First Time Flier
For flying you have to be on the coach for 07:50, when you get to RAF Woodvale you get off the coach and march down to 10 AEF (10 air experience flight). Then you watch a safety video (it’s a bit boring, but has to be done), after that you do a practice of abandoning the aircraft, in a device called ‘the chair’. Then you chill out in the common room and watch a few films (I prefer Top Gun) throughout the films cadets are called up to start to get ready to fly (I find if you wait until most people have flown you get more air time and you miss the cleaning of the common room at the end – top tip if you ever go!).
When you are in the Grob Tutor you will usually get the opportunity to do aerobatics (I do it every time). It is amazing! Sometimes the pilot will ask you to follow him through on the aerobatics. If you are lucky the pilot may ask you to do the aerobatics (I have never done this but other cadets have and they say it is amazing).Then the pilot did “10 touch” and goes, but finally decided to land. As we were on the taxi way I felt a bit sick so the pilot opened the canopy for some fresh air and as he opened it there was cold air flooding into the cockpit because the propeller was acting like a massive fan, this was a lovely feeling!
On the coach journey home everybody was tired so most people fell asleep, when we arrived at the drop off point our parents pick us up and we went home – exhausted but eager to do it again.
Cdt Wilkinson J
