Originally Posted by
Sky Sports
All that staff and yet, when I went to 644 VGS last year, they only flew 4 cadets on the first occasion and 6 on the second!
Another grumble. Cadets, especially those who fly at AEF's, are desperate to use the Part Task Trainers, (simulators) so that they can qualify for 'wings'. 25 cadets in my sqn have done the qualifying airborne sorties, but only 4 have gone through the groundschool/simulator element. Unfortunately, the only places that have the simulators are the VGS and they only allow the handful of cadets on a gliding day to use them. On my two visits to 644 the simulators stood unused for 75% of the day and half the staff stood round with nothing to do. A real shame both couldn't be employed to get the masses of cadets through their groundschool. Different budgets apparently!
Sky Sports,
The number of gliders available was the limiting factor on output LAST YEAR. As for utilisation of the Part Task Trainers, perhaps they should be located away from VGSs, placed centrally in catchment areas in an ATC HQ with space. They could then be made available for use on any day (or evening) of the week. A major part of the cadet experience of going gliding is the practical teamwork involved in launching gliders; this requires cadets to be out on the airfield - not stuck inside with the 'simulator'. And, as in the past, as aircraft availability does improve then these visiting cadets will become critical to daily flying output through their roles in attaching cables, acting as wing-tip orderlies and holding canopies (in blustery winds). Even a 'brand new' cadet does not take very long to train, and each who is trained then frees up a VGS member of staff to go flying - with cadets - or to carry out other support tasks that cannot be carried out by a visiting cadet. The number of gliders that can be operated simultaneously therefore increases. It is as simple as that.