OVER A THOUSAND CADETS TAKE PART IN MUSTER TO CELEBRATE RAF100

It was a day the next generation will always remember…a ride in a chinook in sunny Scotland. 1400 cadets and staff took to the skies for an RAF100 two-day training exercise at Leuchars airfield in Fife. Cadets travelled far and wide from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England for an un-forgettable ride in a Chinook helicopter.

The crews from RAF Benson and RAF Odiham worked tirelessly for two days and each flight carried around 20 cadets. The staff and cadets onboard were given a ten-minute sortie around the airfield and when the flight was finished, the cadets on board would disembark and the next group were ready and waiting. Cadets and staff have described the exercise as a trip of a lifetime and the majority left the helicopter with beaming smiles. It even made some cadets think about joining the RAF and becoming a pilot in the future.

Cadet Megan Hillerby (14) from 2388 Castleford Squadron said:

“I loved flying in an RAF Chinook helicopter and it compared to nothing else- I loved it! It really was the experience of a lifetime.”

The last flight of the day had its own VIP, Air Vice Marshal Rose Paterson, the Air Officer for Scotland. He was joined by a group of Scottish dancers and the flying aces. One thousand four hundred and thirty-one people had flown over the two day event, and it wasn’t just an unforgettable day for cadets too- adult volunteers were given the opportunity to participate too.

M A Bulmer Flight Lieutenant RAFAC Media Communications Officer South & West Yorkshire Wing