Top Flight Competition Winners for 2007 Visit RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus
The winners of the RAF Association’s (RAFA) Top Flight Competition 2007 have travelled to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to meet the world famous Red Arrows Aerobatic Display Team - April 2008
Top Flight Competition for 2008 has been replaced by the Cadet 9 Challenge , for more information please click on the link.
The 11 members of 2364 (Welshpool) Squadron Air Training Corps were accompanied by the RAFA Membership Marketing Manager Griff Griffiths and Membership Events Manager Anne Henson.
Their trip comprised of a three day action packed programme that gave the cadets an insight into the role of the station and an opportunity to meet key personnel. 
On day one they were hosted by 84 Squadron and flew in the Griffin helicopter. This was followed by a trip to the Bomb Dump where they were able to operate the remote controlled EOD vehicles.
After lunch the cadets met the Station Commander, Group Captain John Conway and then made a visit to 617 Squadron to view the GR4 Tornado aircraft, followed by a whistle stop tour of the station accompanied by members of the local RAFA Aphrodite Branch, Gordon Boam and Bill Cundall. 
The next day the cadets were hosted by the Red Arrows Aerobatic Display Team and invited to sit in on the pilots’ pre-display brief. The cadets were then bussed to the cliffs and had a bird’s eye view of the flying display which they all felt was magnificent.
After a photo call with the pilots when they landed, the cadets had the opportunity to sit in on the “pilot de-brief”, followed by a tour of the engineering facility. Red One, Wing Commander Jason Hawker, and his staff made the cadets very welcome and were more than generous with their time. 
Griff Griffiths said: “By now everyone was flagging slightly, the average temperature was 30 degrees centigrade and there was still more to come, but the cadets had boundless energy and enjoyed every minute!”
The final day of their trip began with a visit to the tower to watch the Red Arrows take off for their first sortie of the day. 
They then made a visit to 417 Maritime Troop, Royal Logistic Corps where they were given a comprehensive brief on sea survival drills and invited to carry out some practical exercises. To do this everyone donned the specialist equipment and threw themselves from the landing craft into the Mediterranean!
The cadets thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but the morning was still not finished. A trip to the Meteorological Office was then followed by a visit to the Fire Section and the opportunity to crawl over Dennis, the fire truck. In the afternoon it was time to relax and a visit to Curium Beach was just what everyone needed.
In the evening the cadets enjoyed a kebab at Chris’ Restaurant in Akrotiri village and as usual the hospitality and food were both excellent. Everyone reflected on what a fantastic week it had been and they all felt it was an experience they would never forget.
Griff Griffiths gave special thanks to the RAF Liaison Officers (RAFALOs) Flight Sergeant Mark Thrussell, Sergeant Keith Finlay and Corporal Lorri Dow.
He added: “Without their awesome efforts and support this trip would not have been possible. They chaperoned us throughout the visit and acted as our taxi drivers. The Visit Programme they put together was action packed and extremely interesting and I know that all members of the group would echo my sentiment. 
“A big thank you also goes to 2364 (Welshpool) Squadron ATC for supporting the RAF Association. They acted as marvellous ambassadors for the ATC organisation and I was very impressed by the way in which they entered into the spirit of the occasion.
“Throughout their stay at RAF Akrotiri their behaviour was impeccable and they made lots of friends. It was a privilege to accompany them on the trip.”
How 2364 (Welshpool) ATC Squadron Won Top Flight 2007
Air Cadets from Welshpool are flying high after their combined talents saw them secure first place in a national competition and the opportunity of a trip to Cyprus to see the world famous Red Arrows rehearsing their flying displays for 2008.
The RAF Association’s (RAFA) Top Flight competition , which is open to Air Cadets, Girls Venture Corps Members and Combined Cadet Forces throughout the UK, aims to find the most innovative ideas to assist in fundraising for the Association. Entries were judged on creativity, effort, income per cadet, presentation and media coverage generated.
The cadets from 2364 (Welshpool) ATC Squadron came up with the idea of designing and building a machine that would be able to throw an egg. Each team was given a collection of materials including a bungee cord, right angle brackets, two lengths of wood and some screws and nails.
A great deal of effort and team work was needed throughout the exercise, all of which was recorded on a DVD and made up part of the presentation submitted as their competition entry.
After their designs were complete, the squadron held a “Grand Chuck Off” at Welshpool Airport – much to the interest of pilots there, who treated some of the cadets to a flight in a Gazelle Helicopter.
Nick James, who is a civilian instructor for the Welshpool Squadron, said the cadets were stunned into silence on hearing they had won the award.
He said: “It has taken time for it to sink in because they do not do it for themselves. It was an opportunity to raise money for someone else – to win a national competition as well was fantastic. They were over the moon!”
As well as raising money for charity, the cadets thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. He added: “They committed themselves whole heartedly to it and had a whale of a time!”
The cadets will now get the opportunity to visit RAF Akrotiri in the Spring to meet the Red Arrows and watch them train for their summer airshow season.
There were also a series of regional winners. The Welshpool squadron took the title of Wales and West Region Winners. The 42F (Kings Lynn) squadron took the Central and East Region and the London and South East Region Winners were the 1830 (Tendring Hundred) Squadron. The Northern Region winners were the 111 (Sunderland) ATC and the South West region winners were 1315 (Kidlington) sqn.
One of the competition judges, retired Warrant Officer Griff Griffiths, who is also the Membership Manager at RAFA, said: “The standard of entries for Top Flight were very good this year and I would like to thank the cadet squadrons for all of the hard work they put in – there were some really great ideas.”
Happy 60th Birthday Bridport & Lyme Regis RAFA Branch
On the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Branch, Bridport & Lyme Regis RAFA Branch held a dinner and dance as part of their celebrations.
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