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. 

Cadets help each other through the "Spidersweb"

After returning to RAF Cranwell for lunch, the cadets were split into groups.  Those who had previous experience on the L98 cadet rifle were given weapons training to, hopefully, allow them to pass a weapons handling test and go shooting later in the week.  Those who didn’t have the experience completed a round robin of leadership and teamwork exercises.  This included a “minefield” task, a discussion task and the “spiderweb”.  The latter involves having to get the entire team through a “spiderweb” without touching the “web”.  Each team member has to pass through a single hole in the web, so thought has to go into the order that individuals are sent through as well as which holes to use when.  It also tests general teamwork and communication to ensure that it is safe and successful.

Also during this time the cadets experienced their first Inspections!  The camp Warrant Officer has inspected their rooms, which were marked for cleanliness and tidiness, and made it known where the expected standards were below par.  This created a scurry of activity during the cadets’ free time as the flight commanders guided their cadets on how to improve. 

The day’s activities were rounded off with another sports session in the gym to burn off a few calories before free time and bedtime.

Tomorrow will bring the traditional camp photo, along with the first early start.  Yes there is also a 6 am!