My fellow air cadets and I left from our squadron at precisely 07:30 on Saturday 22nd June to go to RAF Benson in Wallingford, which was one and a half-hours away. We reached the airport at 09:15 and were given a safety briefing by the pilots. There were a total of 12 cadets and, because it was a sunny day with no dark clouds, we were able to use three planes at once. I was privileged to be one of the first three people to fly! We were all taken to the changing rooms where we got padded up with coveralls, radio microphones and other accessories. Then my pilot took me to the aircraft where the ground crew helped me settle in. The pilot then warmed up the engines and ran through the routine drills. He introduced me to all the controls what each of them were for before we took off. The fear was there but, after we took off, it was all gone! The view was absolutely beautiful and my heart reached the seventh cloud. The flight lasted for 45 minutes during which I flew the plane independently without any support for 30 minutes.

During this time I pitched (went up and down), yawed (moved horizontally left and right) and rolled (rotated vertically left and right). Whilst flying the pilot showed me Central London, Oxford City, the River Thames and fossil fuel power plants. I was lucky enough to have an amazing pilot who supported me to perform aerobatics (eg. loop to loop, stall and barrel rolls) which lasted for 10 minutes. There were very strict rules in terms of photography but I managed to take a few ‘chance of a lifetime’ photos.

This was an excellent opportunity for me and this memory will be with me forever!

We are certainly very proud of him and want to commend him for the time and dedication he gives to the air cadets in his own time outside of school – he is a brilliant ambassador for Bushey Meads!