Air Cadets week at Easterton 10th to 14th April 2017
As part of an initiative led by the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association, Fulmar and Highland Gliding Clubs pool their resources to provide gliding training courses for members of the Air Training Corps Highland and North-East Scotland Wings. Our latest course took place between Monday 10 April and Friday 14 April.
We had 4 cadets for the week - Christian, Finlay, Jordan and Callum, aged between 16 and 19 and coming from as far away as Arbroath. Only one of the group had any experience of actually flying a glider so something definitely new for them. We used mainly the K21 HYJ and the Duo Discus R1, and later in the week the Twin Astir 115. We were a bit concerned about the weather to start with as showers and winds were forecast for the first part of the week. However, after an introductory talk from CFI Mike Black, we found that there were reasonable gaps between the showers and the wind was manageable so we were able to take off between the showers. There were some fleeting bits of lift around which got used wisely. The first day launches were by aerotow to allow the cadets to get used to our site and our ways. All had 2 launches each. The rest of the week launches were by winch so more new things to learn especially safety things when near launching cables. They all found winch launching exciting and enjoyed and most were doing at least some of the launch themselves.
We introduced the cadets to as many of the “get you launched” support action required to launch a glider as we could. These included checking the cable weak link, parachute and attaching the cable to the appropriate launch point on the glider. Once all that was done they were shown how to actually get the glider launched by holding the wings level and giving the appropriate signals to the person giving a light signal to the winch driver while ensuring the launch remained safe. They also learned how to log each flight onto the log sheet of the day and to ensure all details such as pilot names, take off and landing times etc. were correctly recorded. After the glider landed the cadets got involved in getting it back to the launch point and then start all over again – lots for them to learn and get their hands on – much enjoyed by all. Tuesday was showery in the morning but we managed to dodge them, but by mid afternoon the clear gaps stopped so rain stopped play from then on. On Wednesday afternoon Colin had arranged a visit to the Tornado simulator at Lossie. However we did manage some gliding in fairly strong winds before going off to Lossie. Thursday and Friday weather forecasts promised a big improvement and it actually happened – less wind, dry and a more favourable wind direction. We made the most of it. All had 5 flights each and some encountered lift on the Thursday and on Friday they managed 6 flights each. We also had 2 retrieve vehicles on the go – the club Freelander and a ride-on mower kindly loaned by the Taits – thus dramatically decreasing the turn round time. By this time all the cadets were doing at least part of the launch, lots of turning and finally circuit planning and part or more of the landing. All thoroughly enjoyed their week with us. It was one of the best such weeks we have had for a long time. Grateful thanks to Colin for organising everything, to the winch drivers for all their lovely launches and to the Twin Astir syndicate and not least the instructors and all the ground helpers. All enjoyed themselves very much indeed.
Report by Angie