Page 34 - Cadet review Summer 2022

SWY Wing ATC
ROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS QUALIFIED AEROSPACE INSTRUCTORS COURSE (QAIC)
QAIC is the Royal Air Force Air Cadet’s premier aerospace course. Aimed at senior cadets, the challenging syllabus requires a high level of commitment. The course aims to provide cadets from across the UK with the training and insight to pursue a potential career in aviation and aerospace. Graduates from the course are presented with their blue lanyard, which is worn on their uniform.
The course runs annually at two centres, based
at RAE Boscombe Down (South) and Inskip Cadet Centre in Preston (North), each training up to 20 cadets on subjects including:
• Synthetic Flying (Flight simulators)
• Air Traffic Control
• Air Power
• Aerodynamics
• Instruction and Presentation skills
• Leadership (including ILM Level Award)
Here are personal reflections on the course by Cadet Warrant Officer Jacob Stockwell, who recently became Qualified Aerospace Instructor.
The Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course is a prestigious yearly course lasting 6 months centred around Aerodynamics, Aviation Studies, Presenta- tion and instructional technique and aspects of leadership; I had the privilege of being one of the
38 members of QAIC 14 after a rigorous application and interview process, receiving the news that I’d be participating in the course in October of 2021.
Frustratingly, due to the surrounding environment of Covid-19, we were originally constrained to an online syllabus for the first few months. Whilst
the content delivery and quality of teaching was
still excellent due to the hard work of our staff,
we were missing a critical feature of the course – camaraderie. This feature, however, become quickly prevalent once the northern cohort finally met face to face in February for our first training weekend at RAF Cosford, where we covered content on Air Traffic Control, Flight simulation and delivering presenta- tions we had been preparing to give since December. In the first weekend, it was as if we had all already been fully acquainted as the whole contingent gelled incredibly well and connected.
We reconvened once again in March at Inskip cadet centre, where we were all very aware of our soon approaching testing week in the following month and were all taken aback by how fast this amazing experience had gone. After a rigorous weekend of training, the North (Inskip) and South (Boscombe Down) centres came together later in April for a long 6-day training week at the home of the RAF, RAF Cranwell. We were put to the test on our knowledge of aerodynamics, our performance in flight simulation, and our ability to keep up
Besides coming
away more educated
in various subjects across the RAFAC syllabus,
the course provided
me with incredible opportunities to network with like minded people across the country
with the fast-paced nature of air traffic control. At Cranwell, we were also provided training on Flight Simulator instruction, giving myself and my peers the necessary training to deliver the synthetic component of the new aviation syllabus.
The week culminated with the many syndicates giving their 40-minute presentations on various air power topics they had been training so long for, to a live audience, and a select 4 syndicates with the best presentations were then put in front of all their colleagues and staff to deliver their presentations once more. The top syndicate from each centre then went on to deliver to a VIP audience, including Air Commodore Tony Keeling, Air Marshall Philip Sturley, other pilots and ex-service members
of the RAF. I’m proud to say that my syndicate, Typhoon syndicate, made the cut on this, and went on to present about the application of Air Power in operation Desert Storm.
Finally, we celebrated graduation with a final
Complete graduation picture
CWO Stockwell with fellow
graduates from the Inskip course
on the steps of College Hall at
RAF College Cranwell
34 CADET REVIEW SPRING 2022