Gliding, Greens Camps, Geocaching and guest Speakers!
As well as flying at 11 AEF, cadets have the opportunity to undergo gliding training at Volunteer Gliding Schools (VGS) – our local gliding school is 645 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. Conventional gliding is much like flying, although without an engine! As with other ATC activities, gliding is progressive, starting with ground training. The ground training includes taught classroom based sessions as well as use of the Part Task Trainer, which is a realistic model of the aircraft for flight simulation purposes. Following the ground training, at Bronze Level, cadets have the opportunity to get airborne, putting the ground training into practise. Successful cadets can then go on to complete their silver gliding scholarship and become a flight staff cadet with golds wings. During the National Aerospace Camp towards the end of last month Cadet Cooper achieved his Blue Wings, with Cadet White completing both her Blue and Bronze Wings.
Another type of camp which cadets can participate in are greens camps. Similar to Blues Camps, greens camps can also involve visiting various units within an RAF base, however accommodation is normally in large tents. Warcop Multi-Activity Camp, which is an annual event conducted by the wing each year is a greens event and includes activities such as climbing, shooting, Fieldcraft, obstacle course and much more.
Geocaching, a new activity for the squadron, involves searching a known location for an item which has been hidden by another individual. Popular methods include using GPS coordinates to locate the general area of the item, before following clues to find the hidden object. These objects, normally small containers, can have a method of recording that you have found the item, such as by signing your name on the paper hidden within. Geocaching can be ran alongside day walks to make them more challenging, similar to orienteering.
Each year the squadron invites a variety of guest speakers to give presentations to the cadets. These can be around a number of topics, such as career opportunities, safety talks or simply to inspire cadets. In the last 12 months we have had visits from North East Ambulance Service , Durham Constabulary and Caterpillar with future visits in the planning stages, such as the Armed Forces Careers Office.
Do you fancy getting involved in any of these activities? Are you up for fun, adventure, incredible experiences and making new friends? Aged between 12 (and in year 8 ) and 17? JOIN AIR CADETS. We are recruiting now, send us a message to find out more and join us next week as we continue our #WhatWeDoWednesday articles.
Durham Northumberland Wing Air CadetsNorth Region – Royal Air Force Air CadetsCommandant Air Cadets