Altitude
2497 COSFORD SQUADRON
Airborne Cadets
On 25th March Cosford was basking in unseasonably
warm weather and blue skies when a number of our Cadets took to the air in Gliders and aircraft.
The Grob 109B motor glider, known by the RAF as the
Vigilant T1, is used by the Air Cadet Organisation to give
basic flying and gliding training to air cadets. The aircraft
is built in Germany, but it has been modified to meet the
RAF’s training requirements by the inclusion of an additional throttle in the cockpit and an increase in the maximum take-off weight. The Vigilant is currently used by 16
Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGSs), located at various
sites around the UK. Their role is to train air cadets in
basic flying techniques and to enable them to reach a
standard where they are able to fly solo. Courses available to the air cadets are the gliding induction course, the
gliding scholarship course and the advanced gliding training course.
We arrived at crash gate 1 at 11:30am for an
11:45am start. It was a beautiful, morning, and I was
also the first day of summer, so the weather was warm.
The CI drove us down to the school where some instructors met us. It was time for the safety induction video
that we’d all seen time and time again; exiting the vigilant if the engines failed, what to do if your pilot has a
heart attack and both followed by the reassurance of
the immensely slim possibilities. Time passed by, cadets
got called up, and cadets came back, all of them with
huge smiles on their faces like the Cheshire cat. After
about 4 episodes of Top Gear and 3 episodes of
Gadget Show, it was my turn to take to the skies.
I was very excited, anybody would be, I felt so proud
walking across the airfield in my RAF overalls, on that
glorious day. The vigilant was still on the grass, picturesque with the museum standing tall in the background.
I approached the aircraft from behind, baring in mind
the health and safety points of the Vigilant’s propellers.
Introduction with pilot, taxied, questions asked and we
we’re airborne.
He explained how to pitch, and I followed him through,
before trying it myself. Once that was out the way we
went into basic turns, and once again I tried it myself
and completed it. We played a game where the pilot
would knock the joystick and I would have to correct
the planes path back to neutral. It was good, and the
best thing was we had a laugh whilst doing it. One final circuit round the base and museum and my gliding
for that day was over.
Cadets Dowd and Speake thoroughly enjoyed their gliding experiences when both had the opportunity to take
the controls of their Vigilants, chatting to the pilots and
learning how to roll and pitch.
Cadets Pagett and Bentley have also been kind enough
give us a more in depth account of their experiences.
Cadett Pagett writes of his first time in a Glider:
‘I’d been flying twice through the squadron during my
year here, and those two days had been two of the best
days of my life. But this time I wasn’t going to AEF; I was
going to GIC. It was my first time gliding and I didn’t really know what to expect, I guessed that it wouldn’t be all
that different from my AEF experiences, except without all
the aerobatics. And at least the start wasn’t as early as
the AEF!
This is only one of the many things I love about being a
part of 2497 Cosford Squadron, and its days like my
gliding experience which every cadet would love, and
it is these experiences that will stick in my memory for
years and years to come. Gliding is an experience I
would expect and stress any cadet to jump at the
opportunity. “You get out what you put in…”
Please feel free to give feedback to [email protected]
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