Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Dates For Your Diary

24 NOV - Seven Sisters day walk

02 DEC - Shooting team air rifle range practice


08 DEC - Bag pack (Asda, Heron Retail Park Basildon)


15 DEC - Bag pack (Waitrose, Billericay)

16 DEC - Christmas carol church service (evening)

18 DEC - Secret Santa

20 DEC - Christmas party

21 DEC to 07 JAN - Christmas shut-down

05 JAN - First aid refresher course (staff and staff cadets where required) 

08 JAN - First parade night back after Christmas shut-down

12 JAN - Bag pack (Sainsbury's, Brentwood)

19 JAN - Church View garden project (DofE volunteering)

29 JAN - Leading, Senior and Master exams

16 - 23 FEB - Berlin camp

29 - 31 MAR - Peak District silver DofE practice

25 - 27 MAY - Peak District silver DofE expedition

Aerospace Leaders Camp

Dates: 17 FEB 13 to 22 FEB 13
Cost: £65
Location: RAF Halton
Requirements: Min age 16 on 12 FEB 13, attended an ATC camp before, senior cadet or above, must want a career in civilian / military aerospace (doesn't just mean pilot),

London and South East Region HQ are running the Aerospace Leaders Camp during the February half term. If you meet the strict criteria above and wish to attend then add your name to the events list on the cadet notice board. During the camp you will visit many civilian and military aerospace sites and is directly focused on cadets wishing to develop an aerospace career.

Note, adding your name to the events list doesn't guarantee you a place on the camp. Cadets have to apply to attend and are required to complete an application form, which will be sent to Regional HQ for consideration. The list will be up until 06 DEC 12.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Air Rifle Shooting Scores

Scores from the air rifle shooting are as follows:

Smith - 80/100
Wilby - 157/200
Deacon T - 157/200
Johnfinn - 172/200 (Wing marksman)
Goodfellow - 85/200
Boreham - 127/200
Sgt Lewis - 112/200

Monday, November 19, 2012

H&S Course

Reminder, the following cadets are to parade at the squadron tomorrow for 19:00 in No2C (dark blue) uniform ready to go to Billericay School for a H&S course.

Thorne

Brighton
Andrews 
Barker 
Bowles 
Horner 
Lamb 
Smith, G
Teichman 
Wilson 

R Davis

SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

British Airways Future Pilot Programme

Trying to become a commercial airline pilot is hard work; believe me I've been trying to do it myself! The biggest pressure isn't the flying training or the huge amount of classroom work and exams, it's the financial cost of training. To go from zero hours to be considered employable by an airline will cost you a minimum of £50,000, however some integrated courses can go as high as £80,000.

This is an enormous amount of money for anyone to spend or their career. As a result the airline industry is at risk of becoming available to those who are able to pay and increasingly unavailable to those with high levels of aptitude. Thats not to say we have a huge skills gap with our current pilots, but many talented individuals are denied their dream career due to a financial wall.

Post 9/11 and the credit crunch meant scholarships have been a thing of the past, however British Airways are bucking that trend. Recognising their need to recruit pilots of a high caliber for their ever expanding airline BA are opening their own sponsored pilot training programme. This is a very encouraging sign for the industry and a not to be missed opportunity for aspiring pilots.

Details of the programme can be found on the BA Future Pilot website here: http://www.bafuturepilot.com/. If you meet the criteria this really is an opportunity not to be missed. Don't underestimate the level of competition, if you go for this you really will have to give it your all. If you do go for it then consider the following advice:

  • Don't delay - This won't be open forever so apply early.
  • Don't rush it - You need to standout from the 1000s of other people who will apply.
  • Do your research - Read everything about the programme, where you can do your training, what the training involves and how the finances work.
  • Read about British Airways - You are asking them to invest a lot of time and money into your career, so find out what their business is all about.
  • Show yourself off - You are all working towards a BTEC in Aviation Studies, some of you will be doing the CVQO BTEC in Public Services, many of you will have completed / almost completed a level of the DofE scheme.
For those who do take up this opportunity then best of luck in your applications and do let us know how you get on.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Get Your Names Down For Activities

