Flying and gliding is one of the Air Training Corps' main advantages over other youth organisations. Every squadron gets an allocation for flying and gliding every six months, and every cadet gets a minimum of one gliding slot and one flying slot per year in dedicated training aircraft. You can even become a glider pilot before you are old enough to hold a driving licence! You might also get the odd flight in some military aircraft.

All cadets at 481 Squadron are taught to shoot the No. 8 and L98 cadet rifles safely by our qualified Weapons Instructors Flt Lt Somerfield and FS Greensmith. 481 Squadron has excellent access to shooting facilities including a range, which is run by Flt Lt Somerfield as the Sqn's qualified Range Conducting Officer. The squadron has enjoyed a long history of successful shooting teams even having some teams attending the Bisley shooting tournaments. All cadets can improve and progress along the Air Training Corps marksmanship levels.

Adventure Training is a very broad topic, it covers all sorts of activities that you are trained to do safely in the Air Training Corps. The main activities that we undertake are hill walking, mountain climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, archery, rock climbing, kayaking and even abseiling, but we also take part in fieldcraft activities, wearing DPM (camouflage) clothing and doing military-style exercises.

Sport is very popular in the Air Training Corps and cadets can play for teams from Squadron level right through to national representation. There are five major sports open to males and females that we take part in on a regular basis - football, athletics, cross country, swimming and volleyball. There is also rugby for the lads, netball and hockey for the girls. You can also compete in most areas of track and field and get the chance to do some less obvious sports such as fencing and archery.

All cadets at 481 Sqn get the chance to attend numerous camps in a year, including an annual camp at an RAF station. There are several major camps run in a year that allow cadets to experience all aspects of life in the armed forces and interact with cadets from other squadrons. All this and they are also some of the best times you can have as a cadet!

Drill is one of the major parts of being an ATC cadet, all cadets will take part in drill on parade nights and will be given the chance to represent the squadron at drill competitions for Wing, Region and the Corps. Once you have been enrolled as a cadet, you will be issued with a uniform - cadets take great pride in their appearance.

Being a cadet is not all about the official activities that we take part in, there is also a a fantastic social life involved. Most weekends there are events running that will allow people to socialise not only within their own Squadron but with people from all across the Wing. You can make friends that you will keep for life.

If you are interested in taking part in these activities and more, take a look at our Join Us page to find out how to become an Air Cadet at 481.