JSAT Gliding
 

Its reported in social media the JSAT gliding (lately known as RGC) is no longer going to be run at RAF Halton and is to move to RAF Syerston in April 2018. It appears the air cadet organisation i.e CGS is going to run this now.:hmm:

With what? :hmm:

That will be the end of that then.

It will get balls'd up by superfluous admin, parenting issues and egos.

Shame - it worked well at Halton (and Bicester before that) and the ridge was great.

And to thunk there was once a very similar operation long in place at Syerston...lets call it "Four Counties " G.C. ....mind you, it did have a few, well quite a lot more than a few, egos.....:E

Not just the end of JSAT as we know it, but it will probably lead to the demise of the RAFGSA!

JSAT to Syerston
 

Kiss of death. Gliding is supposed to be fun; is it to justify the CGS setup, as not a lot of actual ATC gliding going on !!!

Thin edge of the wedge
 

Hmmm I was at one of the RAFGSA regional clubs today. It is rumoured that because of a lack of AIr Cadet schools and launch capacity a plan to contract some basic training and AEF gliding to GSA Regional clubs is being considered. So having decimated their own launch facilities, mismanaged their fleet husbandry and engineering and upset their own long standing instructor cadre, many of whom have voted with their feet, they wish to impose them selves on GSA clubs. To do this it would seem that BGA instructors would have to be cleared to instruct cadets by 2 FTS personnel from Syerston. A real empire has been built at Syerston with a huge staff headed by a Group Captain with Two wing commanders as his deputies. No thanks chaps if all the above is true and as GSA member of 40 years, I think it would be time to say farewell and look after my own interests and spend time flying my own toys which cost a fortune to insure hangar and service. I certainly have no intention of being obliged to sit in the back seat of a glider to fore fill a contract for the air cadets. Every launch provided to the Cadets is a launch not taken by a club member.

Having enjoyed the delights of ATC and Halton gliding in the past, all I can offer is my sincere condolences to all, apart from those senior officers who have done the dirty deeds that have obviously occurred. :mad:

On a more frivolous note...Maybe all gliding can be contracted out to Ass-scent and all the senior officers in post be made redundant, on the latest terms!:ok:

OAP

Syerston
 

I really do not think that the Syerston set up can teach the GSA anything about gliding; let alone motivating volunteers to teach it.
The GSA should consider becoming a BGA club and not getting involved with another empire building exercise at Syerston that is lacking in leadership and reason to exist. It beggars belief that the whole ATC gliding debacle has not been seen for what is was (a complete disgrace) and the ATC Gliding offered to the GSA to build it up again WITHOUT the extra cost of the 2FTS non productive 'job creation'. I suspect many of the those 'disposed of' with such haste' would return if some sensible leadership, capability, and motivation was evident. The GSA does not need Syerston to show them the way.

JSAT gliding has not been the responsibility of the RAFGSA for quite a few years; JSAT was taken over by HQ 22 Group and became the Robson Gliding Centre or RGC which is part of the 22 Group Robson Academy of Resilience. The take over transferred all JSAT staff to 22 Group and the only contact between the RGC and the RAFGSA has been that the RGC had no kit of it's own and so leased RAFGSA kit. The ATC and JSAT tasks are different, one using standard CFS teaching methods to achieve a first solo and the other using the BGA system for sport gliding. Never the twain shall meet, I doubt that many of the CGS instructors have the requisite qualifications to hold a BGA full category.

Apart from the ones who already are BGA instructors of course and the one who is a regional examiner.

Surely any 'contract' would need to be advertised for tenders?

https://members.gliding.co.uk/librar...-requirements/

But why full cat? You need very few of those.

You're right of course cats_five, in theory they would only need one or two full cats. However, this is the modern RAF so to make things safer they'll want to show that they're exceeding the minimum requirements and make things as bureaucratic as possible because that's safer...innit.

Anyway, probably not our issue at the end of the day.

In terms of contracts to fly air cadets I think the RAFGSA has been bailing out the ATC for a while.