Air Cadets grounded?
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Perhaps needs more than Aspirin as we approach the anniversary of the "pause". Well said Enigma.
I see that Shirley ATC Squadron spent some time getting to Upavon over the weekend for some air ex.....would have spent more time in the bus than in the air!
Quote from their Facebook page....
"1924 (Shirley) Squadron Air Cadets enjoyed a day's gliding with 622VGS at Upavon.
This was the first experience gliding session for Surrey Cadets since the gliding pause and the first for 2018. The cadets enjoying multiple flights in the Grob Viking glider.
The cadets were also presented with their Blue gliding badges, part of the new progressive training system introduced last year."
Well done Shirley and 622, but they must have passed 615 VGS Kenley (which is on their doorstep) on the way!
I see that Shirley ATC Squadron spent some time getting to Upavon over the weekend for some air ex.....would have spent more time in the bus than in the air!
Quote from their Facebook page....
"1924 (Shirley) Squadron Air Cadets enjoyed a day's gliding with 622VGS at Upavon.
This was the first experience gliding session for Surrey Cadets since the gliding pause and the first for 2018. The cadets enjoying multiple flights in the Grob Viking glider.
The cadets were also presented with their Blue gliding badges, part of the new progressive training system introduced last year."
Well done Shirley and 622, but they must have passed 615 VGS Kenley (which is on their doorstep) on the way!
"the Grob Viking glider" Hope there will be more than one in the future
"must have passed 615 VGS Kenley (which is on their doorstep) on the way" has it got any gliders?
This thread is indeed not for discussion of the relative merits of BGA Club Junior activities, and ATC flying at the VGSs. There may be room elsewhere for that. However, in the interests of historical accuracy
Ray was never the (or a) National Coach. He was the BGA Chief Technical Officer before the late, great Dick Stratton, and he was a Senior Instructor.
Ray Stafford Allen was a BGA National Coach and had a Capstan (BGA 1133) which he brought to Halton in Sep '66 for a weekend. He didn't let us do the launch or landing, we just flew the circuits.
Meanwhile,
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
Shirley, Shirley is in Lancashire?
The cadets were also presented with their Blue gliding badges, part of the new progressive training system introduced last year."
This thread is indeed not for discussion of the relative merits of BGA Club Junior activities, and ATC flying at the VGSs. There may be room elsewhere for that. However, in the interests of historical accuracy
Ray was never the (or a) National Coach. He was the BGA Chief Technical Officer before the late, great Dick Stratton, and he was a Senior Instructor.
Ray was never the (or a) National Coach. He was the BGA Chief Technical Officer before the late, great Dick Stratton, and he was a Senior Instructor.
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Even the BGA Club has had issues with locals treating the entire airfield as a public right of way during the day.
Hopefully it gets sorted.
Southern Sailplanes
I do not think SS have 'suddenly' risen to great heights because of the Viking debacle.
They already have a good reputation for glass repairs and have approvals from the major manufacturers to conduct serious tech repairs.
The RAF Grob fleet is also an ongoing contract for them and they have been busy sorting out 'tail issues' with that fleet.
In fact they are one of the few companies that are actually 'hands on' with the required work in all this as opposed to the big boys who shuffle paperwork (if they can find it) and are busy clouding this issue with lots more of it that has no impact in getting the fleet serviceable.
SS are only getting paid for work they are doing unlike the other companies in this sad saga who were paid a considerable sum for providing a service that has failed.
They already have a good reputation for glass repairs and have approvals from the major manufacturers to conduct serious tech repairs.
The RAF Grob fleet is also an ongoing contract for them and they have been busy sorting out 'tail issues' with that fleet.
In fact they are one of the few companies that are actually 'hands on' with the required work in all this as opposed to the big boys who shuffle paperwork (if they can find it) and are busy clouding this issue with lots more of it that has no impact in getting the fleet serviceable.
SS are only getting paid for work they are doing unlike the other companies in this sad saga who were paid a considerable sum for providing a service that has failed.
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Meanwhile,
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
But the amount of bureaucracy and work that the RAF are making the contractors work through to get these simple aircraft airworthy is staggering and unlike anything seen in civilian gliding for the same aircraft type, just look at how slow Syerston's engineering team was to get aircraft out! Without SS or a similar contractor, Air Cadet Gliding would be dead in the water.
