In all seriousness, it could just be a small bar with “AR” in it in either blue, bronze, silver or gold.
Doesn’t have to look like the thing it is. Leadership doesn’t look leadershippy, the road matching bar is just 3 coloured blocks, and radio and cyber - while being two distinct things - are virtually identical.
Might just be me on this, but this style (Please excuse me for not knowing its name) of RAF Uniform would be rather nice.
It’s the old flying jackets isn’t it?
Don’t like the socks though
I’m not sure on their exact name. Also I do believe those ‘socks’ are puttees, but just in the blue/grey colour.
Battle Dress isn’t it?
Battledress, 1947 Pattern, Blue-grey
Hmm. These were reputedly a lot nicer to wear than the War Service ones, but they’re not ideal. And blue blanco-ed '37-pattern belts/webbing was a bit of a pain.
Anklets…but often they were called gaiters
Negative- puttees were horrendous. Utterly. Think of ankle bandages made from new sacks
Thank you very much. I didn’t know a single bit of that before you said.
You should watch some episodes of the underated-but-good classic series “Get Some In”…highly-recommended. From my father’s National Service era, set 1950s into the 1960s, but filmed in the late '70s
Fag for the Corporal…
I don’t think any of you are being ambitious enough…
Why only go as far back as battle dress? Let’s go the whole hog and reintroduce the old full dress uniform with a standing collar, busby, and gold everywhere. Think big people!
Alternative implementations of uniform in the other Air Cadets formations of Her Majesty’s Air Forces overseas can be interesting.
This is a great picture of Air Cadets on parade in Canada (781 Calgary Sqn RCAirC) wearing C2 (best blues, no medals).
The RCAirC tunics can look smart, but they obviously need a lot of effort to achieve that result. Oddly, these are made from a felted/serge cloth that most people in the UK would associate with battledress, despite being tailored as belted jackets in a tailed/frocked style, and therefore look totally-different from the current style of RAF melton-clothed No1s
These were actually the style of No1 rougher uniforms worn by Other Ranks in the RAF and it’s reserves up into the 1960s, though over time the best blues for ORs and Offrs in the RAF have become almost-identical in both cut & cloth, mirroring the ORs/Offrs semi-formal dress convergence with British Army FAD and RN non-deck dress blacks)
What Canadian Air Cadets seem to get issued with is effectively dress trousers that are very-like our No2 dress trousers in smooth melton cloth, which they wear as working/barrack blues dress, but which they also wear with dress tunics made from thicker felted serge.
The RCAirC also do something that looks rather-odd to the eyes of current British Air Force people, in that they also sometimes wear their dress tunics with jumpers and no shirt/tie (C3)…worth remembering that this was common practice during WW2 in the broader RAF.
A Cadet variation upon that is dress tunics with no collared shirt/tie, but instead navy-blue teeshirts (yes, seriously), which is called C4.
I suspect the Canadian Air Cadets are only issued with short-sleeved shirts (sometimes worn with ties, airline pilot style), based upon pictures online, but I might be wrong about that
They also appear to wear excellent RCAF cold weather blues coats, which are all properly-badged, and are masses more practical than our jeltexs.
[Plus: I notice the Canadians have no problems about something that I have a SERIOUS disagreement about, and that is the official prohibition regarding the wearing of poppies on RAF outerwear (on our jeltex/goretex or ‘waterproof’ GPJs). I’ve pursued this formally through the CoC and been told there is no scope for change whatsoever: so, I continue to break the rules and wear a poppy on my GP jacket during Remembrance]
I do actually think it would be nice if we had a more formal No 1 uniform, in keeping with that of the British Army and Royal Marines.
I like the look of the high collar… Though rather than the good old full dress coat, a touch less gold would be fine.
A touch less gold? We need to show our tented friends our opulence old boy.
I’ve seen a few AEF pilots being awarded their ‘VR’ wings on social media recently.
Are these a new creation or a resurrection of something that previously existed?
I’m guessing @wilf_san might know about such things?
These are for NSPs (Non-Service Pilots) with SQEP status ( Suitably-Qualified & Experienced Persons) as Instructors On Type.
You may well see them worn by what has become a much-rarer creature nowadays ie the remnant RAFVR(T) Officer cadre, flying Tutors within 6AEF, in circumstances where that person has not passed through the traditional EFTS route to graduating with wings.
They should never be thought of as being second-class: a good way of thinking of them is just an alternative route/specialist & different in nature (in fact some of the wearers have been known to be superb truly-expert pilots, even a few at test-pilot level)
Initially (and somewhat famously) they were allegedly instituted specifically in the 1980s/90s for just one (now-retired, but forever-legendary) former OC of a certain northerly AEF. Holding status then as an RAFVR(CC) Sqn Ldr he proudly wore his with pride on a personal unique basis for quite a while, until they started to become a more-common sight.
Another good example of someone who I’ve seen wearing VR wings is a (presumably still serving) RAFVR(T) AEF pilot who came across with masses of experience from the AEG/Viking world (I think she was also a PPL): but, if ever there was a good example of a SQEP, she was it.
EDIT I think the wings were originally-intended to be worn by SAvOs (but not necessarily RAFVR(CC) Officers), who were Civil Servants required to wear uniform in the discharge of their duties. I’m trying to remember if they were actually RAFResO Class J commissions…things were complicated, with the reserves, before 1997. After which, it could fairly be said, they became accidently over-simplified: as many of us know only too well)
What’s the actual criteria to become a VR Pilot?
I would expect the exact criteria to be set (or at least enforced) by OC 6FTS: someone could fairly ask the question, and would receive an answer. It would include high hours as pilot-in-command of a comparable type, and full instructor capability (demonstrated and tested).
Also, as indicated as a response elsewhere on the forum: these individuals additionally must pass their OIC at ATF @Cranwell (preceded by an OASC boarding stream). As to whether or not they’re now also required to pass ROIT/APO/SERE modules at RAFC (following the eviction of us CFAVs from the formation) I do not know.
Basically whole ATPL with FI Rating and lots of experience.
I think this would probably be sufficient, but something I’m unclear about is any crossover into training UAS students by what would normally be any AEF-only instructors. I’m not sure if this still sets a threshold. Because…
A massive difference within the (original pre-rehash) UAS flying syllabus >was< the requirement for formation flying training, certainly for PFB . As to whether this still happens with new-world non-EFT UAS (ie nearly now just PPL+) I do not know…but surely someone on this forum will have an insight.
