Cpt Sunshine
Good luck to you. I’d just like to pick up on some of the flavour that one or two people have touched upon. I am a Civilian Gliding Instructor at an ATC Gliding School (or Volunteer Gliding Squadron). We operate the Grob Vigilant motor glider(actually classed as a Touring Motor Glider (TMG)) (about half of the VGSs use these whilst the other half use the more conventional Viking). The Vigilant is flown as a light aircraft, whilst we can and do practice shut downs in flight and engine off landings, the training that we do is very similar to that which I received for my PPL (without the cross-country element). Cadets fly with us from 15 and can carry out a Gliding Scholarship from 16 years old. Many of those cadets stay on to become Staff Cadets and subsequently instructors. For example on my squadron we have a 19-year old instructor. Contrary to one person’s earlier comments, hours training and instructing on the Vigilant can count towards a PPL. More importantly the flying experience, commitment that you would have shown and other opportunities that the Air Cadet Organisation has to offer can only be helpful for future employers within the aviation world. There is also no commitment to join the military. As one of my colleagues who is a professional pilot told me recently – ‘I wish somebody had told me about this when I was a teenager!’ Why not give it a try?