Air Cadet Flying at Ouston
This page illustrates the documentation associated with Air Cadet flying at RAF Ouston. It includes examples of flights undertaken, including the author's air experience and gliding course logs.
The starting point was joining one of the local Air Cadet Squadrons after the age of 13. In the author's case this was 131 (F) Squadron ATC, based in Windsor Terrace in Newcastle upon Tyne. This building was also the headquarters of the Durham, later Northumbrian Universities Air Squadron. Air Cadets attended one or two evenings a week, plus Sunday mornings. There was formal classroom instruction in RAF and aviation subjects; drill training; un-armed combat; rifle drill; first aid and fire instruction; and exams to be taken before promotion through the ranks to Leading Cadet, Corporal, Sergeant, etc.
Each cadet was issued on joining with a "Record of Service" book, as shown above. Most of the author's book has long since been lost, but the example shown survives, this having belonged to the author's elder brother, Peter Pain.
Within a year of joining every cadet would have the opportunity to travel to RAF Ouston (with a group of cadets), for an Air Experience Flight.
The example shown above is from Peter Pain's service record book. It shows that on 16th March 1958 he went for a 2 hours 10 minute local flight in Avro Anson C.21. VV246. This was an eight seat communications aircraft, at that date being on charge with Ouston's Station Flight / Group Communications Flight.
The second 'Air Experience' page is from this author's logbook. It shows the first flight being in a Chipmunk T.10, WP846, during annual camp at RAF Chivenor, Devon, on 28th August 1962. The aircraft was with the resident 'AEF' (air experience flight), and 20 minutes were flown over the River Taw estuary.
A year later, on 5th May 1963, there was another Chipmunk T.10 flight, some 30 minutes in WD388 of 11 AEF Ouston. At this author's request the flight was over his home in Fenham, Newcastle, followed by being allowed to fly the Chipmunk 'hands-on' on the way back to Ouston.
By the Cadet's second year, if he/she had reached 16 years of age, the opportunity of a Gliding Course at RAF Ouston would be offered. This would normally take place at weekends, weather permitting. If the weather was favourable, and after about 20 dual instruction flights, the Cadet might go solo on a second weekend. After three successful solo flights the Cadet would have passed, and be awarded the 'A' and 'B' Certificates (see below). The pages shown are from this author's logbook.
But first, the rather aptly named "blood chit" had to be completed by the Cadet's parent, and GP;
The pages from Philip Pain's Service Record Book (above) show the full log of his Gliding Course at Ouston, Just like the flying logbooks of any proper RAF student / pilot.
Philip Pain's record of Flights at RAF Ouston, all at the age of 16
Photo of WT873 taken October 1967, kind permission of Geoff Allan
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The following image is a copy of a Cadet's own logbook, kindly supplied by Rodney Fawkes, a former 131 (F) Newcastle ATC cadet. His flights in 1961 were undertaken in Slingsby Sedbergh TX.1 WB964, and Slingsby Cadet TX.3s WT802, WT872, and WT873
Rodney Fawkes has also supplied the following recollections of his time at RAF Ouston, repeated here with his kind permission;
"In 1963, I was then Cadet Sgt Fawkes, having joined the Sqn in 1959. I was also a staff cadet on 641 Gliding School at about the time of your gliding course, having soloed myself (WT872) at 641 in 1961.
I was at the Squadron annual camp at RAF Kinloss in 1963. I have the official camp photo which I sometimes peruse.
I joined 131 sqn in 1959 and later transferred to 391 (Wilmslow) Sqn in Cheshire in 1964.
Not only did I undertake many AEF Chipmunk trips at Ouston but also used to turn up mid-week during school holidays to cadge flights in the Communications Flight Anson’s, they had C19’s and a T21 at that period. I remember the Meteor T7 being there but never flew in it.
Two Anson trips are particularly memorable. One was in TX224, when we flew to Aberdeen with an RAF Police Corporal to bring a deserter back to Ouston. Another time I flew in Anson VM365, with a spare pilot, to RAF Silloth MU, where we collected a Chipmunk WD338, which we flew back to Ouston. Oh happy days.
Whilst a staff cadet on 641 GS I can recall one occasion, early one Sunday morning when two instructors flew Sedbergh WB964 very low around the Ouston water tower whilst one of them tried shooting the resident pigeons off with an air rifle. The proverbial hit the fan later that day when they were reported. Not many people know the Sedbergh could carry a weapons load!!
After leaving 131 Sqn I remained wearing a blue uniform for the next forty-three years, as after my cadet service I obtained a commission in the RAFVR(T) with most of my service as a Wing and Regional Staff Officer. I continued flying at every opportunity in a wide range of service aircraft and also for a while as a private pilot (PPL). I even managed to fly with the USAF on a tanking sortie in a KC135."
