What a day we had! We left our hotel at 7am and arrived at RAF Akrotiri at 9.30am. Following very strict security, we were all welcomed to the base. Pilots, engineers and mechanics showed us around a Griffin helicopter which is used for rescue. All of us were allowed to sit in the cockpit and we were shown how the winchman is lowered into the sea or mountains to carry out the rescue. All our students were allowed to try on the safety gear -they looked like true professionals!
We were then escorted to the Fire & Rescue section. The fire fighters assisted all the kids over an assault course in full breathing apparatus. Check out our photos. They taught us the procedures for rescue in a real life situation. We then all had a chance to go into the fire truck and use the hoses! While all this was happening, RAF planes including Typhoons, were constantly taking off and landing behind us. It was a very exciting experience!
The professionals then staged a mock rescue on a burning plane out of which they had to rescue the pilot. The whole operation was incredibly slick and very impressive to watch.
Our students were then taken to a room to try out some virtual reality games after which Dave our squadron leader host held a Q&A session for all the students. Many interesting questions were asked and answered.
Go-karting was next…..well…what excitement. I think that the staff were even more competitive than the students trying to drive the fastest lap!
12 hours later an exhausted but very happy bunch of students and staff returned to the hotel and flopped into bed!
Our super team of students continue to do us proud and are attracting so many lovely comments from hotel residents and members of the public when we are out. Rosstulla & Jordanstown kids are the best!
