Shoreham Airshow

The team works with the rest of the wing in supporting a number of community events. Sometimes these are activities undertaken by single squadron but, more often, a number of squadrons, or even the whole wing, comes together for them. The major wing supported event is Shoreham Air Show. Dates vary but it is usually held in late August or early September. This a major fund-raiser for the Royal Air Force Association; a charity close to all our hearts. The event has such a high profile, the cadets get many important visitors including Commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Barbara Cooper all the way from RAFC Cranwell shown here with two of the cadets on duty.

Click here to visit the Shoreham Air Show website

The working party consists of about 200 cadets and 30 staff working from the Friday before the show until the late evening of Sunday after the show ends. The advance party gathers about 100 on Friday when the main support team deliver the tentage and other equipment needed to set up camp. The admin team will locate their caravan on site and book the cadets and staff in as they arrive. The cadets, supervised by adult staff, set up all the accomodation tents needed and a couple of marquees which are used as a field kitchen and dining area.

Specialist units such as the chefs will also arrive now with their field kitchen & rations and the comms team will set up their control caravan and make sure all the radio equipment is ready for issue the following morning. By late evening most of the team is on site and ready to start work.

Early Saturday morning, after a very early breakfast, work begins in earnest. Late arrivals (0730!) are booked in and teams of cadets & staff are allocated to duties as programme sellers, parking marshalls, VIP escorts and other miscellaneous duties. By 0800 they have been booked out and are on the show site ready for the gates to open to the public by 0900. Throughout the day teams are replaced & re-assigned and the Wing band gives a number of marching and music displays throughout the day. Meals are prepared & eaten and various problems met head on and solved until the show ends and the crowds disperse.  Now the camp becomes a home again. Everyone relaxes and enjoys the social side; usually including a disco.

Sunday follows the same pattern but once the show starts, work details begin to fell the tents and pack them onto the trucks. After lunch the marquees come down and preparations are made to break up the camp. All this while showground teams carry on their work on site.  When the show closes final clearing up is done; cadets head for home and the staff recover all the equipment to stores ready for the next time.

Friday August 31st to Sunday September 2nd 2012