1114 (Gosforth) Squadron

 ADVENTURE TRAINING CHALLENGE 2011

 

 

On the 16th September, 1114 set off on the journey to Kielder to partake in the
Annual AT Challenge. Along with 23 other squadrons from Durham and
Northumberland Wing the cadets prepared themselves for bad weather and lots of
fun! The first challenge to take place was the 18.5km walk up, down and around
the forest area of Northumberland. The cadets who took part were rared up to set
off as 3 tigers, 1 wolverine and a normal everyday walker (so uncreative).
Waterproofs were on then off throughout the full day, along with 11 other
squadrons, 1114 managed to miss one check point. Even though this affected the
chances of winning, all participants managed to see the funny side of it (by the
end of the walk anyway)! Arriving back at Hawkhirst Scout Camp they took part in
a First Aid Competition. Day 1 was complete!

After a night of shivering and being damp the team then took part in Canoe Scrabble, this consisted of 2 people canoeing and 3 people onshore. The competition was to paddle out to another boat and collect 1 letter or number, to then return back to shore and hand it over.  After several trips back and forth the team managed to create 481 words! The
next part of the competition was Orienteering! They were allowed 1 hour to find
30 marked posts around an area of space. CWO Dendle decided to play stuck in the
mud by herself, she managed to lose 1 shoe and gain a very wet foot! They then
put their cooking skills into action and used stoves to make some edible grub!

Competition 5 was a Mountain Biking Course, this consisted of going
around several cones, through a zig zag path, around more trees, picking up a
bottle with one hand then swapping it over and placing it back down (whilst
riding) and going under some poles! FS Charlton and Cpl Hall competed in this
for the team. The last competition was Archery, all team members had 2 goes at
this and the best shot took it for the team! CWO Dendle did us proud!

Several fod plods later and the winners were announced. Although 1114
did not take home 4th place for the 3rd year they did put in massive amount of
effort and came 12th. The weekend was thoroughly enjoyed by all! Well done to
CWO Dendle, FS Charlton, Cpl Mohan, Cpl Hall and Cdt Percy!

Chillingham Castle Event

On the 15th of August 2011, Gosforth Squadron were invited along to the most haunted place in Britain. The staff of Chillingham Castle requested the team to help with their annual Summer Fair
during the weekend.

Upon arrival the cadets were sent straight into action. With limited car parking
spaces and over 1000 members of public to attend, their work was cut out. Over
the course of the day cadets and staff were acting in place of attendants in the
Great Hall, answering any questions the public had, parking the public and
making several good cups of tea. They rounded off the day by doing a much loved
FOD PLOD.

There were several things left on everyone’s minds... Pizza, Monopoly and a trail
through the Hanging Trees. After tucking in to a much appreciated
tea, Flt Lt O’Roarty took the team for a walk through the Hanging Tree to see if
there was anything spooky occurring. Safe to say they all felt the temperature
drop walking through the area which was home to thousands of spirits. Listening
to the clock strike midnight, the decision was made to call it a night.

A short time after returning back home the squadron received a Thank You letter
from Sir Humphreys, the owner of Chillingham Castle, for the hard effort put in
over the weekend.

Gliding scholarship

 

Since the start of my cadet career I have always hoped that I would get
the opportunity to take part in a gliding scholarship. Thankfully in summer
2011 I had that chance and I loved every minute of it. The gliding scholarship
is an opportunity available to all air cadets aged sixteen and above. The
course can either be a weekend course (which involves committing 6 weekends of
your time) or the week course (which is normally offered to cadets that have to
travel a long distance to get to the school).

I took part in the weekend course. At the start of the course i got
shown around the station I was shown my accommodation and i got to meet my
instructor’s as well as the other cadets doing their scholarship.

To start with the instructors go through the basics of flying the
glider and how to apply your parachute and how to climb into to the aircraft by
yourself. The first flying lesson I had was basically revisiting GIC’S 1-3 so
that the instructor could access my flying ability. Unlike GIC’S 1-3 you spend
a lot longer in the air getting used of the controls and improving your ability
to fly.

As soon as I finished the GIC’S my training began, I was issued with a
gliding scholarship note book which covered all that I need to learn through out
my course I found it really useful because it gave me an incite of my next
flying lesson . The school has set criteria which all cadets have to complete
if they want to complete the course it includes:

• Coordinated controls 1
• Coordinated controls 2 and taxing
• Flying straight and level
• Take-off
• Medium turns
• Landing
• Stalling
• Circuits
• Plato’s

Then your accessed by an A category instructor who then tells you if
you can do a solo flight or no (unless a cadet has a medical condition then in
which case a ghost solo is required).

The course isn’t just about the flying, on a morning before breakfast
me and the other cadets had to assist the instructors with:

• Opening the hanger doors
• Moving the vigilantes outside
• Putting the DLA markers in position
• cleaning our rooms and the building

On a night time we cleaned the gliders, initially we were shown how to
clean the aircraft and from then on we were expected to carry out the cleaning
tasks by our selves, e.g. cleaning the the cockpit canopy,washing the wings and
polishing the undercarriage. we all worked together to ensure that the job was
done to a satisfactory standard and an instructor would inspect the gliders to
make sure we met those standards 

But once all of the work is done your allowed to get dressed into
civvies, order pizza , play on the Xbox and occasionally the instructors
organised a barbecue which I really enjoyed.

During my gliding training I felt like a pilot because the instructor
makes you do all of the pre-take off checks, they lets you taxi the glider out
onto the runway and let you take off and land and to me that felt amazing.

The instructors realise that not everybody has the same flying ability
and so they keep a progress chart which informs your next instructors which
areas you struggled on, which areas need improved, however they also praise you
if your doing well, for example when it came to landings I was really good and
picked it up really quick and the instructor made a note of this and then my
next instructor praised me for it.

Ground study is a really important element of your training, because
the information supplied to each Gs cadet will not only help towards the
knowledge and understanding of the aircraft but it also helps when it comes to
sitting the exam at the end of your training. I found the information helpful
because it made sure that I was aware of what to do in case of an emergency.

At the end of my course I was accessed by an A category instructor who
praised me for my ability to react quick to Plato’s and general flying ability
he made me land the aircraft and he said to me “you’ve worked really hard well
done and I am pleased to say that I will be getting out now and your going to
do a solo circuit” and I felt so proud of my self and it felt amazing to be
able to fly solo later on that night the school had a presentation were I was
awarded with my silver wings and a certificate.

My favourite part was towards the end when I got to put all of my
knowledge and ability into practice in a solo flight.

I loved the overall experience and I was so grateful not only to the
school but to my squadron for supplying me this amazing opportunity before
cadets I could never of dreamed of flying solo in a glider. And I have to say
it has been my greatest achievement in life to date and I would strongly
recommend it to any cadet who shares my passion for flying. 

Sergeant Mohan