Helicopters, Go-Karts and more!

On Saturday the 20th of August Cadets Gaishun and Thurston, and Cadet Flight Sergeant Margetts from 2524 (Oakington) Squadron, joined 24 other cadets from around the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire wing to go to RAF Odiham Summer Camp and experience life on an RAF Base and undertake many different activities.

To start the week off the cadets all had a visit to the RAF fire section where the cadets were shown round two of the fire trucks that they had there. This inevitably ended with lots of cadets getting very wet after the RAF personal emptied the truck from a great distance.

Our first outside visit was on the morning of Monday the 14th. We spent the day in Portsmouth at the historical dockyard where we could see and explore the HMS Victory, the ship on which Admiral Nelson was killed; the Royal Navy's first iron hulled ship HMS Warrior, a Victorian ship that was left derelict for some time but then repaired; and the wreck of the Mary Rose, which is kept indoors under specific controlled environmental factors to preserve it. Ultimately, the visit was very educational and quite fun.

We also visited the RAF police and RAF dog section. During these visits RAF personnel explained what each role entailed and how those service personnel came to join these roles. Following the talks, cadets had the opportunity to ask questions and have close up look at some of the equipment and even try some of it out.

On one of the days we visited The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst where we received a guided tour of the grounds. We saw the old and new colleges, living accommodation, as well as having the opportunity to look inside the historic Chapel. We learnt a lot about the history of Sandhurst, from the trip, including learning about some of the famous alumni and stories about the buildings.

One evening, the staff at RAF Odiham were kind enough to set up their Go Karting track for us to use. Each of us got around 10 minutes to race around the course.

The highlight of our week was with out doubt a flight in a Chinook helicopter for an hour long flight from RAF Odiham.

Our flight took us along the Thames up to London. This was a great experience which everyone loved.

Overall the week was a great experience, where the cadets got to visit lots of interesting places and where they learnt a lot of new things over the week in a fun environment.