Eight air-minded young people from 861 (Wideopen) Squadron Air Cadets recently supported the work of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust at the 2011 Royal International Air Tattoo.

The cadets travelled all the way from North Tyneside to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to support the event as part of the Air Cadet Organisations 750-strong annual contingent.  The RIAT Air Cadet Camp is the largest single Air Cadet Organisation activity in the calendar and is a great chance for cadets to meet their counterparts from all parts of the United Kingdom.  The show relies heavily on the Air Cadets and the organisation supplies the single largest contingent of volunteers from 71 different units from across the country.

Cadets help out on a wide variety of tasks at the show from admissions, company enclosures and grandstands to the main arena, aircraft flight centre and on crowd line control.

Every year, the twelve highest-performing RIAT first-timers under 15 years of age are selected for the coveted ‘Red Sparrows’ Award.  This year, Cadet Dalia Phiri of Wideopen Air Cadets was selected for the award and was presented with a special Red Sparrows cap, t-shirt and plaque in recognition of her efforts.  On the Monday following the air show, Cadet Phiri was granted rare access to the RAF Fairford Air Traffic Control tower to observe the departing aircraft and to tour some of the visiting aircraft from Air Forces from around the world.

When asked to comment, Cadet Phiri said “I was really proud to be awarded as a Red Sparrow at RIAT.  This camp has been hard work but brilliant fun and I wouldn’t have the chance to do this kind of thing through any other organisation than the Air Cadets.  Watching all of the jets departing the show on Monday was brilliant and I hope I can come again next year!”

The Wideopen cadet contingent was organised by Officer Commanding 861 (Wideopen) Squadron, Flight Lieutenant James Elliott and Warrant Officer Steve Climpson.  Warrant Officer Climpson said “I was delighted that Cadet Phiri was selected for this award at RIAT – it reflects how much hard work and effort she put into her team and from speaking to her Flight Commander, I understand that she was a constant source of moral for the group.  She should be very proud!”

Cadet Corporal Jessica Marran, 16 of Hazelrigg, was nominated for the Best Cadet on Camp Award for her excellent performance during the 7 day camp and the welfare support she offered to the cadets under her charge.  Flight Lieutenant Elliott said “I was delighted to be informed by Corporal Marran’s Flight Commander that she had been nominated for the Best Cadet on Camp Award.  There were over four hundred cadets at RIAT at any one time during the period we were there and to be singled out as a nominee is a huge achievement for Jessica.  Corporal Marran consistently shows great compassion towards all cadets placed under her command and she always acts in a mature and sensible manner and is a great example to others”.

 During the show weekend, the cadets all had the opportunity to tour the aircraft on the static displays and watch the air displays, often from better viewpoints than the general public can access.  Being an Air Cadet at the largest military air show in the world has distinct advantages!  Cadets were encouraged to make sure the aircrew knew who they were and that they were part of the Air Cadet Organisation, proving this by showing them their cadet identify documents.  The cadets were then given the chance to tour the aircraft on display and often sit in the cockpits and be shown how the aircraft work by the aircrew that fly them.  Most of the cadets came away from the show with their RIAT caps festooned in signatures from the visiting aircrew – many of the Wideopen Air Cadets managed to get signatures from all of the RAF Red Arrow pilots!

Following a tour of an RAF Chinook heavy-lift helicopter from RAF Odiham and sitting in a Tucano fast-jet training aircraft from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Cadet Flight Sergeant Liam Allcock, 17 of Wideopen, said “I have never seen so many different types of aircraft in one place at one time.  Getting close to the aircraft is quite easy as we are involved in the show and have the right passes and identification – the pilots invite us to sit in their aeroplanes and have a look around which is brilliant.  We wouldn’t get this kind of access if we were just part of the general public visiting the show.  It’s been a great camp and I would really like to go again in 2012.”

The camp wasn’t just beneficial to the cadets involved – the Adult Staff also got the chance to develop!  In his civilian career Flight Lieutenant Elliott is the Emergency Planning and Response Coordinator for South Tyneside Council.  In this challenging role, he is involved in large-scale emergency exercises, working in partnership with a range of emergency response organisations such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Police.  One of the many tasks that the cadets perform when they are at RIAT is to provide simulated ‘casualties’ to the emergency services for their disaster exercise.  Due to his knowledge of this area of work, Flight Lieutenant Elliott acted as the liaison between the RIAT emergency services and the cadet volunteers.

Commenting on the exercise, he said “It was fantastic to get the cadets involved in an emergency exercise alongside colleagues from the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and other responder organisations.  The cadets did a great job in providing convincing casualties with a variety of ailments for the emergency responders to deal with.  I really enjoyed being able to combine my civilian career as an emergency planning officer with my voluntary one in the Air Cadet Organisation; it demonstrates good skill-transfer between both jobs and is valuable work experience.”

Commenting on the 861 (Wideopen) Squadron deployment to the Royal International Air Tattoo, Flight Lieutenant Elliott went on to say “I am so pleased that we managed to get eight of our more experienced cadet to RIAT this year so they could meet hundreds of other cadets from around the UK, as well as being involved in the worlds largest military air show.  The cadets worked phenomenally hard throughout the week and I am proud of each of them for their efforts.  They have all said that they would like to go back to RIAT next year so I am taking that as a sign that they enjoyed it!  I would also like to extend my thanks to Warrant Officer Steve Climpson for all of his support in the organisation of this event and for driving us all down to Gloucestershire in the minibus and back!”

861 (Wideopen) Squadron is currently recruiting and is open to all young people aged 13-20 years of age.  The Squadron parades in its purpose built Headquarters building behind Woodlands Hall in Wideopen, North Tyneside.  More information can be found on the Squadrons website at www.861sqn.org including all of the photos from the Royal International Air Tattoo 2011.