Its all very well after a three year pause with next to nil instruction taking place in the Air Cadet organisation. Lovely if your two seat gliders have finally passed their inspection and are found fit to fly.
But meanwhile, what have all the instructors been doing to keep current?
Are the qualifications to be an Air Cadet instructor the same as those required of a civilian instructor? are they interchangeable or not? Long ago when I needed to maintain an aviation medical, I admired a photograph of an RAF fighter plane proudly positioned on the wall of the AME...and in my nosy way, asked the kind doctor how many hours did he have in his logbook.
Three hundred, he replied, and I wished I hadn't asked. This old woman since starting to fly at the age of 50 some time back has over 3,000 hours; 1,800 in gliders and 1,300 in power. More takeoffs and landings than any power pilot can begin to imagine, towing up gliders, practicing launch failures with students, flying in competitions cross country.
It costs so much to fly Her Majesty's aircraft,it is not surprising the average military pilot may not have acquired a lot of experience.
If Air Cadet instructors have gone elsewhere to keep current, they may not wish to return....