1313 Whickham Squadron Royal Air Force Air Cadets

20/05/2026

⛺️ AT Challenge! 🚵

Last weekend a team of 5 Cadets from the Squadron joined over 150 Cadets from Durham/Northumberland Wing at RAF Spadeadam for the annual AT Challenge.

The weekend consisted of a day walk on day 1, where teams were awarded points based on the accuracy of their route cards and their ability to stick to their timings.

Day 2 consisted of competitions in mountain biking, archery, orienteering and first aid!

Out of 29 Squadrons that competed, 1313 Sqn placed 11th! A great result for the team and an improvement for the team showing how their effort and dedication has paid off!

The team also tied second in the first aid competition!

Well done team!

19/05/2026

🤖 VEX Success! 🤖

Last weekend Corporal Lamb and Cadet Salovsky attended the second VEX Qualifier for Cadet Forces in the North, held at Warcop Training Camp.

After meany heats the team managed to secure a place in the final and, while teamed up with Kirkham Grammar School, won the tournament!

Well done both! Let’s hope this winning streak continues!

18/05/2026

⛺️Wing DofE Expedition Opportunities - Silver and Gold⛺️

The Wing Silver DofE Expedition will take place on the following dates:
Briefing and planning meeting on Teams - Thursday 4th June 7.30pm
Practice expedition - evening of Friday 26th June - teatime Sunday 28th June
Assessed expedition - morning of Friday 24th July - teatime Sunday 26th July

The event is open to cadets who are registered for the Silver DofE Award. Priority will be given to participants who have already made progress with the other sections of their award.

The cost will be £50 and this will be requested after the deadline, once places have been confirmed. Please place bids via the MS Form; your Squadron can share this with you.

The Wing Gold DofE Expedition will take place on the following dates:
Training weekend - 13-14 June
Practice expedition - 18-20 July
Assessed expedition - 17-21 August

The event is open to cadets over the age of 16 and adult staff up to the age of 25 who are registered for the Gold DofE Award. Priority will be given to participants who have already made progress with the other sections of their award.

The cost will be £60 and this will be requested after the deadline, once places have been confirmed. Please place bids via the MS Form; your Squadron can share this with you.

The deadline for bids for BOTH expeditions is Friday 22nd May. Places will be confirmed shortly afterwards.

27/04/2026

✈️ Air Experience Flying! ✈️

On Friday 8 of our Cadets were lucky enough to take to the skies above North Yorkshire! For those Cadets who were first time flyers it was an opportunity to put into practice everything they had learned when undertaking their synthetic training on the flight simulator! A couple of more experienced Cadets also had the chance to hone in their flying skills and get tips from the pilots about the upcoming selections for ACPS.

Thanks to 9/11 AEF for hosting us!

26/04/2026

🚀 NCO Night 🚀

On Thursday night Cpl Greally ran an activity for NCO Night with an aim to further develop the Cadets’ understanding of space exploration.

The Cadets were first tasked with researching Artemis II and presented their findings to the rest of the group. The Cadets then used the materials provided to them to build a model of Artemis which was then judged by the NCO team.

23/04/2026

🧗 NACATC Windermere 🚲

Last week Sgt Golding, Cdts Bown and Fisher, along with Flt Lt Elvin, attended a week long AT Camp at NACATC Windermere.

Throughout the week the Cadets were involved in a multitude of activities such as mountain biking, walking, indoor climbing, abseiling, outdoor rock climbing and more!

Overall is was a very busy but rewarding week for all the Cadets on camp!

04/04/2026

⛑️ Youth First Aid! 🤕

Well done to the Cadets who attended the Youth First Aid course at the Squadron last weekend.
The Cadets built on their Essential First Aid knowledge and learned practical skills in resuscitation, unconscious casualties and incident management, as well as many other topics.

Our newly qualified Cadets are now qualified to wear the Bronze First Aid badge for 3 years before reassessment to ensure their skills are still up to standard!

Well done everyone!

30/03/2026

Please share in the hope that Blyth Air Cadets get their trailer back!

Hi, our compound was broken into over the weekend and our trailer filled various tents, gazebos, sports equipment etc. stolen. The purpose of this post is to see if anyone has seen this trailer and/or any further information as to where it is or who stole it. Our compound is opposite the Crematorium on Cowpen Road. If you do have info then please let us know, the equipment and trailer were bought following extensive fundraising by the cadets themselves and are very expensive to replace!

29/03/2026

⭐️ DNW Presentation Evening ⭐️

On Friday, CWO Vasey attended Durham/Northumberland Wing’s annual presentation evening. During the evening he was presented with his official appointment to Cadet Warrant Officer as well as his certificate for completing the prestigious Instructor (Gold) First Aid Course.

Congratulations, Cadet Warrant Officer!