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Photo taken circa 1974 of the glider cable winch unit of 641 GS at Ouston, kindly supplied by Roland G.Adams (left in the photo). The metal cage structures are there to protect the operator in the event of a cable break.
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The Flight Plan below shows a typical winch launched 4-minute glider flight, one of a dozen or more flown by the author;
The author's own copy of Ordnance Survey sheet 78, dated 1971, with the airfield shaded in pencil, and the 'flight plan' added in red, explanatory letters as follows;
A The start point for the winch launch, into wind
X The position of the winch
B A good launch might achieve 1,000 feet in height, but once free from the launch cable the glider will lose height at over 200 feet per minute. Point B is roughly 800 feet and it is time to get back
C Is the start of the downwind leg, and speed has to be increased to maintain sufficient lift in the tail wind
D Is passing abeam the launch/landing area, and height should be a minimum of 400 feet for a safe landing
E Turning 'finals' and height needs to be at least 250 feet, but usually more is in hand at this point, which is good
F With height to spare, the 's-bend' is used to keep the landing point in sight, while shedding the right amount of height by flying side to side, and then lining up to land when the correct place and final height is reached
G Is the landing spot, and the closer to the launch area the better as the gliders have to be manhandled on the ground. The Geoff Allan photograph above is spot G, looking north-west towards Richmond Hill.
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The Gliding Instructor would be keeping his own Logbook of flights undertaken, and the Instructor's logbook would be used to complete the Cadet's log at the end of each day's flying.
In early 2018, the author was reading the latest issue of the monthly "Aeroplane" magazine, and there was an article about the aviation museum at Brooklands, including the work of that museum's Julian Temple. In the article Julian mentioned that his father had been a Gliding Instructor at Ouston, and the surname "Temple" immediately rang a bell. Email contact was established with Julian, and in due course he very kindly emailed the above photo of his father's logbook entries for 3rd August 1963. It can be seen that he took ATC Cadet Philip Pain (misspelled as "Payne") for six dual instruction flights that day.
Gliding Instructor / Pilot Officer John George Stuart Temple, known as 'Stuart', RAF Volunteer Reserve, had graduated with a Law Degree at Durham in 1953 and started work in Sunderland that year as a trainee chartered accountant. He met his future wife Daisy in 1951 when both worked as Durham University student volunteers on an archaeological dig at Corbridge, near Hadrian's Wall. Both Stuart and Daisy helped to excavate part of Canterbury's city wall in 1954. Later in 1954 Stuart was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident near Durham, and this put him out of action for several years.
Stuart and Daisy became engaged during an archaeological dig at Glastonbury Abbey in August 1957 and they were married in St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Great Casterton on 9th August 1958. That Autumn they bought their first home, a bungalow at Norwich Avenue, Wide Open, near Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. Volunteering again at Glastonbury Abbey excavations several times after their wedding and also on archaeological digs on a Roman wall and villa in Great Casterton, Daisy's and Stuart's son Julian was born in April 1960 at Stannington near Morpeth and was first introduced to archaeological excavations at Glastonbury as a two year old. Daughter Isobel arrived to complete the family in July 1963 and two years later, they all moved to live in Loughborough, Leics., when Stuart started work as an accountant for Loughborough engineers and crane manufacturer, Herbert Morris Ltd. In mid-1967 Stuart started a new accountancy job with the Dowsett construction firm in Greatford, Lincs.
Grateful thanks go to Julian Temple for providing these biographical details for his father, and the two photos below, with permission to repeat them here. They admirably illustrate the calibre of one of the RAF(VR) Gliding Instructors entrusted with teaching young Air Cadets (including this author) with 641 GS at RAF Ouston in the early 1960's. At the time of writing in 2018, Stuart Temple lives in well deserved retirement.
Postscript; sadly Stuart Temple died peacefully on 25th January 2019. RIP, and thank you.
Stuart Temple, 27 GS, RAF Usworth, circa 1952
Stuart Temple with Slingsby Sedburgh TX.1, serial WB968 (maybe) of 27 Gliding School, RAF Usworth, c 1952
Another example of a Gliding Instructor's Logbook from 641 GS at Ouston. This one was kindly supplied by John English, and is from the year 1972. The Slingsby Cadet TX.3 gliders listed are XA288, XN244, and XN250. These gliders can be seen 'in action' on the "Photographs at Ouston" page; here Photographs at Ouston
John English has also kindly supplied the following account of operations at Ouston , incorporating additional information supplied to John by Alan Crowley ;
"Becoming and Being a Staff Cadet
Following the completion of A&B basic training, there wasn’t really a formal route to advanced training and becoming a Staff Cadet (the two came hand in hand). You may have asked or been asked to stay on. If you had shown some merit and your face fitted, you were in. Bear in mind that the school needed a continuing supply of volunteer staff to maintain operations.
