Air Scouts recently enjoyed a trip to Bristow’s search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter base in Newquay, England, as part of the organization’s 75-year anniversary celebrations. The base hosted roughly 250 Air Scouts and their leaders over two days while they enjoyed a five day camp in Cornwall to mark the occasion.
Mark Coupland, Bristow’s chief pilot of Newquay SAR said: “We were delighted to hear that the highlight for many was the trip to our base, which included a guided tour of our helicopters. The scouts were given the opportunity to sit in the cockpit while our pilots explained the different functions and equipment of the helicopter.
“It was a hectic couple of days which we gladly accommodated at the last minute to help the organization after their plans with another company changed. It’s an honor to be able to encourage the enthusiasm in aviation that was so well demonstrated by these scouts.”
As well as the adventurous activities the scouts normally enjoy in camp, they also took part in a number of other aviation-based activities, including parascending, a visit to an aviation museum, flight simulators, model aircraft flying, a tour of Newquay Airport and a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) session delivered by the Royal Air Force. The troop also enjoyed the Cornish scenery with a trip to Newquay beach.
Felicity Crook, assistant scout leader, Sixth Gosport Air Scouts, said: “It was an amazing visit and our young people enjoyed it very much. We would like to say thank you to Shiner, Ginge and the team for making us feel so welcome.”
Air Scouts began in 1941 during the Second World War as a provision for young people too young for the Air Training Corps. But air activities formed part of the scouting program long before then. There are 6,000 Air Scouts in England.
