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2446 (knottingley) Squadron ATC-Air Cadets

This months acheivements

In the ATC you will achieve alot, but there is so many that we named them all you would be reading into next month, so we've picked two quite big ones.


Well Done to Cdt Winter for getting cadet of the month for September! Cadet of the month is decided by who gets the most points over the month, you get points by wearing good uniform, volunteering for things (eg bagpacks), putting effort in, getting the name the plane quiz right and many other reasons.

Now to the big one, the one all the cadets have been battling to get, the promotion! For the past fortnight the cadets have been competing between each other to become a corpral. So well done to Cdt Rycroft well Cpl now. There are still more chances for promotion as cpl Rycroft is acting corpral for one month then after if shes any good she keeps her stripes, if not its someone else who gets the chance.

Because we can't mention everything well done!

Uniform upkeep and ironing

Uniform upkeep  

Ironing of your uniform                                                                                                 

We all know the easiest way - ask our Mums! But it’s your responsibility, so here's a little on how to iron your uniform!

Iron shirts with your iron set to medium - not hot beacuse this can burn the material.

Iron trousers on hot- place a clean cotton tea towel between your trousers and the iron.

Shirts

Shirts take no time at all when you know how. If your shirt is dry, lightly spray it with water (you can use a water sprayer set to produce a mist)

1)      Iron the inside of the collar

2)      Take your shirt off the board and place one of the sides on so that the neck is at the end of the board, then iron it.

3)      Place the back of the shirt on the board next (you will have to do this in two parts)

4)      Now place the other front panel on the board and iron that.

5)      Undo the epaulettes and iron them.

6)      Place the sleeve along the length of the ironing board. Use a good water sprayer and soak the crease - not too much though.

7)      Place the iron at the cuff end of the sleeve while pulling the crease to keep it tight.

8)      Press firmly on the iron and steadily move up to the shoulder end of the sleeve.

9)      Repeat for the other sleeve and you should have a perfect pair of creases.

Trousers

Take care ironing trousers as you can make the material shine.

1)      Place the trousers on their side onto the ironing board.

2)      Pull both ends of the already existing crease and make sure no material is ruffled up underneath and that the crease is not folded or moved, otherwise you will get tramlines.

3)      Spray the crease with your water sprayer.

4)      Place a plain cotton tea towel over the crease and spray this too.

5)      Now place your iron on the cloth over the crease and press firmly, and slowly move the iron up to the crease taking care not to go off the cloth and onto your trousers. Repeat as many times as necessary to do the entire crease.

6)      Repeat the process in the following order: next front crease, then rear creases.

7)      Make sure you don’t have tramlines in your creases.

The use of a cloth prevents the material shining when the iron is placed directly on to the material. If you do not you end up with razor sharp creases with a shiny patch down one side.

Once you have ironed your trousers, you will need to keep the creases sharp and not get any unwanted creases. Use a purpose made trouser hanger - available from military surplus stores and hardware stores or use a double clipped hanger, clip your trousers in at the top, and they will hang straight.

Skirts

To get the correct length, kneel on the floor, upright, ask another Cadet, or your Parent to pin the hem as it touches the floor, this is then the correct length. Do not turn up your skirt at the bottom with a huge hem, it will be noticed, and if you double the hem it is worse. Wash on a 40 degree or wool wash in the machine and don’t forget the fabric conditioner. When dry turn inside out and iron flat.

Belt

1)      First remove the buckle. 

2)      Now take some metal polish (e.g.  Basso) using cotton wool rub over the surface. 

3)      After a short whole your belt should come to a high shine.  You frequently have to change your cotton wool as it soon goes black. Make sure you use a clean duster to polish afterwards. Do not attempt to wash the belt itself.

Jumper

This is probably the easiest to maintain.  All that is needed to keep it in good condition is an occasional iron or, if starts to get “fluffy” then give it a quick shave, not literally with foam and a razor but with a small pair of scissors.  Being careful not to cut the jumper, remove any sticking out fibres.  DO NOT CUT OFF THREADS - instead pull them through from the inside using a needle or pin. If the jumper needs washing use a 40 degree wash or wool wash in the machine, and don’t forget your fabric conditioner.

Brassard

There should be no creases. Be careful not to iron over the top of the elastic as the imprint will show through the front of the brassard, spoiling the look.  To get round this put the iron in between.

DPM Jacket + trousers

Iron until flat.  Remember that it’s DPM, so creases are hard to see. Nevertheless iron all pockets flat against the jacket and sew on any missing buttons.