As a Staff Cadet, and usually at only 16 years old, you would be taught to drive Land Rovers and (at Ouston) a converted ambulance Austin truck. You would also be trained as a winch operator for which there was a formal qualification.
During and after this ‘ground crew’ training you would continue to obtain your Gliding ‘Advanced’ certificate. From there progression would be made to Pilot Grade 1 (P1) qualifying you to fly solo without pre-checks and P2, qualifying you to fly with passengers (Air Experience for cadets).
Further instructor training could take you through categories from C, B, A2 and to A1 - being the highest qualification. (It is only in the last 10 years that these have been brought in line with regular RAF categories of B2, B1, A2 and A1).
During this training and operating you may have continued to be a member of your own ATC squadron or be retained by the Gliding School as a Civilian Instructor.
Ground Operations
A typical flying day would firstly require a weather report to be obtained from either the Guardroom or Air Traffic Control and a launch point determined.
At Motor Transport (MT) Section, 2 winches would be hooked up and towed to the winch point.
The Gliding School vehicles were usually fuelled by MT Section, sufficient for day or weekend operations, but on week long courses Staff Cadets would also refuel the vehicles and top up oil & water.
At the winch point, cables would be drawn out - extending booms on the Austin truck would allow 4 cables to be drawn at once to the launch point. Any obstacles between the 2 points would be removed (such as runway landing lights - which would be unplugged and set aside or stored elsewhere).
Before flying could commence, a Daily Inspection (DI) of the cables would be undertaken. Back at the winch point, the cables would be slowly drawn in and checked for any fraying or damage. Any damaged section would be removed using a guillotine at the front of the winch. 2 ends of undamaged cable would be rejoined using a reef knot which was then bound in electrical insulating tape.
Meanwhile, after the gliders had undergone their daily inspection, they would be taken to the launch point. The Mk IIIs had their own custom trolleys for transportation but the larger and heavier Sedberghs would need to be pulled or towed at walking place to their destination. A laborious and time consuming task if the launch point was at some distance - which it usually was.
All this would be done before the senior instructors would arrive to authorise the day’s flying operation. They would expect every thing and every one to be in their place. A signal operator would be appointed to ‘communicate’ instructions to the winches. This was initially done using semaphore bats but latterly an Aldis lamp. The daily flying log was usually maintained by the signal operator.
And so flying would commence. Staff Cadets manning the winches, towing the cables, signalling and retrieving and returning the landed aircraft back to the launch point. A well coordinated team effort would ensure the optimum amount of launches be achieved during the day.
At the end of the day, gliders and equipment would be returned. It was desirable, if practicable, for the Sedberghs, on their last flight, to be landed close the the hangar.
If cadets were staying overnight, Staff Cadets would be responsible for opening up an ‘H’ Block billet and the cadets would be under their supervision.
Of course it all became very different as ‘health & safety’ prevailed. These days nothing can even be moved without prior authority from a senior instructor and now a Staff Cadet must be over 18 years old and hold a full driving licence before they can drive a vehicle on site. Even then they must be separately tested by MT on any particular vehicle before they are awarded a FMT 600 certificate."
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Also making contact with this website, to recall his experiences at Ouston, was Charles Dytham. He lived at Ouston, with his parents, from 1950 until it closed. They had a flat in the officers' mess and his father was a chef there , also in the airmans' mess too. Charles used to cadge glider fights from about 1963, in exchange for helping out, and he also remembers riding in Landrover 44AA88. One of his flights was in a Sedburgh TX.1 glider, which did a loop. Another memory is of the dog "Shep" which belonged to one of the Instructors and would run alongside gliders as they took off! [See photo above].
Charles subsequently went to Loughborough University and learned to fly Chipmunks with East Midlands University Air Squadron.
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From this author's Service Record Book, the certification that Philip Pain had achieved the "Proficiency" standard with 641 Gliding School at RAF Ouston.
Here is the end result of the Air Cadet / RAF Ouston Gliding School system, an 'A' and 'B' Gliding Certificate issued by the UK Royal Aero Club, signed by their President, HRH Duke of Edinburgh.
The author was subsequently offered a place on a week-long residential Gliding Course in Yorkshire, to take the 'Silver C' Certificate. This would have meant a week out of school, but the Rutherford Grammar School Headmaster, Roger Bennett, refused permission.