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23rd Apr 2013

King Of The Skies

On one of the finest spring mornings that this year has brought us, so far, cadets from 134 (Bedford) Squadron wasted no time by lying around in the sun, but headed to Wattisham Airfield, to be flown in a RAF Sea King Search and Rescue (S&R) Helicopter, flying high over the rural fields of Suffolk .

The cadets were flown by B Flight 22 Squadron, which is based on what once used to be RAF Wattisham. The airfield was used by the United State Air Force between 1942 and 1946 before being handed back to the RAF when it became a “Cold War” fighter station. Now, it is home to the Army Air Corps, flying the Westland Apache.

With clear skies across the country, the cadets were given the all clear to fly, and were split into two groups. First up were Cadets Bautista (14 yrs), Allwood (15 yrs), Gray( 13 yrs), Bradley (13 yrs), Purcell (16 yrs), Nicholls (15 yrs) and FS Bell ( 18 yrs), who made their way to the already “burning and turning” Sea King and climbed aboard, to be allocated their seats and strapped in ready to take to the skies.

For Cadets Bautista, Allwood, Gray, Bradley and Purcell, this was their first ever flight in a Royal Air Force helicopter and even before we took off, they could not help but smile with the excitement.

Making their way to the coast off Felixstowe, each of the cadets were privileged to stand behind the pilots, where they were connected into the intercom system, allowing them to listen to the various communications.

Making the most of the weather, some of the cadets were connected to the special safety harness, and sat on the edge of the side door, dangling their legs over the side.

Unfortunately, for the second group of cadets, on the return of the first, an emergency came through over the radio, requiring B Flight’s Sea King to assist down near Dungeness thereby terminating cadet flying for the day.

Cadet Bradley, who has been a member of the Squadron for only one month said, "today was the best day I have had, and being able to fly in a helicopter that costs a few thousands of pounds to run an hour, makes me feel more lucky than my friends will ever be!"

Civilian Instructor Vladek Cirin (Training Officer Air) said, “Our sincere thanks must go to B Flight, 22 Squadron RAF for making the cadets so welcome. The seven cadets, who were lucky enough to fly, had the flight of their lives and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The second group, while being disappointed, fully appreciated the operational necessity. It is hoped to rearrange another sortie later on in the year.”