Cadets’ Corner is a weekly column submitted by the 37 Orville Hand Air Cadet Squadron.
Each summer, cadets have the opportunity to earn a Transport Canada glider pilot licence through the Air Cadet Glider Pilot Scholarship Course.
The 37 Orville Hand Air Cadet Squadron’s Flight Sgt. Xu has earned the opportunity to participate in the course and will be taking part in the annual summer training program at CFB Trenton. Through these courses, Xu will take enriched training in ground school and on gliders — including solo flights — in order to be judged as meeting the requirements of Transport Canada for his glider pilot licence.
Only about 120 cadets in Canada are awarded this scholarship every year. Civilian pilot training costs about $1,000 to $2,000, and that does not take into consideration housing, food and transportation to the site for six weeks. The Air Cadet Gliding program is investing roughly $5,000 in cadets to become pilots. They teach them to fly a glider (a plane without an engine). After they complete the course, they can go gliding and eventually start flying other cadets during the regular training year, and they could also work toward a power pilot licence.
Xu is 17 years old and has been a cadet with 37 Squadron for four years. When he was asked what it means to be an air cadet, he said, “For me, it is learning to become a better person in the community. There’s a lot of stuff based around it — citizenship, community service, peer-to-peer networking, mentoring younger cadets. What I remember from the Level 5 conference that I went to previously is that their intentions in the cadet program are to inspire youth to be role models in their communities and inspire others to be good people in society.”
Xu is currently on the drill team and running the flag party. He just completed the effective speaking program and advanced to regionals this year. He would like to earn the rank of warrant officer first class, which means working through his Level 5 training, which he is motivated to do.
“My ideal career pathway right now (is) probably Royal Canadian Air Force pilot if I can get into their Royal Military College program or some other university. Then I’d switch to commercial pilot for the money after I get my hours.”
He said it feels amazing to have earned the glider pilot scholarship and he hopes other cadets in the squadron feel inspired by him to follow in his footsteps and have more pilots in the future from 37 Air Cadet Squadron.
He wants to thank former cadet Choudhry, the squadron’s first cadet to obtain her power pilot’s licence, as well as Second Lt. Pinto for the help. He says he couldn’t have done it without their help, guidance and motivation.
Becoming a pilot through cadets is a challenge, but it is a viable opportunity if the cadet is sincerely interested.
Interested in joining the 37 Orville Hand Air Cadet Squadron? Click here.
