Because our goal is to light the spark which is a love of actual aviation and not simply training a lathe operator.
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You can get away with explaining it like that - just - to someone who knows what youâre talking about.
But this argument is going to have to be made to those who donât know what youâre talking about. And thatâs not going to cut it.
We have to get smarter with what weâre asking for.
There is no better way to develop an interest in aviation than to get kids flying. For the ATC this isnât an optional extra and it isnât just about recruiting pilots for the RAF. Iâll bet that many of the engineers developing the unmanned aircraft of the future, will be those who themselves have an interest in aviation. Maybe even a few ex cadets.
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I give you the three aims of the ATC
To promote and encourage among young men and women a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
To provide training which will be useful in both the services and civilian life.
To foster a spirit of adventure and to develop the qualities of leadership and good citizenship.
Flying encourages a practical interest in aviation [tick]
Flying helps gain skills or at the very least an understanding of, planning, decision making, understanding limits, (in the format of traditional gliding) teamwork, that are useful in service and civilian life [tick]
Flying fosters the spirit of adventure [tick]
The skills gained in the Cadets are equally relevant to civilian life and are a ideal platform for those wanting to go into private aviation/GA flyingâŚ
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Flying is expensive there is no doubt about that, despite EasyRyan etc flying people for the cost of round.
The question Iâve asked myself is as a teenager with a keen interest in aviation (as I was and still am) would I join the AIR Training Corps, and hang around with so little chance to get away from a paper trail or computer screen. No.
I was lucky and joined the ATC when flying was front and centre in terms of activities, maybe aided and abetted by an RAF that had more than a handful of aircraft and places they flew themselves.
Trying to sell flying as something you do in a simulator to todayâs teenagers has little or no real appeal as it is something they can do in their bedrooms. Using the line âthe RAF uses simulatorsâ is empty as a rationale, as the RAF have been using simulators for years, but we never lost the real flying experience. My cadet squadron had a link trainer that had fallen into disrepair, but two of the staff remembered using it as cadets. We did try and get it working, but it never happened. So simulated flight has been around for decades, BUT we still had the real stuff. The only thing today is, the RAF has shrunk (in all ways) and canât facilitate the needs of 30000+ teenagers and so rather than looking to make it happen throw up all and any barriers to stop it happening, to try and keep what they have got, the know nothings at HQAC come up with a âprogressiveâ tick box system of training of classroom (yawn), simulator (yawn) and if you are lucky getting in a real aircraft, to validate some poxy badge system. By lucky Iâd want them picking my lottery numbers.
When I had my first Chippy flight I was 1st Class Cadet and it was awe inspiring and cadets that actually get into Tutors have that same experience. I do not understand how or why fannying around on a simulator adds anything to the experience.
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Have you seen a Part Task Trainer or had a go yourself?
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I agree with you to the extent that simulators and ground school should not replace flying. But done properly they should certainly augment the cadet flying experience. I recall my chippy days, the flying was great but the sitting in a crew room most of the day was a bit boring. Imagine cadets doing a lesson on aerobatics then getting instruction on a simulator Just before doing them for real at 20,000ft- that would be awesome.
It doesnât seem so rosy when the PTT/class is 2 hours to the north and the AEF is 90mins to the south (The VGS, for what is is worth is about 2½hrs south)
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Hammer / nail / head.
I use an EASA Level III (or maybe itâs IV) FFS for professional recurrent trg / instrument rating check.
The PTT is nowhere near a simulator of any kind; in conjunction with the gnd school lectures, it helps cadets understand / demonstrate basic effect of controls & a few other simple aspects. They have cost a great deal of money; personally, I think that their âbenefitâ is over-rated.
The VGS we attended for this (PTT) allocated 4 cadets for the morning session. From memory, it was 0900-1300 = leave sqn at 0730-ish, get back 1430-ish. Seven hrs for 4 cadets + one staff member - best use of resources?
One of the significant issues is that even looking at the future, this (PTT + gliding / AEF) will not be a âjoined upâ event; allocation of slots / availability of same cadets / timescale between events / differing locations will not link up. Iâm trying to cast my mind about 5 yrs before the âpauseâ hit us; give or take a couple of slots, for the year we were allocated something like 6 - 8 AEF & 4 - 6 VGS slots. Our AEF was about 45 mins away & the VGS about an hr.