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Yes but having friends who fly there, they are continuing to have issues with people on the airfield that shouldn't be! Anyone that's been to Kenley knows how unsecure the site is. And as we know, the RAF would not dare risk that until the threat is quite rightly mitigated with better fencing.
Kenley Challenges!
Yes but having friends who fly there, they are continuing to have issues with people on the airfield that shouldn't be! Anyone that's been to Kenley knows how unsecure the site is. And as we know, the RAF would not dare risk that until the threat is quite rightly mitigated with better fencing.
When I was a lowly staff cadet in the 60's launching was delayed by a person walking across the airfield (the footpath went conveniently from near the Officers' Mess to the Wattenden Arms on the other side of the airfield). I was dispatched with my yellow RAF Land Rover to warn him of his error! When I told him that he had just walked across the cables on an active airfield, he responded, with a certain arrogance, "Do you know who I am?" - (Oh dear first signs of dementia in VSOs!) I responded that irrespective of who he was he should still respect the warning signs at an active airfield. Turned out that he was JJ, the CO of the Kenley Wing during the war.
When RAF Kenley was operational and in the care of the MoD very little was done to repair the fence around the airfield, although the general public respected the airfield as MoD property and little public trespassing occurred. When the RAF left and 615 Gliding School was continuing to operate at weekends, the public felt it was their right to walk freely on the airfield! We suggested that if the MoD was not going to repair the fencing they should plant some Pyracantha Hedging around the boundary! Pyracantha is known for thorns which can easily puncture human skin, and when successful, the piercing causes a slight inflammation and severe pain. Their dense thorny structure makes them particularly valued in situations where an impenetrable barrier is required.
This would have solved the problem, but I suspect that now snowflake H&S would have ripped them out!
Good luck to those trying to get the cadets back into the air.
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Yes but having friends who fly there, they are continuing to have issues with people on the airfield that shouldn't be! Anyone that's been to Kenley knows how unsecure the site is. And as we know, the RAF would not dare risk that until the threat is quite rightly mitigated with better fencing.
I haven't walked around the airfield while its been active for quite some time so haven't seen any stupidity for a number of years - the last time was a small boy heading off to the centre of the airfield and ignoring his grandad's pleas to come back; 615 were fitting in a last couple of launches before a scheduled fly-by from the BBMF - I hope the little sod got the thrashing of his life!
On a positive note, a local ATC Sqn were doing a charity bag pack at Tesco before Christmas - briefly spoke to a young lady who told me with a huge smile that she'd been awarded a gliding scholarship and was very excited!
The blue badge
Nice to see a high bar set for the new Air Cadet flying program
Some classroom lessons, 30 minutes in a "part-task trainer" and a flight in either a glider or Tutor covering basic controls.
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All the blue level badges across all subjects have a very low bar for attainment. Apparently they did some studies into what the cadets wanted and more badges for everything was the outcome.
Chevron hi, just to confirm that the Shirley squadron in the post is in Surrey on the outskirts of Croydon. I know it well, it's the unit I started my career in the VR(T) in during 1993.
The Facebook page for 645 VGS at Topcliffe has details of four cadets who went solo from there before Christmas as part of the Silver Wings Gliding Scholarship ; https://www.facebook.com/645VolunteerGlidingSquadron/ . Well done to those four cadets and perhaps the numbers of cadets getting airborne is increasing but just not being publicised ?
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Meanwhile,
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
Down at Membury, home of Southern Sailplanes, expansion continues. New tractors and gang mowing machines have been procured, the strip has been levelled and extended and there is now talk of a new-build hangar.
Who is funding this burgeoning business empire? We are, of course: the taxpayers. With over 20 gliders now returned to the Air Cadets, at over £100k per airframe, and more that 20 more to go through, Southern Sailplanes are laughing all the way to the bank!
You couldn't script it!
“You couldn’t script it “ says 1.3vs, not people would not even bother to script normal day to day business but it now doubt makes good conversation in the gliding club cafe when low cloud brings in those who gather around a single cup of tea with six straws.