How to wear and shape your beret

You will have to put some work into making your Beret fit correctly; you can't just stick it on your head and think it will shape itself. If you don't want it to look like a heli-pad you're going to have to Shape it to fit your head.

How should the Beret be worn?

• The headband should be horizontal across your forehead, one 1 inch (25mm) above the eyebrows.

• The badge must be above your left eye.

• The excess material is draped over to the right ear, extending to at least the top of the ear, and no lowers than the middle of the ear.

• Females with long hair are required to wear a hair net the colour of which must match their hair colour as closely as possible.

How To Shape Your Beret

1)      Take the beret and dunk it in warm (not hot!) water.

2)      Then dunk it in to cold water

3)      Once you get it soaking wet, put it on your head, make sure the badge is over your left eye and smooth the material over your head and pull it down towards your right ear.

4)      Once you've got it all set, wear it until it's nearly dry.

5)      Carefully take it off and set it down to dry. You may need to shape it a few times to get it right.

6)      Fit your badge onto the mounting and fasten it with the split pin.

Step by step of how to tie a windsor knot

Step One
First of all, make sure that your collar is up, this makes it easier Take a look at the diagram on the left. W stands for wide and N stands for narrow. Take the W part of the tie and place it over your side you use to write. Allow enough length in the W side for the tie to reach your belt buckle. Cross the W part over the N part of the tie.

Step Two
Hold the point where W crosses over N and pull the W towards your chest and up between your  collar and the cross.

Step Three
Pull the wide end underneath narrow end and to the left, back through the loop and to the left again so that the wide end is inside out.

Step Four
Bring the W end of the tie across to the right.

Step Five

Bring the W end behind the tie and  back up through the loop.

Step Six

Pull the W end down and through the knot you just created

Step Seven

Using both hands, one on each Tighten the knot and pull it up towards the collar.

Adjusting your Windsor knot - If the W part of the tie is too short or too long, untie the tie and start again with the W part of the tie in a more suitable position. When untying the tie, follow these steps in reverse order.

Shoes

Keeping your shoes polished is quite important because it is an easy way to see who puts effort into their uniform and who doesn’t. Also someone who wears clean, polished shoes looks better than someone who wears dirty, unpolished shoes.

To polish your shoes properly, you will need:

• Shoe polish (black) –Preferably Kiwi.
• A duster, soft rag or cotton wool. – That’s what you’ll be polishing with. If the rag isn't soft it will scratch your shoe.
• Warm Water – Use warm water because it helps to smooth the polish easier, but if the water is too hot it’ll melt the polish off your shoe and you’ll have to start again.
• Your shoes-preferably DMS or Oxfords
• Yourself (You should polish them yourself, don't get your mum or dad to do it)

Method:

1)       It may take a while to get your shoes perfect, but once you have, as long as you just give them a quick polish before you wear them, it will be easy to keep up the high standard.
First, you must make sure your whole shoe is clean. Wrap the duster around your index finger so that it is smooth and has no creases. If you are using cotton wool pads, fold it in half twice, polishing with the straight part. If using cotton wool buds just pinch it about 1/3 down.

2)       Next, dip your cloth or cotton wool into the bowl of water. Squeeze off any excess water.

3)       Gently rub the cloth or piece of cotton wool along surface of the polish.  Now rub the polish into the toe cap of your shoe in circular motions, covering all of the toecap, including the sides. . The circular motion is a vital part of the process. This works the polish into the shoe and allows the polish to settle

4)       Keep repeating these circular motions until the polish has turned shiny and does not smear when you rub it. If the shoe becomes dry, wet the duster or cotton wool again. When you first start polishing, you will feel that the surface is rough. You will need to repeat this process until the surface of the shoe is smooth, and remember to use plenty of water.

5)       To finish your toecap, it is basically the same process as above, but this time use only small amounts of polish and a little more water. These small layers should only take about 30 seconds to do; you will only need to apply only a few of these layers to get a good shine.

6)       Repeat the process for the other shoe and make sure you spend the same amount of time on each shoe.

Many people will not stop at the toecap. Some people polish the complete shoe, even underneath. If you want to do this you will need to put one small layer of polish onto the rest of the shoe, including the rims of the shoe. The polishing method is exactly the same, but do not use lots of polish, use only one layer, otherwise there will be no difference between the toecap and the rest of the shoe. Repeat the process for the other shoe and make sure you spend the same amount of time on each shoe.

