Sea Cadets awarded Bronze Wings in aviation

Image courtesy Sea Cadets

Fourteen sea cadets from across the country have been awarded their Bronze Wings in aviation rat a special awards ceremony in Weymouth, Dorset.

The awards follow the cadets’ successful completion of the Aviation Foundation Course last week, which included subjects like principles of flight, air engineering, how to navigate a plane, meteorology and aviation law. The 2022 course was the first event to take place face-to-face since 2019, due to Covid-19.

“The aviation course is extremely popular, with hundreds of cadets aged 15-17 sending in their application to express their interest in taking part,” said the Course Director, Sub Lieutenant Steve Cook RNR, who is Sea Cadets’ National Staff Officer for Aviation. “Out of these, the top 20 cadets from the Combined Cadet Force are selected, based on the strength of the application.”

The aviation courses run by the youth charity, Sea Cadets, provide a valuable opportunity for cadets to gain experience in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm and the flying of aircraft.

The course was set up and endorsed by the Royal Navy to offer cadets an opportunity to take part in a Flying Scholarship programme. The syllabus – compiled in conjunction with qualified flying instructors – aims to develop young people’s confidence and sense of responsibility. It also opens up career possibilities into both civil and military aviation for the cadets.

As part of the course, cadets get to spend a day at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, which is one of the Royal Navy’s principal air bases. Covering an area of around 1,400 acres, it is home to more than 100 aircraft and one of the busiest military airfields in the UK.

“The cadets visited the 727 Squadron and the Royal Navy Historic Flight charity, Navy Wings,” said Steve. “They got to meet the squadron commander and instructors as well as students undertaking current RN screening for flying training.”

“I am very proud of the cadets who worked very hard during the course. It’s fantastic that all the 20 cadets passed and have been awarded their Bronze Wings. Our sincere thanks to Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd for sponsoring the training materials and prizes for our cadets.”

One cadet described the course as “challenging but very rewarding” while another said: “Not only has it broadened my scope of knowledge in areas I otherwise would not have looked into, it has helped to develop me as a person for my future endeavours".

At the event held on Friday, Ordinary Cadet Poppy Richardson from Bristol Knowle Sea Cadets Unit won the top place on this year’s course, while Able Cadet Amelia Harrison from Kettering Sea Cadets Unit won the prize as the most improved student.

The top 12 cadets from this year’s Bronze Wings course will go on to take part in the Silver Wings programme later in the year, where they will receive in-flight training as part of their course.