Cadet Craven earning his Bronze Wings!
GBTE (Ground Based Training Equipment) course – Bronze Wings
Cadet Craven attended one of the first of these courses to run in the UK. Held at RAF Northolt the course focused on using flight simulators and air navigation exercises to improve the cadet’s airmanship over two days. This is his account…
After an hour’s drive to RAF Northolt, I arrived at the training building, which was fully furnished with six flight simulators. Me, and three other boys from other ATC squadrons, were briefed on the basics of the flight simulators, which took about an hour. After this, I was paired with an instructor, who happened to be a flight instructor for tornado and typhoon pilots: however, despite his expert guidance, I managed to fail my flying test twice, with a big mistake fouling an otherwise good performance. However, on my third try, after many hours of practice, on the second day, I succeeded, and proceeded to Air Nav. I found air nav substantially easier as the flight restrictions were looser, and I passed on my first try, earning my bronze wings.
STEM camp
This weeklong camp was held at RAF Wittering and focused on the logistics and support role of the RAF. The cadets were given exposure to a number of the tasks the RAF perform.
Cadet Cravens account below…
When I arrived at RAF Wittering, I boarded a bus filled with people like me and immediately struck up a chat with a boy who turned out to be my bunkmate and in my group. We did some icebreakers, and had a good dinner at the mess hall, which was a theme that was carried throughout the trip. Our mission, as briefed to us, was clear: To evacuate UK and Commonwealth citizens from the fictional, earthquake-stricken country of Benya using an assortment of vehicles. On the second day, an early morning and breakfast gave way to radios, where we learned to use the Bowman communication system to radio for help. With a mechanical transport squadron, we learned to use road atlases. We then had dinner and had an enlightening Q&A with the station warrant officers. On the third day, we engaged with a MT squadron again, strapping a Land Rover onto a massive 16-wheeler, and riding in the Land Rover and 18-wheeler was a high point. Then, we headed to the hangar of 3MCS, or mobile catering squadron, who cooks for soldiers on deployment, and the only mobile catering squadron in the armed forces. We cooked bread, which turned out very well. After dinner, we watched Captain America at the RAF Wittering cinema, which put a nice end to the day. The fourth day was a heavy one: we prepared our presentation, and then we learned about load distribution on aircraft. However, the highlight came after lunch, where, whilst learning about fuel testing, we learned of a surprise visit by the Minister of Defense and the Air Chief of Staff. This was a surprise, but they both turned out very relaxed, and the visit went very well. On the fifth day, we gave a presentation to our parents, very similar to this, about the events of the camp, then we departed home, but we all exchanged numbers and are still in touch. Overall, I think this camp showed a new side of the RAF, not advertised to recruits, with the focus on logistics, and “backstage” action.
