What We Do

Flying and Gliding

Cadets fly the Grob Tutor and glide in the Grob Viking. The aircraft are flown by current and retired RAF officers and the best part is you get to learn to fly and control the aircraft by yourself with experienced pilots! You can also apply for flying scholarships and grants to enable cadets to earn their pilot licences and develop their flying further.

Grob Viking G109B

Grob Tutor G115E

Shooting

As an Air Cadet or Staff you will be given the opportunity to participate in target shooting and clay pigeon shooting, supervised by qualified instructors. You'll be taught initially on the L144 .22 Rifle and then at the age of 14 may advance onto the L98A2 Cadet General Purpose Rifle, which is based of the British Army SA80. Marksmanship Badges are awarded once you achieve certain scores.

L144 .22 Target Rifle

L98A2 5.56mm Rifle

Duke of Edinburgh Award

The RAFAC is one of the largest authorities of the DofE Award in the world and is open to all cadets. There are 4 levels available in the RAFAC; Blue, Bronze, Silver & Gold. Each level of the award consists of four sections, and an extra section for Gold. All these sections can be completed while attending Air Training Corps activities and include Skills, Physical and Expedition sections.

Find out more by clicking on each award:

Pre-DofE Award

Bronze DofE Award

Silver DofE Award

Gold DofE Award

Fieldcraft

Fieldcraft training consists of teaching you the skills necessary to survive in a field environment. Skills you will learn include, but are not limited to; Field Cooking, Camouflage & Concealment, Stealth Movement, Use of Webbing and Construction of Shelters. Upon completing the training, you will be given the chance to go on day and night exercises. You will also be able to take part in the Junior Leaders Course which will take your fieldcraft skills to the next level.

First Aid

First aid is an essential skill, not just for when out on a expedition or fieldcraft, but for use in general day-to-day life. Heart Start by the British Heart Foundation is the most basic qualification that all cadets and staff must complete. It teaches life saving first aid, CPR, recovery position, choking, heart conditions and bleeding and gives a fundamental understanding of what to do in an emergency.

St John’s Ambulance Youth First Aid and Activity First Aid courses are also available. These courses are more in depth and teach how to treat burns, bone fractures and injuries, spinal injuries, seizures, head injuries, medication and other more advanced procedures. These qualifications are also recognised by employers and industry and we provide the course for free to the cadets whenever they need renewal.

Heartstart

Youth First Aid

Activity First Aid

Instructor First Aid

Adventure Training

You'll be able to participate in adventure training activities as an air cadet, which includes activities such as archery, gorge walking, caving, mountaineering, skiing, surfing, parachuting and paragliding, scuba diving, canoeing, kayaking and so much more!

Camps

Annual camps normally take place in the summer holidays, where you get the chance to go away for a week to an RAF station. This will give you the chance to experience life on a military base and conduct activities such as flying/gliding, shooting, visits on base and local area. Cadets and Staff can also visit RIAT (the largest military air show in the world). We also do overseas camps too such as Gibraltar, Cyprus, Germany, France, Belgium and more countries around the world with the International Air Cadet Exchange.

Cadets on our France and Belgium camp

Cadets boarding the RAF Voyager for Akrotiri, Cyprus

Sports

Feeling competitive? As an air cadet you can take part in seven main sports at different levels - athletics, cross country, football, rugby, hockey, netball and swimming. Whatever you do it'll help improve your physical fitness levels and your team skills. If you're good enough at your favourite sport we'll notice, and can help you take it to the next level.

There are frequent tournaments between squadrons, where the best players are selected to represent the wing. The same then happens for the region, with wings competing against each other and the best players making up the regional team. If you make it through each of those selections then you're really good. You'll be at the top of your game and will have a shot at representing the entire Corps, nationally and even internationally.

Music

Do you have a flair for music? It plays a popular role in the life of cadets and playing as part of your squadron band is highly rewarding - competition for places is usually strong. Our aims are to introduce you to music within the cadets, provide you with musical instruction and the opportunity to play in our bands. Getting involved in music is a great way of socialising and of promoting the RAFAC wherever you play to the public.

If you show real talent you could take your playing to the next level in wing or regional bands or even the National Marching Band which is being formed over the next year. Ultimately, you could join the National Concert Band - where our best players perform at public events often at some very prestigious locations such as Buckingham Palace!

National Marching Band of the RAFAC

National Band with previous RAF Chief of Air Staff ACM Sir Stephen Hillier

Radio and Cyber

Radio and Cyber are both technical skills that are incredibly interesting. We use radio communications all the time in order to communicate with each other whilst on field craft activities and other tasks that require long range communications. There are multiple courses that you can do both locally and nationally in order to obtain a radio licence and to further your communications knowledge.

Cyber is also included within our syllabus and is vital for everyone to know in our ever changing digital world. The cyber syllabus teaches everything from online safety and security all the way to ethical hacking! Cyber courses can also be done locally as well as at No 1 Radio School (RAF Cosford) which trains current RAF personnel in the cyber domain.

Gold Cyber Camp at RAF Cosford

Cadets using HF radios

BTECs, Training and Education

Aside from all the great experiences and new skills you'll gain as an air cadet, you can also take away real qualifications that will set you apart from the crowd when you head to university or begin your chosen career.

For starters there's the Duke of Edinburgh Award that employers everywhere recognise as a great achievement. You can take on the challenge as part of your adventurous training, working your way up through the levels all the way to Gold - something to be really proud of. We also conduct leadership training, where you can really prove your worth as leader - a skill that will build your confidence and your ability to deal with different kinds of people.

BTECs are always popular and a widely recognised qualification - more than 4,000 cadets have registered for the Diploma in Public Services and over 6,000 have signed up for the BTEC Level 2 in Aviation Studies which is completed as part of your cadet career. There's also the increasingly popular Diploma in Performing Arts (Music) for budding musicians.

Leadership

As you become more experienced as a cadet you'll take on extra responsibilities and have further opportunities to develop your self-confidence and leadership skills. Whilst there are opportunities to learn on the squadron, there are also a many opportunities to develop leadership skills outside of the squadron at wing, regional and national activities. Week long programmes are hosted and all cadets are eligible to apply.

The Junior Leaders Course is physically demanding and requires real commitment and determination. The course runs from September to Easter and involves 9 weekend training camps and an assessment week. A big step up from the Wing Cadet Leadership Courses, the Junior Leaders Course is aimed at older cadets who are up for a real challenge. Leadership goes hand in hand with every activity we do in the Corps and is an incredibly useful skill outside of cadets.

Junior Leaders Course

Cadets during a leadership task briefing

Coronavirus Notice

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the RAFAC has suspended all face-to-face activities until further notice. Online virtual activities are still taking place for our cadets and staff. You can follow what our squadrons are currently doing online by going to the 'Our Squadrons'section and clicking on the squadrons' social media accounts.

Click on our activities to discover what's available to you as a cadet or adult volunteer!

Coronavirus Notice