If you are interested and available to attend either the Seven Sisters day walk or our camp to Berlin then you need to get your returns in / put your name on the event sheet ASAP. If not enough cadets put their names down to attend then the events will not run.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Dates For Your Diary


10 NOV - Poppy collection (All Cadets Expected To Attend)

11 NOV - Remembrance Sunday (All Cadets Expected To Attend)


17 NOV - Air rifle shooting practice (Air rifle shooting team only)


08 DEC - Bag pack (Asda, Heron Retail Park Basildon)

15 DEC - Bag pack (Waitrose, Billericay)

24 NOV - Seven Sisters day walk


20 DEC - Christmas party


21 DEC to 07 JAN - Christmas shut-down 

08 JAN - First parade night back after Christmas shut-down


12 JAN - Bag pack (Sainsbury's, Brentwood)


16 - 23 FEB - Berlin camp


29 - 31 MAR - Peak District navigation training weekend

Seven Sisters Adventure Training Day Walk

With our new BELA qualifications myself and Mr Pether will be running a day walk along the Seven Sisters on the South Downs Way, which will take place on 24 NOV 12. This is going to be one of a few opportunities to have navigation training in an unfamiliar area before the planned trip to the Peak District where you will work towards your Silver DofE.

Our aim is to teach and test your knowledge of navigation and group working abilities. These are essential skill that you will have to prove you have before we will let you go on your unaccompanied expedition in the Peak District hills.

Cost for this event is £5, an event list will go up this evening and you will have until 20 NOV 12 to get your names down to attend it. See the picture below for what to expect on this trip.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron


Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Leading, Senior and Master Revision Materials


Leading (Tutor Mr LaRoche)
Principles Of Flight


Revise your airmanship knowledge - These PowerPoints will not be covered in the classroom, you need to read them in your own time, but do feel free to ask us any questions on them.

Airmanship Knowledge


Senior (Tutor Sgt Davis)
Air Navigation

Aircraft Handling & Flying Technique


Master (Self study)
Lessons as per previous post - you are expected to give a presentation on your chosen subject area to the rest of the group.

Pilot Navigation

Principles Of Airframes

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

RAFA And ACO Lotto

Anyone aged 16 or over can help support the ACO by signing up to the new RAFA lotto. For a £1 a week you will be allocated 6 Wings Lotto numbers. Each Friday the Lotto will be drawn and prizes posted directly to the winners.

You can win up to £1,000 in the prize draw. First and third prizes are guaranteed to be won each week, the second prize however isn't guaranteed and can rollover until it reaches a maximum of £10,000.

To sign up please click on the link below, all entrants need to be 16+ to join.

http://www.securecollections.com/dd/rafa/details.asp?cadet=Y

Jumpers

Remember, as mentioned on parade all cadets are to attend squadron wearing jumpers until advised otherwise.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Monday, November 05, 2012

Well Done For Fireworks Weekend

Well done to everyone who attended the fireworks night and clean up last weekend. Saturday ran without a hitch and everyone enjoyed a good fireworks show. Sunday saw us facing some very wet and cold weather but as usual cadets got on with the task and kept the morale high! The round table are very grateful for the jobs we undertake and have passed on their thanks.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Period Of Remembrance

We have now entered the period of remembrance, therefore as we do each year all cadets and staff shall wear a poppy on their uniform. This is worn of the right hand side of the shirt or jumper.

Poppies will be available from the squadron.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Monday, October 22, 2012

Berlin Camp

A letter will be going out to all cadets regarding a camp to Berlin that we are in the process of organising. The key focus of the camp is WWII and Cold War Germany, where cadets will learn about life during the war in Berlin, the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, post war Germany, Berlin Wall and the Stasi (East German Secret Police).

The letter will provide full details on the camp, which will take place in February half term 2013. Those interested in attending need to complete and return the slip at the bottom of the letter along with a deposit of £100 to secure a place on the camp.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Successful Flight Competition Weekend

Well done to the cadets from both flights who put a lot of effort into the flight competition weekend. Despite the weather we still managed to have a good weekend of activities including a nav ex race, archery, raft building and shooting. The scores from each event are being bought together and the winning flight will be announced on tomorrow's parade night.

