Monthly Archives: June 2012

Cadets Help Say Farewell to Robin Gibb

Cadets from 594 (Thame) Squadron were honoured to be asked to participate in one of the sadder events of the year when they were invited to form a guard of honour at the funeral of Bee Gee Robin Gibb, a man who was also an active fund-raiser for the memorial dedicated to RAF Bomber Command in Green Park, London.

Under an intense global media spotlight, the team of 4 staff and 18 cadets, dressed in their smartest uniforms joined the cortege as it left Mr Gibbs’s house and marched down the High Street of Thame behind the glass sided four wheeled hearse. Having proceeded around the Town Hall and then back up the High Street the Air Cadet contingent then broke away and formed up as a guard of honour for the removal of the coffin. Continue reading →

Bicester Cadets Get That Aviation Feeling

Staff and cadets from Bicester Squadron were invited to experience life on an active airfield when they spent the evening touring the facilities at London Oxford Airport.

Following an invitation from the Oxford Aviation Academy, Flying Officer Daniel Azizian, acting Officer Commanding of the Squadron and himself a qualified commercial pilot jumped at the chance to show his cadets what life is like in the amazing world of aviation. Continue reading →

Next Stop The Olympics For Thames Valley Cadets?

The success of the Thames Valley Wing sports teams continued recently with a fantastic haul of trophies at the recent inter-Wing athletics competition.

Held against the backdrop of the forthcoming Olympics, and with an Olympic torch in attendance, carried by the Regional Sports Officer, Squadron Leader Costin, the competition saw cadets from across the South West Region pitted against one another to win the various pieces of silverware on offer and also to gain a place on the team to compete against the other Regions in the Corps later this year at RAF Cosford. Continue reading →

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Gliding Success and Community Award for Wallingford

Three female cadets from 966 (Wallingford) Squadron have successfully scored a hat trick by completing their Gliding Scholarships within a month of each other.

Cadets Lisa Cox, Chloe West and Abbey Woollard, all 16 years old and pupils at Wallingford School have been awarded their Silver Wings after each made a solo flight in a Vigilant glider with 612 VGS at Dalton Barracks, Abingdon. Continue reading →

WASP Takes To the Road

The Wing Aerospace Support Platform (WASP) has started a series of test deployments with a it’s first display at the Tadley Treacle Fair in North Hampshire.

Despite the gloomy weather the platform was a real hit with the public who were keen to fly the realistic simulator. Whilst potential cadet recruits flew a Tutor mission, staff were on hand to brief parents on the benefits of becoming an Air Cadet. Over the next week, the WASP will travel from Tadley to Shinfield and then onto Woodley for a series of events that will test the platform and the user documentation package. Later in the month a weekend of training will be on offer followed by the official launch celebrations in early July.

Wing Staff Officer, Squadron Leader Mark Trevena takes up the story “it’s almost been a year since we started the WASP project and it is fantastic to be able to see how close we are to being able to release the platform for Squadron use. Overall, it was a dream to use – easy to tow, quick to set up and with a well thought out design”.

WASP is available to all Thames Valley Air Cadet units for use for public engagement events or as a mobile classroom on Squadron parade nights. In addition to a popular high end flight simulator, the platform also has a built in projector, DVD, scrolling LED display and whiteboard and has all the kit needed supplied including a flag pole and two 3 metre banners to really make a colourful display. For more information about WASP please emal media.thamesvalley@aircadets.org.