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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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July / August 2004 New Headquarters Update By Flt Lt Short Why are we moving? Rolls-Royce is selling the land where the squadron is located. Unfortunately we cannot stay where we are, nor can we buy the site from Rolls-Royce. When do we have to move out? The squadron was originally given a deadline of the end of 2004 to vacate the current site. This deadline has been extended after a meeting with Paul MacFarlane, the General Manager of Hillington and Inchinnan Rolls-Royce, to 31st July 2005, so we now have another seven months breathing space to find a new HQ. Where are we going? This is the 64 million dollar question. Between staff from 2175 Squadron, Glasgow & West Scotland Wing, the Reserve Forces & Cadet Association (RFCA) and Rolls Royce over 30 sites in the surrounding area have been investigated. Of these some have already been discarded after further investigation, as being unsuitable for our use, others are now being actively pursued. We are looking for the best possible site. The area we are looking in is from Hillington to Govan, the river Clyde to Pollock. All of the sites currently under investigation are easily reachable by our current cadets, so nobody will have to leave because we are moving. What are the new sites like? All of the sites currently being investigated are “brown field” or commercial sites. A brown field site is where the land has been used for some other purpose but is now disused. These are preferred as we can get a new headquarters purpose built by RFCA rather than getting an existing commercial building and adapting it to our needs. When will we get the new headquarters? As soon as possible, preferably before we have to move from our existing accommodation. If this cannot happen then temporary accommodation is available so we will continue to meet as normal. The squadron will NOT close. Gliding By Cdt Neil Finnie On the 8th of August, 8 cadets from our squadron were lucky enough to be picked to go up to RMNB Condor for gliding. When we were there we met ex-cadet Colin Campbell who had a chat with us and kept us right throughout the day. We were to meet at the squadron at 5.50 in the morning and we set off for Arbroath. It was a three hour drive there but for the time of morning everyone was surprisingly awake. When we arrived we got our health and safety brief and learned how to operate our parachutes. Mr Leonard said it was the best gliding day he had been on in 20 years because we had a lot of launches and everyone was enthusiastic in helping out. On the way back we managed to persuade Mr Leonard to take us for a McDonalds by signing the fast food song which was really funny. Overall, the day went brilliantly and everyone did the squadron proud. Nijmegen 2004 By Cpl Suzi Vines On Saturday the 17th of July, Cpl Brad, Fg Off Anderson and myself set off from Glasgow Airport with 9 others to attend the Nijmegen marches in Holland. While we were in Glasgow Airport we were all given green t-shirts with the two day marches logo on it so people could see we were all together. When we arrived in Holland we had to get two (Double Decker!) trains and then a bus, just to get to our camp. The first thing we did was go to our billets, which we were sharing with the Northern Ireland girls, and unpacked some of our stuff. On our first few days in Nijmegen we got to look around the town and see some of the flags that were across the streets and also get to know some of the other teams and meet up with people we met last year. We then got ready for the marches. We had to be in bed each night by 8.30 to get an early start each day. The walking was great, there were people lining the streets and cheering us on and even playing music for us. A lot of people were handing out sweets and home baking and plenty of cups of water. There was so much going on around us that I didn’t really think about my sore feet or blisters! On the Friday night before we came home there was a live band on in one of the tents so we all went there and enjoyed our last night together as a team and with the new friends we had made. Overall, it was the best experience I have ever had and I think everyone should try it at least once! It was really amazing and I’m going to try out for the team again next year. RAF Waddington By Cpl Chris McMillan From the 9th- 17th July six cadets and myself went to summer camp at RAF Waddington. On the Friday Night at 11pm we all met the rest of the cadets at 396(Pailsey) Squadron, where we departed for RAF Waddington. When we arrived we were given our billets and soon after we went for breakfast. Then we were straight into the weeks program, with the NAVEX and FAMEX to get us use to our flights and the station. The first day was really long and tiring, so we all had an early night. On the Sunday it was an early start as we went to the RAF Museum at RAF Hendon. On the way home from RAF Hendon the bus broke down so we all went to RAF Wittering for dinner, due to this delay sports had to be cancelled which made some cadets happy. From Monday to Thursday the program consisted of shooting, a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and section visits. The section visits consisted of visits to the Air Traffic Control, Sentry Visit, the RAF Police, the police dogs and many more. Although we were unable to get flying in the Grob Tutor we were given a chance to have a flight in the Sentry Flight Simulator which was just as good as a flight in a tutor. On the Friday we went to the Royal International Air Tattoo Youth Day which wasn’t as good as the staff and cadets hoped due to bad weather. As Friday was our last night the staff put on a BBQ for us where Flt Lt. Pearson showed of his cooking skills. Then on the Saturday morning we left to come home. The camp was a good camp and all the cadets enjoyed it. Llanbedr 2004 By Cdt Edward McLemon It all started on the 26th of June when we met at Wing HQ to be picked up. I met the fellow cadet from my squadron, Cdt Smith. We put our luggage on the coach and sat on board. Flt Lt Pearson had a range of movies for us to watch and we voted for Shrek! We then watched Young Frankenstein before arriving at around 4pm. We arrived at the centre and went into the boys’ dorm which had bunk beds to accommodate 20 cadets. Then, we all assembled in the main hall to have a brief. Since it was too late in the day for any activities we went to the shops for sweets and bought a football. We played football and basketball and then headed into our beds. We had to be up by 6.30am to do PT which was pretty amusing as Flt Lt Pearson liked to do Yoga! We were then put into flights and duty lists were drawn up to ensure all the jobs got done and the camp was kept clean and tidy. On the first day we did some map reading and played basketball. On the Friday we went to the cinema to see Shrek2. It was a small cinema and practically all the kids in the village were there. The movie was great and Flt Lt Pearson was in fits of laughter! The best activity was the high ropes which were really scary but I enjoyed it. To improve the camp, I would have even more activities organised! |
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