The staff would all like to thank and say well done to Sgt Longman who had the idea of running this event and was the key organiser for the weekend.

One final note on kit. Should anyone find a jacket that isn't their's then please return this to the squadron as it more than likely belongs to Deacon T. It's quite important that this is returned as his glasses are in one of the jacket pockets.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron


Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Staff Now BELA Qualified!

After 10 months of hard work and training weekends Mr Pether and myself are now BELA (Basic Expedition Leader Award) qualified. Last weekend we both traveled to the Peak District with several other staff members from Essex Wing for our final assessment.

On day 1 we walked an expedition route from Edale covering part of the Pennine Way. This was similar to a silver DofE route carrying all the kit we would need for a weekend. On the way round we were given various tests including triangulation, aiming off, hand railing, questions on the country code and a first aid scenario. Each member of the group had to lead the team on a section of the route and ensure everyone's needs were taken care of.

Day 2 focused on a shorter day walk on a route from Edale, walking up to Hollins Cross then back round and down to the campsite. Further navigation and group leadership tests were given on route to really test us on all the learning outcomes. The walk came to a close at 13:00 when we were given individual feedback on our results and were very please to be told we had both passed with flying colours! After sharing round a celebratory bottle of champaign talk soon started on how we intend to use our new qualification.

The BELA will allow us to lead groups in non-mountainous and non-remote areas of the countryside. This provides our squadron with even greater flexibility to run adventure training activities and more DofE expeditions. Mr Pether and I are very keen to run training navigation weekends, practice and actual DofE expeditions in areas such as the South Downs, Peak District and Snowdon National Park once the adventure training season begins in March / April 2013. This will be a great opportunity for us to put our skills to good use and for the cadets to learn from us in an environment they are not familiar with.

There are a couple of groups of people we would like to thank who made it possible of us to complete this award. Firstly, thanks to Essex Wing ATC and their team of tutors and assessors for their instruction and guidance throughout the course, without which none of this would have taken place. Finally, thanks to our Civilian Welfare Committee for funding this for us meaning we avoided any personal financial cost.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant 2393 Squadron

Friday, September 28, 2012

Air Cadet Air Rifle League Competition

As a squadron we will be entering six cadets into the Air Cadet Air Rifle League Competition. This is a national competition and a great way for us to show your skill level in air rifle shooting.

We have been doing lots of shooting training over the past few months, therefore I hope many of you are motivated to take up this challenge. We only have six cadet places for this competition, therefore only the best shooters of the squadron will be put forward.

Any cadet can apply to be considered for entry into the squadron team by adding your name to the event list on the notice board. If more than six cadets apply we will hold a qualifying shoot during October to decide which cadets will go forward to represent the squadron.

By applying for this you will need to be available for competition shoots during November, January, February, April and May. Competitors will need to be competent shooting practices in the prone, standing and kneeling positions. On completion of the shoots targets are posted to HQ Air Cadets for scoring. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed teams as well as the top male and top female shooter.

Closing date for applications is 11 OCT 12.

R Davis
SGT (ATC)
Adjutant

Friday, September 14, 2012

CWC Invite To Parents

The CWC are having their next meeting as an ' ideas bashing meeting ' in the Ivory Rooms on Thursday 20th September at 19:30. So drop off your cadet and come join us, everyone is welcome, bring a friend!

Chris Donley
Chairman 2393 Squadron

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tonights Shooting Competition Result

It was a very tight air rifle competition this evening, the results are as follows:

1st: Donley, Webb
3rd: Farkas, Thorne
5th: Boreham, Wilby
7th: Weekley
8th: Walsh
9th: Brighton
10th: Moore, Smith

Well done everyone!

Sgt R Davis (ATC)

Friday, August 03, 2012

URGENT REMUS CAR PARKING

FOR CADETS NOT IN ATTENDANCE THURS  3 AUG  and all cadets

Parade 12 noon at Squadron, blue uniform, (boots if weather bad and foul weather)

Remember, those undertaking Bronze DofE, this is part of your volunteering section