Well, the event has been completed and what an experience!! Shortly after arrival, I was taken for a video safety briefing along with 4 others who were booked around the same time as myself. We then donned our glorious red flying suits ready to take to the skies. I was 4th to fly and bit was I nervous!! My time had come, I was called over to the aircraft, climbed onto the top wing and I was strapped in by professional wing walker Jazzy (she was fantastic at calming my nerves). As we taxied to our take-off area, Mike the pilot hit the power and at around 80mph we took off into the glorious Cotswolds countryside. Soaring around at about 130mph and 1000ft, we could see upwards of 40 miles in all directions, it was stunning!! There was a little turbulence which was to be expected but overall the flight was incredible!!! I would absolutely do it again!!

I will be raising some much needed funds for 2353 Ystrad Mynach Air Cadets who are a registered excepted charity (W1865/96). The air cadets are sponsored by the MOD and are UK-wide with an excess of 43,000 members aged between 12 and 17 and around 20,000 adult volunteers giving up their time to provide a unique opportunity for fun, action, adventures, new skills, qualifications such as BTECs in aerospace studies and creating friendships.

They are a diverse and inclusive youth organisation that is keen to embrace opportunities in air, space and cyberspace. They hold national annual camps, as well as offering overseas camps that focus on the many aspects of a cadets career. Some of the many activities that they can do include flying, gliding, sport, adventure training, shooting, fieldcraft and drill.

How will I be looking to raise some funds for them? I am doing a wing walk on Saturday 9th August 2025, another of my ‘mad’ ideas after completing a 15,000ft charity skydive around 18 months ago for Wales Air Ambulance. I would like to raise money for the ATC (Air Training Corps) and directly 2353 Squadron, as I was a cadet from the age of 13 and experienced most of the things the cadets still do today.

All money raised will be submitted into the squadron’s non public funds account, where at Squadron level, and with the assistance of the Civilian Committee; we raise our own funds to pay for items through the Non-Public Funds account, such as: Broadband Services, IT Equipment, Software, STEM Kits, Adventure Training Kit, Subsidised Trips etc, among many other items and activities that are not funded by the Ministry of Defence central annual grant for RAFAC.

It is very much a misconception that Air Cadets are solely funded by the Ministry Of Defence (MOD), we are not - they fund the property, building, utility bills (not broadband) and certain insurances.

As an “Excepted” charity with an Exception No. W1865/96, we enjoy the status and fiscal benefits accorded to a registered charity and are required to comply with the key principles of charity law. In essence, we carry out all of our activities as a charity with a board of Trustee’s, and are regulated and monitored by the national RAF Air Cadets HQ’s, on behalf of the Charity Commission.

I have already raised and surpassed the cost of the event through work contacts and friends enabling me to book the event, and everything raised beyond that will now go to the squadron non-public funds account, for use to support the current cadets experience and self-development whilst with the squadron.