You will need to maintain your shoes. If you don’t they will lose their shine. To maintain them, just put a few small layers on your shoes before and after you wear them. If you do not do this, you will have to spend hours polishing your shoes in the future. It is easier and simpler to keep them in a high standard all the time. Remember to always work on your shoes, it is not something that will happen overnight, you must keep at it. It is worth it to have shiny shoes.

Top Tips:

• Do not cheat! There are people out there paint or varnish their shoes. The people who do this are lazy and do not have the right sort of attitude towards their uniform. Also this makes your shoes look rubbish and it usually cracks. Cheating is wrong! (and makes your shoes look bad)
• You will probably hear some weird methods of polishing, such as using spoons and irons. DO NOT USE THESE METHODS.  These methods are probably also hard to use and will probably mess up your shoe if you don’t have the skill to use the method. It is risky, use the one which you know and you will get to your target eventually.
• Do not use any instant shine pads. They will leave your shoe oily and your shine in your shoe will get really dull after a while.
• Replace your cotton wool and water regularly.
• Store your shoes in a box somewhere where they cannot get filled with dust

Stripping your shoes

Once in a while you might do something bad to your shoes, like dropping a large heavy object onto your toecap. After a while the polish begins to flake off your shoe. You will need to strip your shoe.

For this you will need:

• Hot water – but don’t scold yourself, it hurts.
• A rough cloth or an OLD t-shirt.

Method:

1)       Place your rough cloth into the water; be careful not to scold yourself.

2)       Rub the cloth along the shoe. You will need to be vigorous to remove the polish from the shoe.

3)       You will also need to replace the cloth every so often, to get the best effect.

4)       Do this until all of the polish is removed.

Some people use MILD house cleaners to help the polish come off, but this can be risky so stick to hot water.

Join as a cadet

So, are you ready to take the first step towards all the opportunities and benefits that the air cadets can offer you?

It's important to know that we're not a recruiting organisation for the Services (but it's great if you decide you want to join later on). We're not interested in anything but you and your potential, and will help you get the most from your experience as a cadet.

Worried about fitting in? Equality is a central part of the Air Cadets’ ethic. The cadet experience is open to everyone, so whatever your nationality, background or ability, whether you're male or female, if you're between 13 and 17 years old you can join us.

The maximum age for entry is 17 years old, therefore you can request to join us anytime between your 13th and 17th birthday. If you don't fit into that age group and still want to enjoy all of our activities and more, you could join as a volunteer.

What's in it for you?

Aside from flying, sports, target shooting, adventure training and great fun? You’ll soon find that being an air cadet is its own reward - you constantly see the benefits of your own efforts, building on your achievements and earning BTECs and DoE Awards. You'll be expected to take part in as many of the activities we run as possible, but with what's on offer you won't need much persuading!
We have high standards to maintain as we are a 'military' youth organisation and you'll naturally take pride in your uniform (we supply that) and appearance. You'll be well mannered and self-disciplined. You'll be joining an organisation of which you’ll be very proud.

What are you waiting for!

All of our squadrons welcome personal visits by potential cadets (ideally accompanied by a parent or guardian), during one of their Parade Nights – these are held twice a week. Some squadrons recruit throughout the year, others have specific entry dates. Just come along and see if you like it - you don't have to join, but at least check out what you might be missing.
Your local Squadron will discuss what they do, show you a video of Air Cadet activities and answer any questions you or your parents/guardians may have.
Don't be shy about taking that first step - it may be the best thing you've ever done. Go for it!
For more info feel free to contact us or check out the air cadets website:
Air cadets website
Air Cadets Squadron Finder

Windsor Knot

When you are in your Wedgewood shirts, it is quite important to have your tie worn correctly. This picture  shows you how to  tie one properly.

Flying

For My first time flying. I was So Scared and nervous about getting in the plane and flying. But when I got in the plane it was totally fine, when I started to talk to the Pilot.  But I only got to the end of the run way and had to come back because of the wind. Next time I will not be scared and I will have the chance to get up. I'm really looking forward to going next time. For anyone who is nervous about flying, don't be because it's really fun! If you want to go flying, gliding or shooting or anything like that join the ATC it is really fun and you make loads of friends, get to do really cool stuff that people at school are really jealous of. Knottingley is especially good because every one are real good friends and we go to things that most squadrons don't, I've only been in a few weeks and I'm LOVING IT. THANKS EVERYONE. 2446 KNOTTINGLEY IS THE COOLEST!!!!!