Originally Posted by
chevvron
During the period I was a Staff Cadet at 613 Halton, we had 2 Prefects for a period of about 9 months each, '993 and '987 and I thoroughly enjoyed flying both of them.
I'd already got my Soaring Certificate/BGA 'C' Certificate before I was checked out for the Prefect, but in late '66 or early '67, the BGA introduced the 'Bronze C' which, I if I recall correctly, required 2 soaring flights of a minimum 30 min each from a winch launch or one flight of 60 min from an aerotow.
My longest flight was 24 min in Prefect '987 on 5 Apr '67, so I never even got half of a Bronze C!!
As I recall one went to Halesland to do an 'advanced course' which meant getting checked out on the Prefect on what was not exactly a large site. The 'extra' bit was going for the BGA 'C' cert (15 mins) and a simple written test.
The 'Bronze' was two 30 mins trips but the ATC in those days was all about getting the max no of Cadets airborne not chasing BGA Certs. In fact the Bronze was quite useful if you wished to get a PPL later as it reduced the power requirement to about 15 Hrs (quite a saving).
The Halesland experience was not exactly endowed with any extra training re 'out landings' which was surprising considering the nature of the site and Tyro Cadets stretching to get that magic 15 mins. Many on the course only had A&B experience and had not flown for some time. However history shows us that it worked, and confirmed that a 'simple system' using basic equipment was just the job for max hands on enjoyment and results. In fact there was more concern with not allowing the transport to go down the local hills back to base (Locking) after flying, so we had to wind our way back via 'Burrington Coombe' , and very pleasant it was. Managed the bronze when we had a Swallow for a w-end in the winter, and found a convenient bit of Cliff that had an onshore breeze but was a bit too far to get to with any reserve. Luckily the airfield had a selection of taxyways that ran to various parking areas so game on and two 40 min flights made.