Padre Toby likes to get involved in what the Army Cadets to offer and regularly helps out at his local detachment in Deeside. On Saturday the 18th of February 2023, he qualified as a Basic Gliding Instructor with the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association club at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire.
Padre Toby reported “I started flying gliders when I was 15 and went solo on my 16th birthday. After a number of years flying high-performance microlights, I returned to gliding after being inspired to try it again after reading about it being part of Adventurous Training within the Army. Gliding is simply about flying an aircraft without an engine, but soaring is another world. Soaring is the sport of flying gliders and making use of natural sources of lift to stay airborne and even fly long-distances cross country. Here in the UK, we often see unpowered gliders achieving climbs to over 20,000 feet and distances of over 500 kilometers.
To begin training as an instructor, I had to complete a minimum of 50 hours as Pilot in Command in gliders and achieve the Silver badge (a single flight lasting no less than 5 hours, plus a cross-country flight of no less than 50 kilometers, and a climb of 1 kilometer / 3281 feet above launch height). The instructor course comprises a number of flights covering general airmanship, simulated emergencies, as well as learning how to teach the initial flying exercises and looking after people on their first flights.”
Well done Padre and it just goes to show what opportunities being involved with the cadet movement can bring.
