F D L It matters not that the 'fretwork fighters' were old and simple; it is the 'purpose' they achieved that made the system so good.
The rapid requirement to 'make decisions' as you were going to be 'on your own' and the paperless teamwork is just as relevant NOW as then.
Some of our Cadets went on to Lightnings (first tour) so the MK3 must have sparked something there, and this early requirements to MAKE DECISIONS without a committee meeting or reams of bumf is a lesson that needs to be learnt again for the future. Synthetics have no equal when compared to that 'first solo' in a 3d environment. I firmly believe that todays so-called managers could also benefit from many of the facets of training that the ATC did as the NORM. At the time we did not know what a fantastic opportunity we had been given to develop some self capability in decision making (intermediate cable break on a small airfield comes to mind) but that process implanted a grain of self development for the future that was to serve us well. I will repeat my maxim again and stand to be challenged. An organisation that could train a Cadet to international (FAI) A&B standard in around a total of 60 + minutes (continuous course) and allow him 3 solo flights had to be a WORLD CLASS example of getting it right, and not getting side tracked into spurious add ons that loose sight of the objective. Give someone that chance to do something on their own early enough, and then they can teach themselves later, and not be frightened to MAKE DECISIONS. The Air Cadets lost its way once they started to 'tick boxes' and do too much dual; they had lost the lessons of history. Of course some LEADERSHIP at the top helps.