Rolls-Royce, Global business with one of its sites in Derby, have been supporting 126 (City 0f Derby) Squadron in the shape of an trim trail (small scale confidence course).
A group of nine apprentices from Rolls-Royce have been entered into the Brathay Challenge. A part of the challenge was to identify a community project that will benefit people in the local area. With our own Civilian Instructor Matthew Chetwyn being part of the group they decided that 126 Squadron would be a perfect fit for their project.
The Squadron have not had access to a trim trail for some time as the previous one was removed many years ago. This was what the team decided they could plan, build and project manage.
Once the team had assessed and decided what obstacles they could fit into the area they had to start clearing the ground making it an appropriate terrain for the build. This took around a week to complete as a lot of the land had not been used since the previous trail. Liam Gray, Rolls-Royce Apprentice, said “This was not a simple task for the team and took a lot of hard work and effort to be able to get the area safe and ready for us to start building the obstacles.”
One thing the team are particularly proud of is that 126 have not had to pay for any materials used in order to finish the trail. A large proportion of the materials were donated to the Squadron by the local branch of Travis Perkins.
With the ground cleared and materials procured the team could start assembling the various obstacles around the Squadron’s perimeter. This was done in evenings and on cadet parade nights. The obstacles include a balance beam, parallel bars and over under bars. The team’s engineering skills soon came in useful when building the stations within the trail.
After three weeks of hard work and determination the team managed to complete the trail to a very professional standard. In order to celebrate the opening the Cadets took on the Rolls-Royce Apprentices in a timed trial of the trim trail. Cadet Flight Sergeant George Burke was one of the cadets that took part in the activity, “The trail was physically demanding which is great- it can only get easier! It is a great new activity for the Squadron.”
During the time the Apprentices were at the Squadron the Cadets were very interested to see what it meant to be a Rolls-Royce Apprentice and some can’t wait to be able to apply themselves.
We can only wish the Apprentices good luck and hope they get to the next stage in the Brathay Challenge. A special thank you to Civilian Committee Member Rob Goodacre, Cadet Sergeant Ashley Goodacre and Steve Hughes from Travis Perkins- without their help and support it would not have been possible.