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Gold Practice in Moelwyns, Snowdonia, 7-9 Aug 2026

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Last weekend saw a misty start to this minimum duration remote wild camp, Gold practice expedition for 2 groups of senior cadets from 1368 Sqn. Focus was to give 9 cadets from 1368 Sqn more nav training in wild country plus the more rarer experience of the joys of wild camping. This mountain range is known for its quieter hillwalking and industrial slate heritage. Some stunning scenery with practically no-one else there. Watching sunset going down over panorama of the Yr Wyddfa massif was a highlight, plus the electricity when the whole group came together.  If improving mountain nav was the goal then Sunday didn't disappoint with an early start in clag and teams navigating themselves back from the wild camp via a route through remnants of industrial slate heritage. Hill fog kept temperatures/sun exposure down, hence we were pretty lucky with weather. Seems odd given the heat wave to see cadets in waterproofs with waterfalls. Wales doesn't disappoint. They successfully navigate...
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10 cadets from 1368 Sqn climb the Cader Idris mountain, 6 Aug 2026

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In line with the Air Training Corp's Venture Adventure moto, cadets from 1368 Sqn climbed this iconic Welsh Mtn last week, in build up ready for Gold practice exped. The mountain offers classic glacial scenery, a majestic 893-metre (2,930-foot) mountain in southern Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, Wales, near Dolgellau. Translating to "Idris's Chair,". As Google tells us it is famed for dramatic glacial cwms like Llyn Cau, rich giant mythology, strenuous hiking trails taking 5 to 6 hour. What google doesn't tell us is that it has interesting sheep, F-15 fly-pasts, and Mexican wave performances in the shelter. 
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More badges and certificates for 1368 cadets/NCOs, to 5 Aug 2026

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Cdt P received his Instructor cadet lanyard, 4 cadets get their blue aviation badges, 4 cadets/NCOs get basic swimming certificates, 6 cadets/NCOs get their intermediate swimming proficiency certificates, and 5 get their advanced swimming certificates. Also Cdt H passed his First Class classification (still a bit of catch up to do, as we want to get 0226/0426 to complete their First Class workbooks before Sept).
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6 cadets fly RAF Tutor T1s at RAF Cosford, 4 Aug 2026

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1368 cadets have been doing very well on AEF slots recently, helped by the good weather. Most newbies have had flying chances hence the chance that mids and seniors get future slots is relatively high. A last minute increase in allocation (they had more pilots) meant 6 got to fly at Air Experience Flying (RAF) No. 8 on Tuesday. Most got to reinforce their flying skills with those who wanted to flying some aerobatics. Here's some photos. Note the super-cool new helmets. many thanks to AEF8 pilots and support staff and 1289 for helping with transportation.
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Staff win Vango tent for 1368 Sqn at DofE fundraising walk

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1368 Sqn now has a new Vango Scafell 200 tent thanks to speedy tent pitching skills of staff at a recent DofE Trek Together fundraising event they undertook. Vango Scafell 200 2-man tent features two identical poles with exceptional space to weight ratio. They managed to pitch it in 1m 30 something. To honest, our trusty Vango DofE tents are starting to show their usage, hence handy to have more options. Cadets had a go at putting it up on Wed. Obviously, winning the Vango side-competition is the main thing, but I suppose there is also the "raising money for disadvantaged young people to access DofE scheme" to be commended (ask us for help in funding DofE if on low income, as kit funding schemes are out there!). Cadets had a go at pitching it on Wed. Well done to our intrepid amigos! Might come in handy as a back-up on our upcoming Gold expedition.
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Tours for 1368's September 2026 (0926) intake

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1368 Squadron operates an induction programme for new cadets with the main induction being in September (typically 12-14 cadets). With intakes the young people join at same time as others and go through the same induction programme before being integrated into the squadron. It avoids repeating training, enables squadron to cope with larger numbers, and leads to stronger friendships among new recruits. We have  a 5 stage process to joining: Initial contact/register interest (ideally via form). Tour/visit to see Sqn where young person can learn more about what cadet experience is. Parent/guardian formally asks to join. Forms are sent out, returned prior to intake date. Young person starts. We have added a new cadet interest form to the website  Join Us  page to work around issues with the form on the RAF page (e.g. doesn't always work and now doesn't allow Year 7's to apply for intakes which start when they go into Year 8).
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1368 Blue Road March 12km, 25 Jul 2026

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Last Saturday saw team 1368 organise and conduct another Sqn road march. Special mention to staff team on their motivation and fortitude to get admin sorted for new routes. Great mix of experience and newbies (on their way to the blue badge). Blue badges = opportunity for Bronze= opportunity for Silver etc, with Gold normally (if you're lucky) being Nijmegen.
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