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Air Cadets grounded?

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Air Cadets grounded?

Old 22nd Jan 2018, 13:09
  #4081 (permalink)  
 
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WTF are they up to this time. Zero to zero in a century. How embarrassing is this.
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 13:10
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A bad situation getting increasingly worse...

As an aside, I have a cadet training book for the Vigilant 'borrowed' from 633 around 1998 if anyone wants a bit of nostalgia....
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 13:28
  #4083 (permalink)  
 
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Confusing rules

I think AEF is suffering the same fate as ATC Gliding; in that the rules have escalated to the point that actual flying gets more difficult to achieve just because they have increased the 'operational' limits to operate.
We all know how the Gliding got 'paused' and how difficult it is to 'un pause it' due regulations, plus lack of suitably trained and current staff.
The AEF operation has been made even more 'complicated' by insisting on a cockpit warning system, plus has to operate under an Air Traffic service.
Neither of these is a substitute for the real basic airmanship operation of LOOKING OUT. Once you try to substitute a basic VFR rule with anything requiring 'equipment', and an Air Traffic service you merely add yet another level of conformity that has its own level of serviceability and operational limitations.
The AEF issue no doubt was influenced by the fatal accident some time back.
However this rather overlooked the fact that there was a human failing element that predominated over a system failure and rather like the Shoreham Airshow situation it is difficult to impose yet more rules that do not really rectify something that should be covered in NORMAL airmanship.
If you fly VFR YOU LOOK OUT and if you fail to do this then you are negligent. Relying on radio and 'warnings' is no substitute ever.
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 15:18
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The AEF operation has been made even more 'complicated' by insisting on a cockpit warning system
If this is FLARM any complications will be created by the AEF operation. These days there are hundreds of gliders with working FLARM many of which are flown by technical numpties who never the less manage to install a working FLARM which doesn't affect any of the other bits of gadgetry.

Requiring it and the ATS might have something to do with these:

https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-20...-february-2009
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-20...t-14-june-2009
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 15:55
  #4085 (permalink)  
 
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The AEF operation has been made even more 'complicated' by insisting on a cockpit warning system
It can't be this, or anything else which has been known about / mulled over for sometime, because the grounding happened very quickly on Friday. It was 'announced' to all and sundry late in the afternoon by the fastest possible means.......Facebook!!! Meaning, there were cadets who went to bed all excited about flying the next day, only to be disappointed in the morning.

If it was the need for a cockpit warning system, you would think there would have been a release to staff first, followed by a grounding in the coming weeks. Then again.............you can't beat knee-jerk to disappoint kids!
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 17:20
  #4086 (permalink)  
 
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Is it the AEF that has been paused or the Tutor grounded? As I'd swear I saw a Tutor take off today.
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Old 22nd Jan 2018, 19:02
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It’s mostly only weekend ops that are paused.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 01:02
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Originally Posted by Sky Sports
All AEF flying has, this weekend, been paused for the foreseeable future.

The Commandant Air Cadets has gone on her Facebook page to say, confusingly, she cannot discuss the reason on a public forum.........but, at the same time, doesn't have a clue what the reason is!?!?
To be fair, it soon becomes clear to anyone who talks to her that what she doesn’t know about aviation can just about be fitted into the Grand Canyon. Probably couldn’t give a cogent explanation if she wanted to.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 11:58
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A quick glance at flight Radar 24 in the last few minutes reveals G-BYUM and G-CGKK and G-BYXM all Grob 115E's registered to Babcocks being flown in the Wittering area. So not much wrong with the aircraft it would seem.
Funding Perhaps ???
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 12:01
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Originally Posted by taildragger123
A quick glance at flight Radar 24 in the last few minutes reveals G-BYUM and G-CGKK and BYXM all Grob 115E's registered being flown in the Wittering area. So not much wrong with the aircraft it would seem.
Funding Perhaps ???
Yeah well the radar controllers only work mon - fri don't they (unless I've got out of date info) it's just weekends with no radar so they can't fly.
I think I read somewhere that radar services are 'contracted out' and the twit who assigned the contract didn't think they'd be needed at weekends 'cos it cost too much.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 12:50
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Originally Posted by POBJOY
If you fly VFR YOU LOOK OUT and if you fail to do this then you are negligent. Relying on radio and 'warnings' is no substitute ever.
It has been proven numerous times that see and be seen has its limitations. It’s not as failsafe as you might think.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 13:08
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chevvron,

I think that you'll find that it's the other way round. Radar is performed by the RAF and the Tower is contracted out Babcock staff.

A lot of Tutors are nothing to do with the AEF's. University Air Squadrons, CFS, RAF Elementary, that is a lot of Tutors.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 15:11
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Tutor 9 Ship

Some are free to practice 9 ships. Would prefer they flew students and cadets but no doubt some career hungry officer wanted to show off to the Magisterium in London.

Bitter? Mines a pint please!
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 15:37
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See and be seen 'limitations'

Everything has 'limitations' but keeping a very good look out is a very good way of avoiding Air Traffic and 'systems' limitations, and is the only way when they both get overloaded.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 15:50
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Originally Posted by pr00ne
chevvron,

I think that you'll find that it's the other way round. Radar is performed by the RAF and the Tower is contracted out Babcock staff.

A lot of Tutors are nothing to do with the AEF's. University Air Squadrons, CFS, RAF Elementary, that is a lot of Tutors.
You're probably right. I know it was some sort of cock up with the contracts though. Incidentally I think you'll find 'Babcock staff' = retired RAF personnel.
As for Tutors, I thought they were 'pooled' nowadays with AEFs and UASs being co-located thus each unit drawing from the same pool of aircraft.
Doesn't the EFTS still use Slingsby T67s or am I out of date with that too?

Last edited by chevvron; 23rd Jan 2018 at 17:12.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 16:21
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Originally Posted by Bigpants
Tutor 9 Ship

Some are free to practice 9 ships. Would prefer they flew students and cadets but no doubt some career hungry officer wanted to show off to the Magisterium in London.

Bitter? Mines a pint please!
I guess those are the aircraft with long range tanks as that particular 9-ship took-off a little over three years ago.
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Old 23rd Jan 2018, 20:18
  #4097 (permalink)  
 
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Chevvron,

Actually, from the pr article I saw (I forget where) the Tower air traffikers all looked too young to be retired from anywhere. Most of them, certainly the female boss, transferred with the contract when the units moved to Wittering from Wyton.
I expect that all Tutor maintenance is centralised, which under current curcumstances will give more availability to instructor and elementary flying.
No Slingsby T67’s left anywhere in the RAF, they all went Tutor years ago. In fact the RAF Elementary squadrons are about to convert to the Prefect T1.
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 10:56
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So, waffling apart, do we know why AEF flying has stopped, however temporarily
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 11:21
  #4099 (permalink)  

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what she doesn’t know about aviation can just about be fitted into the Grand Canyon
Not a lot of aviators amongst the hierarchy now either I gather.

Is it so that no Region Commanders have wings these days?? o tempora o mores .....
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Old 24th Jan 2018, 11:58
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Originally Posted by Bigpants
Tutor 9 Ship

Some are free to practice 9 ships. Would prefer they flew students and cadets but no doubt some career hungry officer wanted to show off to the Magisterium in London.

Bitter? Mines a pint please!
I know the poster said it was taking them a while to cross, but they can't still be at it four years later, shirley?!

Dammit, Ninja'd by cows...
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