Wing News

100% SUCCESS AT TEN TORS - posted 06-May-23

Ten Tors is by far Plymouth & Cornwall Wings largest commitment to an event with a team of dedicated staff training cadets hoping to participate in the challenge, and following months of training, starting with Initial Expedition theory before practical walks on Dartmoor, the Wing Ten Tors team led by the Wing Adventure Training Technical Officer, Squadron Leader George Blackbourn, selected 30 cadets for their allocated five teams permitted to enter this year’s Ten Tors event. The Wing teams, which accounted for a third of all RAF Air Cadet entries, covered all three distance challenges of 25, 45 and 55 miles, visiting ten tors in the process, and brought the total to 2400 teenagers in 400 teams of six which took part in the challenge.

With this year’s event brought forward to avoid confliction with the Coronation of King Charles III, the teams assembled at Okehampton Battle Camp on the last Friday of April to be scrutineered to ensure the teams meet the rules and are correctly equipped to navigate across Dartmoor while being totally self-sufficient for both food and overnight camping on the moors and able to deal with the various weather conditions often experienced during the event.

Saturday saw the teams assemble on the start line and at 0700hrs the signal was given for the start of the challenge with the participants making off across the moors on their designated route. As the teams disappeared into the distance the team managers work of training the cadets was done with only anxious monitoring of the teams progress on the results tables which charted their progress as the team reached each checkpoint.

Nightfall saw teams set up camp, as the event rules prohibits walking on the moors during darkness to minimise risk of injury, and after a warm meal it was heads down and some much needed rest. Dawn saw the cadets continue on their designated routes heading ever closer to the finish line with all five teams successfully completing their routes and crossing the finish line during the afternoon where the South West Regional Commandant, Group Captain Maxine Fletcher was waiting to greet them.