Now you have to add in the PTT requirement to move forwards to the blue badge AND far less VGS options (locally for us, we donât have any idea about our VGS âfacilityâ future / location). Of course, the priority will be to try & schedule cadets so that they get the best options to achieve the blue badge soonest (i.e. if they have done PTT, they get first dibs at AEF / VGS) - but that might penalise other cadets who have to wait longer?
It is such poor planning not having them at the same location. You should be able to get your blue badge in one trip which would be easily done with the PTT at the AEF /VGS. Possibly an extra hour to be added at one end of the day but if the cadets were getting it all done at once Iâd happily do that and avoid having to give up another day later. (Though I think all of these blue badges are completely meaningless other than as a stepping stone)
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Every VGS has a PTTâŚ!
But not every VGS has gliders⌠AEFs & PTTs??
As you may well be aware, there isnât a Tutor PTT.
The anomaly lies with the fact that to gain blue/bronze A wings cadets have to have completed a PTT sessionâŚ! The PTT is Vigilant/Viking glider.
The progressive training has been implemented with little thought for the practicalities. 2FTS appear to have had full influence on this�
Yep⌠But âco-locationâ of facilities is sub-optimal, to say the very least. Whichever way you look at it, the PTT is a very simplistic trainer; if it could be used with motion, proper âfeelâ & all associated integration, then yes, keep it specific to VGS.
Thatâs not possible - so, if PTT use is going to be limited by location or allocation, move it to the associated AEF & get a staff cadet or 2 to be responsible for associated instruction. Otherwise, it is not optimising the best use of resources.
Even co-locating doesnât help that much as itâs fine for the afternoon detail, get to VGS in the morning do PTT then fly in the afternoon but thatâs nonise to the morning details. If we were insistent of going down this route we should have put the PTT into Wings so that they could be used easily before the cadets go to AEF or VGS. (I appreciate the cost/staffing issues involved in this, but it makes more sense than what we are doing now).
At an AEF (if you get to one) the day is the same as it was 40+ years ago, sit around waiting to go, trying not to have lunch before you fly and then recounting what you did with your mates. Trying to relate that to a simulator session more than a week ago would be almost impossible. As for doing aerobatics in a simulator, unless you have simulation of g forces it is a computer game.
What is all this talk of co-locating PTTs on AEFs or putting a PTT on every Wing, common sense talk like that is never on the agenda of the ivory towers. I do think the PTT on every Wing idea is a far better idea and much more cadet friendly.
Like incubus and no doubt many others, our potential VGS location and AEF are nowhere near each other, we could get a day at the VGS and AEF 2 or three months later, so that would be 2 days out for staff and cadets and no matter how you try and dress it up a lot of sitting around to achieve one little badge, this of course means that you turn up at the AEF and these all align; the weather is good enough, planes are serviceable and enough pilots. Get anyone of those not happening and it would be a day wasted, with the next opportunity another 4/5 months, by which time anything the cadets picked up on a PTT would be as vague a memory as their 5th birthday party.
I would sooner turn up wait around have a flight and go home, like we have for years. Over the last few years, there seems to be a theme of doing lots of things to keep cadets busy all day when going to places. I quite like going to a VGS or AEF and watching a vid, reading the paper, doing a crossword, racking some zeds and so on. Having to faff around coming up with and organising things to try and keep cadets busy, in case they get bored isnât what Iâm into. If they are going flying / gliding that should be enough âexcitementâ to prevent them getting bored. I have never got bored having a relaxing day, even as a teenager in a pre-device world, we needed little more than a ball and an area to kick it around on.
I donât disagree with you.
The progressive Flying/gliding syllabus has been implemented with little thought. In particular prior to the planned 10 VGS sites becoming available for use.
It wouldâve made more sense to continue with Flying/gliding as before, waited until all VGS/AGS sites were in place and then planned how to deliver the progressive stuff?
What has happened has created chaos, a lot of it due to little or no planning as to how to deliver with limited options, and no release of information to AEFs regarding what was required.
There was very much a âget on with itâ attitude so how this stuff is managed from site to site differs.
2FTS are responsible for all PTT delivery. If you look at how that is managed itâs not as simple as putting a couple of staff cadets in charge of themâŚ!
Surely thatâs only on the 6th Friday in June if your name is Gloria, you have no baggage, hand luggage, wearing pink underpants and not being allowed access to air in the cabin?
Maybe but it can happen.
Depends where you buy your round, tbfâŚ
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