Nice One Tayside
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Come on Tayside have had that contract since I was in Short trousers.
This is just an extension from the previous contracts from LF's days.
They still have airframes that my mates went solo in when doing their Flying Scholarships 25 years ago. And they still don't fly in a straight line.
This is just an extension from the previous contracts from LF's days.
They still have airframes that my mates went solo in when doing their Flying Scholarships 25 years ago. And they still don't fly in a straight line.
fwiw my reading of why Tayside works so well is that they can send cadets solo with several fewer hours than anywhere else due to the geography of the place. No need to teach people pfls, efatos etc... Just ditching instructions and a RIB on standby.
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abgd they do exactly with them what CFS want done with them.
They get a bloke with a huge moustache in every so often who flys with the cadets and listens into briefings etc.
And every instructor gets a flight/ground briefing with said CFS dude to make sure they are teaching the RAF prescribed methods.
The standardisation and product is exactly how the RAF want it. You cant really point any blame at Tayside for course content with what gets delivered.
They get a bloke with a huge moustache in every so often who flys with the cadets and listens into briefings etc.
And every instructor gets a flight/ground briefing with said CFS dude to make sure they are teaching the RAF prescribed methods.
The standardisation and product is exactly how the RAF want it. You cant really point any blame at Tayside for course content with what gets delivered.
I'm not criticising them. A few years back I spent a while chatting to some of the cadets there, and the impression I got was that - at least for that class - they were trying to get them all to go solo within a very limited space of time. They weren't trying to get them through their PPL.
In that context, the idea of training 17 and 18 year olds to ditch if needed seems a very good one - something the average low-hours pilot is much more likely to pull off successfully than a forced landing pattern. If they carry on in aviation, there's time for fanstops later. If they don't, they've achieved a solo flight which is something to remain proud of.
My impressions of the place were generally positive, and the cadets seemed nice, well balanced kids. The RAF certainly seems to recruit well.
In that context, the idea of training 17 and 18 year olds to ditch if needed seems a very good one - something the average low-hours pilot is much more likely to pull off successfully than a forced landing pattern. If they carry on in aviation, there's time for fanstops later. If they don't, they've achieved a solo flight which is something to remain proud of.
My impressions of the place were generally positive, and the cadets seemed nice, well balanced kids. The RAF certainly seems to recruit well.
Last edited by abgd; 14th Sep 2014 at 21:40.
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Read some of the comments on here with a wry smile...social media hey...people sure do like to spraff it up.
Few corrections for you all (and trust me, I know)
Public sector contracts do not get habitually "extended" (It's against the law). Most public sector contracts (and this one is no different) have to be competed every two to three years. Tayside has it because they win it. Period.
Most cadets (about 95%) solo within the allocated 12 hours because
a. They are exceptional.
b. More importantly, the vast majority have passed their gliding scholarship by going solo in a glider. Exceptions are rare (2 or 3 a year).
The course is operated under standard CAA (or whatever it is now) guidelines IAW the PPL rules and regs for PPL training...100%. The MOD throws an extra level of supervision over it because:
c. They are paying.
d. Tayside are flying Air Cadets.
The Elementary Standards Unit of the RAF Central Flying School do not occasionally pitch up, they come every six weeks or so throughout the main flying period. Their job is to
e. Audit the output, by flying with students who have soloed
f. Authorise the civilian instructors to instruct cadets(and on what type)
Tayside also have contracts to deliver the same or similar scholarships to:
GAPAN UK
GAPAN Hong Kong
The Air League
The John Cunningham Foundation
The MOD UK Graduate Engineer Programme
Its an outstanding series of scholarships, delivered by an outstanding flying school, doing an outstanding job for aviation in Scotland.
And no, I don't work there. But I do know a great deal about the Air Cadets and military aviation In Scotland...and I am a huge fan and advocate of both.
Few corrections for you all (and trust me, I know)
Public sector contracts do not get habitually "extended" (It's against the law). Most public sector contracts (and this one is no different) have to be competed every two to three years. Tayside has it because they win it. Period.
