Is anyone here in the Air cadets?

I was in Air Cadets in Canada many years ago when I was probably about 2 or 3 years older than you.

You're right; most of the time we did the same sort of drill training you would get in the Army, but the great thing was, there was a summer camp for 2 weeks each year when we actually stayed on a military base next to the old Vancouver airport.
We were taken up a couple of times in an old Dakota DC 3 rigged for paratroopers and troop movements (no seats, just canvas benches along each side)
We were each allowed to sit in the first officer's seat and take the controls for about 15 minutes.
What a thrill...Been hooked ever since..

Never been in Air Cadets, but I'm 13 too, and I tried out Civil Air Patrol. There wasn't much "Air" stuff involved, it was all marching and drills and stuff. 😞 What do you do in air cadets?

I live in Cardiff, but don't actually have any personal expierience in the air cadets or anything of the kind. I thought about joining a while ago but nothing came of it. However, I have several friends who are in air cadets and my cousin is in normal cadets. From what they've told me a lot of it is non-flight related (shooting, assault courses etc.) but they do get the chance to go flying. One of my friends who has done it for a while says she can take off and fly light aircraft but she's yet to learn to land. ANother kid I know who went up with the air cadets said it was easy and like driving a car in the sky!! I don't know how true that is. As far as I know there is some age limit for flying, even if you're a member.

There is an Aircadet centre near to where I work
Here is a site for them
➡

http://www.aircadets.org/welsh1_contact.html

Yep, that's the one my friends go to.

Thats the same one I joined up to is well 🙂

I don't get anything about that whole cadet stuff. Is this an english organization or something. Is it like the scouts???? I have never heard of something like this.

Its mostly an english organisation, from what I know. It's a training centre for pilots and teens who want to be RAF pilots when they're older. The air cadets is sponsored by RAF 100%. Mosr of the time, its just PT, excercise, training activities, drills, excercises, training activities, training activities, training activities, marching, flying and did i mention excercises and training activities?

Blake14: The US version is the Civil Air Patrol. CAP is an auxilliary of the US Air Force and gets much support from them.

CAP has both a cadet component and an adult component.The cadet operation is for boys and girls under the age of 18 (I'm not sure of the minimum age). It is primarily an educational mission, both aerospace and military education. Thus, the marching and drilling, however, most cadet squadrons do as much or more aviation training as they do military training. Many cadet squadrons are affiliated with senior (adult) squadrons and cadets are also able to participate in many of the missions and activities of the senior group.

The senior squadrons also provide aviation training but most of them de-emphasize the military training aspect. The reason for that is the senior squadrons are mission oriented. Many of the squadrons are assigned aircraft owned by CAP and almost all such squadrons also have a number of member owned aircraft that are used for CAP missions and for which the Air Force or CAP pays some or all the expenses of flight.

Senior CAP has two primary missions and another is beginning to emerge. The first, and largest, is search and rescue. CAP, operating under the direction of US Air Force Search and Rescue Centers, fly about 70% of the over land searches in the US. They also have a large number of ground based rescue teams to respond once a crash is located and, for the last several years, have rescued in excess of 100 crash survivors a year.

The second primary mission is drug interdiction. Many of the details of that mission are confidential but CAP aircraft and personnel are directly involved in support of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

The emerging mission is Homeland Security. Again, the details are not for public distribution but CAP aircraft and crews are directly involved and becoming more so.

If any US teen has an interest in aviation, I strongly urge them to look into CAP. For many of today's teens, the military aspects are not to their tastes but, like every profession or avocation, the basics must be mastered along with the good parts. Adults are also welcome. You do not have to be a pilot to particpate. There are many observer positions available and well as a huge number of non-flying assignments.

Pretty nice information there, well done Don 🙂

I was in the air cadets throughout my teens.

there is quite a bit of drill. similar to the army but you will also do lessons on things like meterology, air navigation, aircraft recognition.

some squadrons do quite a bit of running around in green as well. I think they call it ODF now. and you will do things like staying out in the woods learning how to make shelters and fire.

Your squadron may have a shooting club so you will get to shoot rifles (.22). and if shooting is your thing then you might be able to go to proper ranges to fire bigger stuff like the .76 rifles.

If the green side of things isn't your bag. then there should still be plenty of aircraft related stuff. You should get the chance to go flying probably once every month or two depending on the size of your squadron. When I was in it was at the local RAF base using chipmunks but I think it is all in bulldogs now. The instructors will let you fly the plane and if you want do aerobatics. (great fun).

you should also get the opportunity to go gliding. I learnt to fly in powered gliders through the ATC, and if you get enough hours you will even go solo. I think it starts with your IGT (initial Glider training -4 hrs) then you can do you BGT (basic glider training - which should get you up to solo circuits).

then as someone has mentioned there are the camps. There is normally an easter camp and a summer camp. (you should get chance to do at least one of them. These are held at RAF bases. If you get lucky and get a base that has opereational aircraft then you will probably get a flight from one of their aircraft. A girl from our squadron got a flight in the back of a tornado.

I went on camp to cyprus for 2 weeks and got a flight in an american Black hawk (they had a small detachment there).

the other activities are the duke of edingbughs award scheme that includes walking and camping as well as learning a new skill and doing some kind of comunity work. (if you pass your gold you get to go to Buckingham palace to get you award. but for gold you have to do a lot more and be between 17 and 24)

and then of course the is the keepiung your uniform spotless.

It is quite good at building confidence and giving you experiences that you wouldn't normally get sitting around in parks kicking cans, but the discipline side of things isn't to everyones taste. but where else are teenagers given the chance to throw aircraft around the skies of Britain for free?

