Sunday 17th April saw a total of 5 cadets from 485 (Harborne & Quinton) Sqn ATC travel to RAF Cosford to take part in gliding at 633 Volunteer Gliding School (VGS).

The cadets sat in on a briefing and watched a safety DVD which was given by the VGS staff cadets. Following this the cadets were soon being kitted out in their flying suits and gloves and walking out to the Vigilant aircraft.   Four of the five cadets had never flown in the Vigilant motor glider before and once their particular sorties had finished, there were lots of smiley faces walking back in to the crew room. 

The cadets were following the Air Cadet Gliding induction course, or GIC which consists of three levels of instruction.   On this first visit they learnt about the GIC 1 syllabus which looks at: How the pitch is changed, how the rudder affects the yaw plane and how to change the rolling plane.    In later visits they will cover GIC 2 and 3. At these levels they will learn all about aerodynamics and controlling the aircraft, first in a classroom, then taking control and practicing what they had learnt in the aircraft itself.

The first time flyers were all given a certificate that marked their first experience at the VGS.

FS Richard Coates who accompanied the cadets commented “The weather was fantastic at RAF Cosford and all the cadets have had a great day. I would like to thank the pilots and staff cadets of 633 VGS for their help during the day”.