there has been output from the Camps Review, what action/change is actually being taken as a result Iâm not too sure, I think in most cases this will be down to individual Wings and Volunteer Staff to organise moving forwards.