During your time with 2286 Suqadron you will be offered the opportunity to take to the skies in either a light aircraft or a powered glider, or even in a R.A.F. or civilian aircraft.

The Air Training Corps fly the 2 seat Grob Tutor aircraft and 2286 Squadron fly with No.8 A.E.F. at R.A.F. Cosford. You will be eligible to fly in the Grob Tutor from the day you are enrolled after passing the First Class Cadet Exam. The staff at the A.E.F. will get you ready for your flight and explain everything you will need to know before you go up. The pilot will show you the aircraft and then you will taxi out onto the runway and experience your first takeoff in a light aircraft. Once you are in the skies the opportunities for you are endless and the pilot will follow your lead as to what you want to do with your time in the aircraft. If the weather and other conditions allow it the pilot may allow you to take control of the aircraft and will then show you how the different controls work - a little different to that yearly flight to Spain! If you are a brave sort of person you may wish to have a go at some aerobatics, and the pilot will demonstrate barrel rolls, loops and stall turns. If you are even braver you may even have a go at performing these moves yourself!!
Those Cadets who really take to flying, or wish to join the R.A.F. as pilots, can apply for an R.A.F. Flying Scholarship which will provide ground training and around 20 hours of flying, taking you to solo standard.

For an image of a Grob Tutor go to http://www.salthillairshow.com/tutor/index.html

Our local Volunteer Gliding Schools (VGS) are 633 VGS at R.A.F. Cosford and 637 VGS at R.A.F. Little Rissington. At the VGS Air Cadets are offered Air Experience Gliding flights in the Grob 109 Viking powered glider and it is an experience like no other. The glider can take off, much like a powered aircraft, but once in the air is not so reliant on the power from it's engines and so can glide like a conventional glider. During your flight in the Viking you will learn a lot more about the control of an aircraft in the air and if you have already previously flown in the Grob Tutor you will notice a tremendous difference between the two.
As a cadet your glider pilot training can begin when you reach the age of 14 and a half, with the Gliding Induction Course which teaches you the basic manoevres in the Viking during a 30 minute flight and provides you with the background knowledge you will need to achieve a solo flight. Once you are 16 years old you can then apply to get a gliding Scholarship place at your local VGS. This may be a week long course or a series of weekends at the VGS. During the course you will learn more about flying the Viking in order to achieve blue or silver GS wings. To gain the Silver wings you must show the apptitude to fly a ghosted solo.
This can be after only approximately 8 hours flying time, and all before you have reached the age to drive a car!!
Those cadets who reach Silver GS standard may be offered the opportunity to gain further training to attain the Gold Andavanced Glider Training wings and during this period of training will be get the opportunity to make solo flight without an instructor by their side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No other youth organisation can offer such unique opportunities to it's members and thousands of our cadets take to the skies each year;

Why not you too?