Most cadets (about 95%) solo within the allocated 12 hours because
a. They are exceptional.
b. More importantly, the vast majority have passed their gliding scholarship by going solo in a glider. Exceptions are rare (2 or 3 a year).
The course is operated under standard CAA (or whatever it is now) guidelines IAW the PPL rules and regs for PPL training...100%. The MOD throws an extra level of supervision over it because:
c. They are paying.
d. Tayside are flying Air Cadets.
The Elementary Standards Unit of the RAF Central Flying School do not occasionally pitch up, they come every six weeks or so throughout the main flying period. Their job is to
e. Audit the output, by flying with students who have soloed
f. Authorise the civilian instructors to instruct cadets(and on what type)
Tayside also have contracts to deliver the same or similar scholarships to:
GAPAN UK
GAPAN Hong Kong
The Air League
The John Cunningham Foundation
The MOD UK Graduate Engineer Programme
Its an outstanding series of scholarships, delivered by an outstanding flying school, doing an outstanding job for aviation in Scotland.
And no, I don't work there. But I do know a great deal about the Air Cadets and military aviation In Scotland...and I am a huge fan and advocate of both.
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I would disagree with that.
They solo in the 12 hours just like any other kid that age that puts the effort in.
They aren't exceptional by any stretch of the imagination. The gliding does help.
That's occasionally pitch up in my book.
And some of us have actually taught the little buggers.
The way MOD contracts are won is by being the cheapest.
They solo in the 12 hours just like any other kid that age that puts the effort in.
They aren't exceptional by any stretch of the imagination. The gliding does help.
they come every six weeks or so throughout the main flying period
But I do know a great deal about the Air Cadets and military aviation In Scotland
The way MOD contracts are won is by being the cheapest.
Last edited by mad_jock; 15th Sep 2014 at 19:04.
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Why don't you just add a banner and logo? Tayside have had the air cadet contract since before I learnt to fly - I got my licence at the end of 1985 there, having fought, that summer, to actually get hold of an aircraft and instructor which I had to book.
At the age of 31, I went solo at 8.5 hrs so solo at 12 hrs from younger, more focussed kids is hardly exceptional - especially when they have also had gliding experience.
Tayside have run a successful training machine for cadets for over 30 years. Well done, but it does not make them a particularly good place to learn to fly. When I learnt, they were better than the infamous Peter Forbes at Aberdeen - but that just means they actually had honest accounting!
So fine, Tayside continue with ATC cadet training. But if you want to learn to fly and you are using your own money, visit before you commit
At the age of 31, I went solo at 8.5 hrs so solo at 12 hrs from younger, more focussed kids is hardly exceptional - especially when they have also had gliding experience.
Tayside have run a successful training machine for cadets for over 30 years. Well done, but it does not make them a particularly good place to learn to fly. When I learnt, they were better than the infamous Peter Forbes at Aberdeen - but that just means they actually had honest accounting!
So fine, Tayside continue with ATC cadet training. But if you want to learn to fly and you are using your own money, visit before you commit
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The way MOD contracts are won is by being the cheapest.
I suspect you are intelligent enough to know this is wrong, so why type it? Public sector contracts are subjected to a range of measures of which price is one. A significant one as it should be (for the tax payer), but a whole host of other measures come in to play on all public sector contracts.
For example, all companies bidding for public sector contracts are financially stress tested...again it is the law.
I could go on, but clearly some members here are a tad jealous and as I said, I've nothing to do with the place.
I freely admit I am biased about the Air Cadet cadre; I have met thousands, flown with hundreds, and trained many of the top grade cadets (many of whom have scholarships) at flying training schools. The vast majority of the ones who have managed to accumulate all the scholarships on offer are exceptional human beings who go on to achieve a great deal in life. Not necessarily in the military or in aviation.
And on that note, I'll leave you to your little nips.