Thanks a lot for the wonderful information. Which squadron did you use to go to in your teenage years? Im going to the Woolwich one 🙂

I was in one up in yorkshire it was 2447 squadron.

the other thing I didn't mention is that if you go to any airshows take your 3882 (blue ID book) with you and the RAF guys will normally let you have a nosey in the planes that the general public cannot get into.

Twisted sucker, you go 56sqn? Me too lol, now we have to see whos who lol!

If your 13 then i have arough idea...so whats your initials? lol

MK, my last name is Khan. Who are you and whats your name?

Im McNair, the guy who takes first parade before the Sergeant comes on and takes over. The one you say "Eleven cadet" too if theres eleven of you after the number call.

Anyways ive only been at 56 for 3months, i was at 169 in the south of England for 3 and a half years! And yeah 56 is a bit different, but dont worry. When you start doing your classes on a tuesday night for your classification badges you will learn allot about flying. You will definatly be flying soon but i dont know how it works up here.

The PT we do on friday night is a bit army true, but with various competitons coming up we have to be fit to win them. Its fun the games etc and its a good way of keeping fit. But i think its a good balance.

You staying with us? Trust me its worth staying, you wont find a better squadron.

I am definitely staying with you! If it keeps me fit, and also teaches me things about flying, then I couldn't think of a better thing to do! yeah I remember you, you're good in parades and stuff 🙂 . Do you have flight simulator?

FS2002 lol but i havnt palyed it in ages. I normally stick to IL2 Sturmovick or Falcon 4.0, the combat flight sims basically

ok 🙂

hey guys 😀 , im based at 1344 in Cardiff, and at the moment im on my gliding scholarship, down at RAF St. Athan. If you can get into the cadets i would stronly recomend it if you are into aircraft 😀

my friend has been the junior officer kind of guy for the raf cadets for a while now, basically he commands his troop.

all i've ever known them do is very army like stuff, very littleflying planes involved - how could the government afford such a thing!

fortunately he'sloaded and has got his solo pilots license now.

I'm with the Belgian Ait Cadets but whe have to 15 years old minimum and 16 max. so 13 is young lol!!

but yeah like cadets,whe may sit on the wings of our c-130's at airshows and other of thins special things

I'm in air cadets and i find that we do alot of different things then the army cadets at my sqn but thats my opinion. we go on more camps and do more competions but yes we do night ex's which is similar to most of the army cadet exercuises and we do shooting but not a lot and yes the army cadets do drill but our drill routines are different and most of the orders aswell. Two things which are different and tell the two organisations apart is that we do gliding and flying which is great fun and i recommend. there is alot more things that make the two organisations different but time wont allow me to go into detail.

twistedsucker wrote:

I just started membership in the air cadets (I'm thirteen) and I have to say its nothing like air cadets at all, its either that or its not really what I expected. They seemed to be training us like army cadets, which is really tiring first time. Does anyone know about the air cadets in england. And also, I'm not complaining, just saying what my expectation was, it's still a good thing they're training us like army cadets, I want to keep fit 🙂

What sqn are you in im in 114 sqn, its awesome cant wait to be enrolled, and by the way it is technically the army, its a RAF unit. No joke its actually paid for by the RAF.

We do a air caddet based thing at our school. We basicly do everything you do in the air cadets except we do it on monday lunchtimes at school. We do all the random stuff mike mapwork and stuff, and some of us go flying at weekends. We usually go to Woodvale AB, which is in Southport, just south of Blackpool. We also sometimes go gliding at Slamsbury which is a BAE factory, which used to be English Electric. When we go to Woodvale we don't use the Chipmonks which they used ages ago. We now use the german Grobb Tutor. We do aerobatics and all that jazz. When we to to slamsbury we go in a morot glider called a vigilant or something. Weirdly we have to have a oarachute whenever we go flying which is really odd. You never wear a parachute at a Cavilian airport, just at Air bases.

i am in Air Cadet Squadron 209, South & East Midlands wing, i am 15 and i joined last november and it is alot like army cadets but you dont get do fly as much in Army Cadets, i went Shooting Sunday 18th feb for the first time and did my .22 Wep handling test and it is absolutely awesome to be given the privelidge to use a rifle with live ammo, also the week after that i flew the Grob Tutor, got my cert and that was 10x better than shooting and it is the most thrilling experience of my life, especially doing Aerobatics, all i hate is sometimes you get chavs that are arseholes but u just put up with em, also dont call the Cpl or Sgt "Sir" that pisses em off 😛 😉 also the Drill is a bit boring and sometimes stressful but with Wing Field Day coming up they have to push you hard, we did it in the rain last Thurs and if ure cold they let u run around the HQ a few times, also im going shooting on the 19th w00p.

P.S. i know this is old, if u see this, are you still in the ATC?

Hey guys. I am an air cadet, in Toronto in downsview militery and manufactory airport, and general aviation airport buttenville. I have been in air cadets for 3 years, i like very much. It is true in the first years when you are a recruit you do more drill but when you are a corprol like me 😀 you do learn more about plane, not much tho. When every year starts there is ground school. In ground school they teah you about plane and getting you a PPL. Every thursday I go to ground school, and working on my PPL, wish me luck 😂 I was flying in gliders and power flying in a cessna 172sp, and really i was a co-pilot of a dash 8-300. I have a lovely life experence(how ever you speel it :lol🙂 and trying to be an air commercial pilot, one day flying either Air Canada or EL AL Airlines.

I will give you the website of my air cadets (www.188cobra.ca) and yea air cadets is english, all the squadren names and squads are old british name of old planes, like mosuito squad, saber squad, vampire squad, spitfire squad or flight and so on.....air cadets is based on british rules, and commandments. The most funny part in air cadets is the summer camp, and you can choose categories like, going on gliding, radios, power flying, drilling and so on...... Stay in air cadets because its fun, its displen, and your future wings.

Cheers guys 🍻