After an especially long summer holiday break and with the start of year 11 looming with GCSE mocks on the horizon it is time to reflect on an aviation and RAF Air Cadets packed few months. Many teenagers will welcome the summer break as it may mean a family holiday, relaxing in bed, gaming on smartphones and of course no school! However, what does the summer break look like for 15 year old cadet with an interest in aviation, STEM, adventure, making new friends and catching up with old friends. I even survived without my smartphone for over a week on one camp.
Work Experience
My summer started early in year 10 as I was scheduled to do work experience for a 1 week in July. Cadets even had an influence on this as it led me to the opportunity to spend a week with an aircraft maintenance and recycling company. This was a much more exciting placement than many of my other year 10 friends. After applying to the company directly one of the reasons they selected me for a placement was my aviation related CV, knowledge, and experience thanks to RAF Air Cadets.
I was involved in aircraft parts selection, packing and logistics at the beginning of the week, but later in the week I was part of a busy team of engineers servicing a private jet prior to sale, doing engine runs (testing the engines) on a cargo plane and even part of a project to cut a cockpit off of a 747! This experience completely confirmed my passion and interest in a future career with planes and would never have happened if not for my experiences with the Air Cadets to date. They even told me they would happily have me back full time when I left college if I didn’t join the RAF!
RIAT
While most of my non-Air Cadet friends then returned to school for the last 2 weeks of term, I was released by my school with special permission to attend a working camp at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford. I had finished my work experience on the Friday afternoon and was dropped off on the Saturday morning for my first large international military air show (due shows being cancelled because of covid in recent years). The excitement had been building up for many months with selection for the long camp being on the minds of everyone in the squadron, wing and further afield nationally since the end of last year!
The Air Tattoo is open to the public for 3 days but as part of the long camp we helped setup camp logistics for 2000 cadets arriving for both long and short camps, assisted with the public and aircrew on show days and embraced the goal of work hard, play hard. We were there for a total of 13 days, with a week in the lead up to the show and the week following it too. Our time on camp was during the extreme heatwave at the beginning of the summer and although that brought with it its own challenges it did mean I left camp not only with many new friends and new experiences but also a really lovely golden tan.
One of the highlights of RIAT was the opportunity to meet and speak to so many professional pilots and aircrew from across the world as well as get up close to their aircraft. I spoke to military and civilian aircrew from Italy, America, Germany, Spain, Jordan and even North Korea, as well as our own RAF. I was also lucky enough to meet a number of VIPs with some cadets actually meeting Top Gun star Tom Cruise himself. I was able to practice my GCSE German with a helicopter pilot and was taught some Italian by the Italian Air Force Tricolori team pilots as well as discovering a variety of accents from across the UK throughout the 2000 cadets attending the camps and air tattoo.
Speakers & Webinars
Even throughout the last 2 years of covid, lockdowns, and restricted activities for many I have been lucky enough to attend either face to face or virtually online a large variety of speakers. The opportunity to listen to experts share their experiences, ask them questions, and speak to them directly has allowed me to learn so much even during the holidays. These optional extras are real treats and provide access to people and organisations you wouldn’t always normally have the chance to meet. Just over the last few weeks this has included speakers or events with the following topics:
- Search & Rescue Helicopter Pilot
- Equality & Diversity Team
- RAF Recruitment Talk & Activity Evening
Training Opportunities
Throughout your time in cadets, you are offered the chance to be continually training for certificates, qualifications, and badges. These look amazing on a CV and could even help with applying for jobs, college and university places. I have found that many of the things I have learnt in my studies at cadets have helped me in some of my subjects at school like science, maths, English, geography and engineering. I even have experience in interview skills due to cadets and this helped me achieve really positive feedback in a recent career’s day with mock interviews and industry leaders visiting the school.
One of these many qualifications is the Level 1 Sports Leadership course. At the end of July, I was lucky enough to take part in a training event towards a Level 1 Sports Leadership qualification. I had to complete a learner evidence portfolio over the following week, submit it for assessment and I am now just awaiting my 2 practical assessments when we return to normal cadet activity in the autumn. Once my practical assessments are complete, I will be able to assist more fully in the regular sports evenings and activities we have in cadets.
Community Events
Our squadron regularly attends community events ranging from fun carnivals and thoughtful Remembrance Services through to interesting charity fundraising activities and many other things throughout the year. Earlier in August several the cadets, myself included supported our local village fair. It was another extremely hot day, but the village came together with a range of activities all aimed at fundraising for the local community. We had our flight sim for visitors try, did a drill display, and even supported a number of the other stalls and the event organisers as well. It is always a great chance to give back a little something while having fun too.
Flying Experience
One of the highlights of being an Air Cadet is the opportunity to go gliding and learning to fly! I was lucky enough to go gliding last summer however this year just a day after my birthday I had my first flying experience in a Tutor Grob with an experienced retired RAF instructor. If like many of my friends, you may have seen the Top Gun: Maverick movie this summer I must admit to feeling a little like Phoenix as I walked out in my flight suit with my helmet and parachute on along with my aviator shades. We even got to throw some shapes and do some basic aerobatics while up in the air taking an aerial tour of Wiltshire, seeing Stonehenge from above and 40 mins in the air including a lot of it even with me in control of the plane.
Multi-Activity Camp
In August the wing had its annual summer multi activity break where cadets from across Wiltshire, Dorset and the Channel Islands gathered for a busy week. We were split up into flights depending upon our experience and current cadet qualifications then had a full week of adventure training, leadership, weapons handling, shooting, fieldcraft and even a few qualifications in first aid and radio communications.
I have attended a number of these camps now with cadets and every time there is something new. For some it was their first time away but for many it was an opportunity to catch up with old friends again and have a fun, busy week practicing old skills or learning new ones. This time I was able to achieve my Bronze Radio Communicator training and certification. Others achieved first aid qualifications (which I helped with as I have already achieved this), some even had water sports and shooting experiences. So, another successful and busy camp completed by some of our squadron members.
Friends & Family
Friends, friends, and more friends. Living in a village with my older siblings having all left home you would think it may be a lonely place for a teenager. Each Monday and Thursday evening though throughout the summer I have continued to have our regular squadron evenings to catch up with my cadet friends. I have also caught up with other cadet friends from across the country on a wide range of camps and trips out. Through cadet activity I now have friends from Scotland, the Channel Islands, Wales, London, and even several countries abroad.
With so much going on you may be surprised to hear that I still manged to fit in a busy week with my Mum, visited my Gran, had lots of day trips, and still had time to relax too. So, plenty of normal summer break activities too around all my cadet adventures.
Future Plans & Goals
Well, it doesn’t end there as even as we start back at school and I start to think of approaching GCSE mocks I still have adventure in my calendar for part of September with Bournemouth Air Festival, a cadet instructors’ course, another one night fieldcraft camp, and the normal range of other activities on our squadron nights. I like to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible, but this year I know I will have to carefully balance them with my school studies too which thankfully I know the cadets are always supportive of.
After seeing what some of my friends from cadets have also been up to, I am even thinking ahead to next summer after my GCSEs are finished and before college starts. Which camps do I want to attend, which of my friends I will catch up with and what new opportunities will come my way.
So, the Question Remains, What Did You Do this Summer?
Have you gained new experiences, new qualifications, made new friends and possibly even had a job offer? Or were you bored, sleeping most of the time, stuck on your tech and missing out on adventure?
Have you considered air cadets, or did you maybe not know some of the exciting things we get up to and now are considering cadets? If you are in year 8 or aged 12 and above come along to our open evening and discover where you may be next summer.
