A Go Cadets Going through Soaring
Each Go Cadets only have 10 lessons of Soaring and must try to complete those 4 flights within that time.
Most of the Cadets we catch during the academic year with our coverage of Soaring are the 4 Degrees, as they fly during the morning and into the afternoon, but more than likely with our afternoon coverage you will see more of a range of all 4 Classes. The reason behind this - while the 4 Degrees are going through AM 251, the upperclassmen (mostly 3 Degrees) are going through Airmanship 461 or AM 461. The 3 Degrees are being taught by a mixture of both 2 Degrees, Firsties and Staff.
AM 461 is a Cadet Instructor Pilot Upgrade program, which will run all semester long. Only a certain number of 3 Degrees are selected from the applicant process and those who are selected will be the next generation of Soaring IPs (Instructor Pilots). While the 4 Degrees in AM 251 only have to take 4 Flights, the 3 Degrees in AM 461 must complete a total of 80 or more flights, not to mention ground and flight evaluations. The Cadets who complete this program and get their wings are the Air Force's youngest instructor pilots. Once AM 451 is completed the Cadet IPs can take one of two programs. AM 472 where they would then become instructors for the AM 251 program. Or AM 473, where their main job would be to train the next group of cadet instructor pilots.
We had a tough time catching the Cadets in A Go of Soaring because of high winds but we did our best to catch as many Cadets getting their flights as we could. Below are some of the highlights of the Cadets in A Go. We'll be back next month with coverage of Cadets in B Go and we hope that as we go further into Academic year the weather will also calm down. Pray that the weather is good to us in the coming months!
To view the rest of the pictures from our M and T Day coverage of Soaring go to; Galleries - Airmanship - Soaring. Or click the link below.