Cadets are dancing, singing, marching, performing stunts.
De-mythology, Getting Wings, Q&A Add comments
When I watched that hilarious video of the ‘Dancing Cadet’ on You-Tube, I thought of our years in the Flight Training College.
Oh, we had fun too! Some jokes that some of our guys were performing on the mates were pretty ‘hard’. Luckily for those ones who ‘fell victims’, at that time we didn’t have tiny camcorders to put the tricks ‘on record’ :).
Although our flight college was a civilian institution, we had a sort of ’semi-military’ establishment with a regime and restrictions on going outside the confined campus area. Even the organizational structure of each course was reflecting one that existed in the military: the whole bunch of cadets (”КУРСАНТЫ” - coursants) of the same intake year was divided into three COMPANIES (РОТА; РОТЫ - pl.) - and those three were further subdivided into PLATOONS (”ВЗВОД”). Interestingly enough, PLATOONS were also called ‘GROUPS’ - for the purposes of academic records existing on the faculty.
And each COMPANY had a designated military guy, a COMMANDER, who was a sort of CHAPERON to run this ‘hyperactive pod’. To keep ‘everything under control’ these military guys not too rare executed a variety of ‘disciplinary actions’ on the most active chaps.
There was also a belief among the commanders that the ‘best means ever known to date’ for keeping the ‘undue hyperactivity’ at curb would be to order the ‘old, good platz marching drill’.
I borrowed this picture from the Russian language web-site ‘AVLUGA’ - an on-line project started by one of our flight college’s graduates.
I see that CADETS are quite similar in everywhere, in all times:)
June 21st, 2007 at 9:32 am
Totally enjoying my Tim Horton’s pairing with Sergey. We got called out to do a rescue flight due poor wx in NF but were told at the gate that our “services were no longer required” so here we are at Tim’s comparing our new Apple Notebooks on O/T pay. Oh well, maybe after coffee they’ll have some flying for us.
June 21st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
while I was never a Cadet myself I did train some for ab-initio instructing and I think you are correct, they are pretty much the same everywhere. WestJet usually does some Air Cadet chartes to Red Deer AB CYQF each summer. I’m sure if you do some it will bring back some memories.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Hi, Eric,
No doubt, - that was my most personally efficient pairing I’ve ever had! OK, I’ll volunteer for something else to help the company get ‘balance back to normal’
But I did too enjoy our ‘crew chat’ at the Timmy’s a lot. I consider it a gift, thank you!
Yes, I did a charter with Air Cadets once. We started in YWG, went to Red Deer (that was fun: at the night time, with some pretty active stuff (CBs) shuffling back and forth down the ‘Tornado Valley’, and on the 5000 feet RW:) Then we went to Comox, Kelowna, and Edmonton. At each stop some guys would go, new ones would come. Another crew took over in Edmonton to carry on.
That’s true, it was really interesting to see those kids. I think, we, - as the taxpayers, - should appreciate what we see. It is not a bad way for the government to spend the money.
OK, Eric, it is so nice to hear from you in this place, on my blog. And we should keep the dialog running. I mean, THAT BIG ONE, we were talking about.
I’m going to make a dedicated post that would help get connected with your ‘bro’ living in Moscow. It is incredible! He should share his experiences with us. Check this out, please:
http://www.clashmaker.com/2007/06/02/yak-18t-in-krasnodar/
I’ll talk to these folks in Krasnodar, and maybe, it would be possible to arrange for him a sort of ‘fun flying’ down there, if he’s interested.. Unless the government have already built up the new, impenetrable wall of the ‘Red Tapes’ since that time:)
Talk to you, thank you for visiting!
Sergey