A Week in the life of... DAY 5 – Visit to 45 Squadron

A cadet is guided through the approach to landing in the Simulator

The halfway point of the camp has now past and the cadets and staff are now into the routine.  All the cadets have gelled and new friendships have formed.  After the usual drill session and uniform inspections, the cadets visited their first flying squadron of the camp – 45(R) Squadron.  45 (R) Squadron fly the Beechcraft King Air twin propeller aircraft and train all multi-engine pilots, ie pilots who will later fly aircraft such as the Hercules, C-17 or Sentry (AWACS).  The cadets got a tour of the aircraft on the ground, followed by a chance to fly it – albeit in the simulator.  Each cadet got to fly a circuit at RAF Cranwell on the simulator, which for many was the highlight of the camp so far. 

A Cadet's View of Camp - Cadet Clayton of 323 Epsom and Ewell Squadron

So far my time at RAF Cranwell has been very enjoyable, although I find it difficult to get up in the mornings. I have learned many new things from basic skills that I thought I already knew, to drill moves I never knew existed! I have learned to properly iron my uniform, and polish my parade shoes to a good standard. I have also been learning new ways to figure out initiative exercises, and I have also taught cadets to properly and safely use the L98A2 Cadet General Purpose rifle, otherwise known as the 'L98' or the 'Cadet GP'. I also hope to have passed a formal weapons handling test to be able to shoot tomorrow (Thursday) at the range at RAF Waddington.


We have all also learned that our final parade will be at College Hall Officers' Mess and the Commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Cooper, will review the parade. I'm very excited about it. All of our uniforms must be perfect and our standard of drill must be at its highest.

A Cadet's View of Camp - Cadet Crowley of 350 Squadron

My experience at Cranwell camp has been one of the best times of my life. Yes, it is always down to the wire and you are always rushing about but you rush about for some once in a life time experiences. The best part for me is when we got to go to 45 Squadron and look around their hanger and more importantly go on their flight simulators they have there. It was a lot harder than it looked and you felt like you were actually flying because when ever you would turn it felt like you were in the plane turning but really you are not moving at all. It was so realistic.


You also get to meet some amazing people and make new friends, some you will know for a long time and maybe even the rest of your life. Things like doing your uniform everyday can seem a bit tedious but when you are in a group of people it becomes something that you look froward to doing because you will have a laugh.

A Cadet's View of Camp - Cadet Sergeant Sines of 1349 Woking Sqn

RAF Cranwell annual camp so far. When we first arrived here at the station in Lincolnshire, it was fairy daunting to think that this would be home for the whole week, being one of just two cadets from my squadron, I felt fairly nervous. After the first night, we already started to talk to and get to know other cadets. The best parts of the camp so far for me have got to be the visit to 45 (R) Squadron (who fly the King Air) and DRILL. Today (Wednesday), we have just found out that our final parade of the entire camp is going to host the commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Barbara Cooper which has made us all feel extremely excited and nervous as this is an absolutely huge honour which is a once in a lifetime opportunity in the ATC!! The camp has also had activities such as weapons training, swimming, football and hockey which have all been challenging but more so, fun! We are due to have a tour of the Cadet Hall Officers Mess which is also a huge honour as it play a part in every commissioned officers training in the RAF! Obviously being a cadet camp, there is a huge level of discipline instilled in all cadets, this is done in the form of always marching around the base, uniform inspections and room inspections whereby everything has to be PERFECT in order to win top marks for your flight! The camp Warrant Officer, WO Roswell has planned and is currently implementing and teaching a hugely complex and awesome final parade in order to give the best impression to the Commandant Air Cadets, we are representing Surrey Wing after all!! Basically this camp is one of the most prestigious and best camps available for any Air Cadet in the corps and I would strongly suggest that if you are a cadet, when next years annual camps come around, you get yourself on it!!

A Week in the life of... DAY 4 – BBMF Visit

The Camp at BBMF in front of the Lancaster

With it being a long bank holiday weekend the station had been extra quiet, but now everyone was back to work it resembled more of an active station with lots of people around.  Some of these people, both service and civilian, got to see the cadets practice their drill – now not only practicing for the drill competition, but also for the final parade on Friday.  The staff have been looking for a suitable VIP from the station throughout the day, so check back on Friday to see if we were successful.   

