Sam Goes Solo

On Saturday 16th April, Cadet Sam Neighbour (16) from 22 (Sandy) Squadron went solo in a glider for the first time to gain his silver gliding wings.

Sam, who is currently studying at Sandy Upper School for his GCSEs exam, completed his gliding scholarship over five weekends at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire.

The course, which was run by 616 Squadron Volunteer Gliding School, required an intensive training schedule, learning all of the aircrafts controls, how to do flying circuits, and learning the routine to recover from a stall, to achieve the blue wings level.

In addition to this Sam went on even further to learn how to fly a solo circuit, and how to do all the pre solo checks, ending with his first ever solo flight to gain his silver gliding wings, an amazing accomplishment for someone who isn’t even old enough to drive a car.

Sam said on achieving his silver wings "It has been an amazing experience which I had never dreamt of doing, and I now hope to return to train as a staff cadet and eventually learn to teach others myself in the future".

After completing his GCSEs, Sam will be going back to complete his gold gliding wings, allowing him to then pass on his gliding knowledge to other cadets.