I’m not sure I want to put this in a new thread, and here seems a good enough fit:
I did some dangerous thinking off the back of the ACF Media thread.
Being realistic, flying will never be sufficient for us as an activity to consider it a raison d’etre or attract (or at least keep) those who only want to fly. And the academics won’t engage a sufficient number to remain viable.
So, let’s drop the pretence and foster the spirit of the RAF’s expeditionary side, and work out how to get every new cadet everywhere in the country access to a minimum of one flight, one fieldcraft weekend, one wht and shoot, one adventure training walk, one float or sink, one climb or coasteer, one cycle ride, one road march, EFA, Blue Leadership, Blue Radio, swimming proficiency, Bronze Cyber, and one full week away within 12 months, plus revamped 1st Class training.
At the end of 12 months, report on any gaps - “offered, not interested”, “wasn’t available to attend”, “insufficient places on activity”. Act on findings - this could be immediately implemented on the understanding that completion of the targets will be low, but at least we can statistically identify the postcode lottery and review the strategy and areas of focus.
Outside of that, you build the development through each category and catch all those with specific interests, now able to go further and deeper into each subject to cater to those specific interests and create cadet specialists. By the time they are 18 they are bona fide instructors in whatever area(s) they’ve progressed through and not just someone who knows a bit having done it a few time - so we have staff cadets who are actually useful staff, and/or we have potential CFAV who are ready to rock. Having reached those levels, we’re probably more likely to retain post 18/20 or at least see return later. Our output into the world (civ or mil) is magnitudes greater, and we might just be able to legitimately self-brand ourselves internally as “the best cadet force”.
We can have cyber, we can have space, we can have the academic stuff - propulsion, airframes, weaponry, history, principles of flight, air power. We can take each one from a really basic level to be delivered in the 1st 12 months by an imbecile instructor and take it all the way up to an advanced level self-teach that we have little hope of getting enough instructors for beyond a specialist national/regional camp. Because we can get shooting bods, FT instructors, AT instructors, flying instructors…
If the capacity were there, I would not care if I had 200 paying cadets where after the first 12 months 20 only turned up to fieldcraft, 10 to anything aircraft related, 15 were living full time on the moor, 40 weren’t attending and were self studying at home, 25 only did sports, 10 sitting quietly in a corner every night making models and getting giddy on glue fumes until a member of staff opens the window they “forgot” to open, 5 were producing a documentary about the local airfield during WW2, 30 maniacs were doing everything, 10 had done everything they wanted and were now purely instructors, and 35 were brand new - with a smattering of actual factual leadership, training, sports leader, amateur radio, shooting, flying, and AT quals among them.
If there was a desire, we really could do it - and with our head start from having dipped toes in each for decades we should be able to do it faster and better than anyone else who tried.