A Cadet's view of Camp - Cadet Lambert

The camp so far has been great at RAF Cranwell. We've only been here three days and already we've done many sports including my favourite - football. All the sports have been competitive as the winning flight gets points for the flight competition, which also takes into account the scores from inspection of our rooms/uniform and the results of the initiative exercises. The Greens is probably the most fun as we get to march around the base from point to point to complete the exercises. Today was a bit different as we spent the morning in Wedgewoods as we were having the camp photo taken in front of the grand college. All in all it has been really good so far and with the chance of flying and shooting ahead it can only get better. 

A Cadet's view of Camp - Cadet DeHavilland

When we arrived at RAF Cranwell after a long coach journey, we sorted out out rooms which were surprisingly good. My Squadron stuck together because we didn't know anyone else. When we tidied our rooms and changed into DPM Combats we headed for lunch and I have to say the chefs are really good at their jobs. We became familiar with the other cadets and have since become good friends with people that a few hours ago we didn't even know. After lunch we became familiar with the Base in a Famil Ex. Since then we have all participated in numerous events such as... Sports which involves 5- a side football, Hockey and Volleyball. We also have done some initiative exercises such as a mine field exercise. Everything in this camp has been brilliant so far. I would advise anybody that gets the opportunity to go on a camp should do it because it is great fun and you get to meet so fantastic fun people!!!

A Week in the life of... DAY 3 – Camp Photo

The tradition is that every Air Cadet Summer Camp has a camp photo.  One of those photos of everyone standing in front of something to remember the time by.  Usually this is an aircraft, but here at RAF Cranwell the photo was taken outside the famous RAF College Hall, where all RAF Officers pass out from after being commissioned.  This was a good start to the day, and was the first time the cadets were inspected in their best uniforms – neatly ironed shirt and tie.

On returning the cadets were split for the rest of the day, with some having their weapons handling tests to allow them to shoot later in the week, and others using the flight simulator in the Air Cadets Regional Activity Centre or spending time with the force development squadron dong teambuilding and leadership exercises. 

A Week in the life of... DAY 2 – The Air Museum and First Inspections!

The Avro Vulcan at Newark Air Museum.

Day two of the camps started rather leisurely with breakfast being at 08:00 rather than the normal 07:00.  Then, without having touched their uniforms, the cadets boarded the coach in civilian dress to visit the local Newark Air Museum.  But this was not just a jolly for those with an interest in all kinds of flying machines, as the cadets had to complete a series of questions about the aircraft exhibited as part of the inter-flight competition.  This time victory for B flight.

The museum showed a range of aircraft from relatively modern to the historic.  The cadets could even get to see inside some of these historic aircraft such as the Avro Vulcan Bomber and the English Electric Canberra. 

A Week in the life of... DAY 1 – Arrival

Five-a-side Football helped start the camp activities with some fun

As with most summer camps, the week started with a coach journey up the A1.  On arrival at RAF Cranwell the cadets were shown to their accommodation for the, one of the new Air Cadet Regional Activity Centres.  These centres are designed to not only provide accommodation for cadets, but also provide key training facilities in terms of flight simulation, IT suites, Air Traffic Control simulators and much more.  There may be more on this later in the week.  

The cadets sleep in single man rooms, with shared washing facilities, and separate areas of the accommodation for male and female cadets.  It will be down the cadets to keep the accommodation block clean and tidy, which will be assessed.  Each day the cadets rooms will be inspected along with their uniform.  Lots of spit and polish, with a touch of ironing to help fill the time when the cadets are not enjoying some of the fun activities in store for them.  

A Week in the Life of a Cadet at Summer Camp

Thirty seven cadets from across Surrey Wing have just started an Air Cadet Summer Cadet at RAF Cranwell, Near Grantham in Lincolnshire.  A Summer Camp is a core part of the cadet experience, spending a week living on an active RAF Station taking part in many and varied activities.

In a series of entries, we will follow the camp during their weeks stay at RAF Cranwell and find out what it is like to experience this enjoyable and rewarding cadet activity.