Air Cadets grounded?

[Frelon]

Venture Adventure

Hi Pobjoy

While you were fitting on a tow cable I was at 5,000 feet over the beautiful South Downs of the UK doing my 5 hours to complete my BGA Silver C badge. I managed my silver height last week whilst at Aston Down! Now to many glider pilots this Silver C award is just a small milestone (stepping stone to greater things) but to me it was finishing something started many years ago with 615 Gliding School at Kenley. Took me 48 years, but I did it!!

I achieved my silver C distance (60km) from RAF Kenley in an Air Cadet Swallow in April 1968. Achieving something like this with the Air Cadets was considered unusual in that the Air Cadet gliding movement then had 6 Swallows for instructor "advanced" training. These Swallows did the rounds of the gliding schools but we were only allocated our six week "slot" every two years - invariably during the winter!!

I spent 20+ excellent years at Kenley, and like you, consider it home. I actually flew at Kenley with Surrey Hills Gliding Club in February of this year, trying to maintain my winching currency. Sadly not with the Air Cadets, their hangar looked very forlorn and unused. I looked at my log book and realised that my last flight there was 39 years ago!!

So after a busy career, bringing up a family and holding down a mortgage I am now retired and enjoying getting back into gliding after a 23 year "break".

My love for gliding/flying has never left me and is all down to the two days I spent at Hawkinge in 1959 getting my A & B with the Air Cadets. ( I actually spent five days there but did my A & B in the first two days, so did not get to fly again that week). Following on from this I managed to achieve a Flying Scholarship at Biggin Hill - many thanks again to the Air Cadets.

Perhaps we should get the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, to kick some arse/sack those responsible for the current, ongoing, debacle to ensure that Venture Adventure puts back what is missing from the Air Cadets - "Air"