Around forty hopeful Air Cadets attended an Air Cadet Pilot Scholarship Briefing Day at RAF Cranwell in the hope of proving their worthiness for the granting of the keenly fought for scholarships.
The air cadets from across the Central & East Region came together for a day of testing, assessing and interviewing to amass a point tally that will grade their suitability for the award of the prestigious scholarships.
This briefing, the final one of two run during the year, has ensured that over 110 cadets are now in the “pool” for the scholarships awarded to the Region’s cadets each year.
Funded through Headquarters RAF Air Cadets, the scholarships provide for up to twelve hours of pilot tuition in single piston engined fixed wing aircraft. The tuition is currently provided by Tayside Aviation of Dundee, and cadets attend as a residential course the cost of which is all encompassed within the scholarship.
Attending one of the briefing and selection days is a pre requisite for scholarship applications. Cadets must have a keen interest in flying which the will be asked to demonstrate during their interview stage. The cadets are given an opportunity to show their flying aptitude utilising the Region’s state of the art flying simulators. Their knowledge is then tested with a flying and aircraft based exam.
Typical of the candidates is (soon to be) 16 years old Cadet Sergeant Tegan Dodimead of 207 (Cranfield) Squadron. Having always had the desire to be a pilot, Tegan joined the RAF Air Cadets three years ago and has already amassed nine hours of flying . An accomplished musician, Tegan plays the clarinet in the RAFAC National Band she is also a keen marksman and has gained her Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. Tegan is also into road marching although has not yet attempted the Nijmegen March. “ I very much want to be a pilot in the RAF and feel that a Scholarship will help fulfil the dream”.
Three of the Qualified Aerospace Instructor Cadets helping out on the course are past recipients of the scholarships and recounted their experiences and the differing scholarships that are available.