In fairness it is cheaper to higher in transport as you need it. Also, if you strike up a good relationship with a decent hire firm (we use a local independent) then you get good discounted rates… And access to a fleet so always have the right vehicle for the job be it minibus/van etc…
Depends how much you paid for your Bus, with a grant we got ours brand new for less than £5K and at my last Squadron with a grant we paid £15K.
It also depends how much you use it, pre-lockdown ours was out at least every other week.
and how you use it.
as a D1 driver i have driven the bus more times on a parade night than on the weekends.
an hours round trip to the local climbing wall or other similiar event is straightforward in a SOV, but hiring requires pick up before the office closes and drop off when the office opens which extends the use of the bus by several hours prior to use and an overnight requirement…
i am not sure how a local independent might cost such use, but that would be two days hire for the firm i default to for personal tasks (when needing a van) which makes the transport to the climbing wall upwards of £80 before fuel…
Yeah agreed, climbing, paddling, navigation training all sorts of stuff on parade nights.
It’s Cluster day. Good luck to everyone involved with it. Hope you get plenty of flying in and let us know how it goes.
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Despite the issues running up I have no doubt a lot of Cadets will turn up and have a great day.
Quite a big event in the current COVID climate too so hopefully it opens up a better mindset around viability of those events.
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I hope all the cadets going have a great time.
frustrated to see that the event on SMS is still in Draft . . . will HQAC please learn to use their own systems in line with their own policy!
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The Scottish Sea Kayak expedition is properly documented & approved 
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lol well done
Reports from users on the ACC Discord that the cluster isn’t particularly organised . . . shocking.
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Literally the first two paragraphs of ACTO 10 make completely clear that the use of SMS to record and authorise is mandatory, and that it applies at all levels, specifically including RHQs and HQAC.
@james_elliott sorry to call you out on this, but this is your policy. Why is it allowed to be ignored so frequently by RHQs and HQAC? If there is a reason where this had been allowed by the command board, should the policy be updated? And if there is an accident, what happens then as it’s not approved? I’ve been told time and time again if I do an activity that’s not approved, out stray away from what’s in my admin order I’ll get in a hell of a lot of trouble as I’m then not indemnified by the MOD if something goes wrong.
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Let’s be clear, no CFAV ‘owns’ any policy in the RAF Air Cadets. Policies are developed and authorised by the RAFAC Command Board and enforced by HQ RAFAC Desk Officers, Regional Commandants and their deputies - which includes ARCs, WExOs etc.
If we are concerned that ACTO 10 has not been followed and that is going to give rise to a serious safely concern, that should be raised with the relevant chain of command.
If you would like to report concerns to me directly, please email oc.vsdt@ and I will be happy to raise at the OF-5 level and with SO1 Digital (who is the policy ‘owner’ for ACTO 10 in the document management sense).
Air cadets’ Twitter feed filling up with pictures from Cosford.
https://twitter.com/AOC22Group/status/1436439937994350594?s=19
https://twitter.com/RAF_Cosford/status/1436568491021176833?s=19
https://twitter.com/RAF_Cosford/status/1436607464858923013?s=19
No distancing, no masks whether indoors or out…
Oh, and some are now calling it a “supermuster”, too.
That’s fair then, and I apologize for that bit.
But the point still stands in terms of what I, and others, were saying. This event at RAF Cosford has not been approved on SMS. It’s still in draft.
It’s not exactly the first time this has happened for large events being organised by a RHQ or HQAC either.
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Again, I don’t disagree with what you are saying and if you want to raise it formally, drop me an email and I am happy to push upwards and raise with OF-5 Digital and COS.
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Happy too. I’ll send one over once I get a free sec later on today!
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https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4250702745012232&id=708175519264990
Yes, admin aside… It’s good to see cadets out and about again.
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Update from my Wing, arrived at 0800, been waiting for a flight since, flying now cancelled - done nothing else.
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Reason given?
All flying?
Seems like it, trying to find out. Ran out of pilot hours.
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Piss poor planning.
Surely they should have had activities to keep them occupied whilst waiting if it was going to be hours to even get a flight pre-cancellation
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