617 AGS

617 AGS The Squadron's main aim is to provide ground based flight training and experience to Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

617 AGS based at RAF Wittering, is designed to focus on ground based training for Cadets within Central and East Region of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets to prepare for Flying Scholarships. The AGS plays an important role in providing the first steps towards qualifying for Gliding and/or Air Cadet Pilot Scholarships within the RAFAC.

617 AGS is staffed by Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, who give up

their weekends to train Cadets to gain their Bronze Wings, as well as training staff to become Blue Syllabus Trainers, Deliverers and Assessors.

Day two of this weekends course saw Norfolk & Suffolk Wing attend, another great course and five fantastic cadets enjoye...
10/05/2026

Day two of this weekends course saw Norfolk & Suffolk Wing attend, another great course and five fantastic cadets enjoyed their time with us. Very talented group today, another long day with the travel and everyone had a great day.

Very busy day at RAF Wittering today, lots of activities there today and 617 AGS ran a Bronze Wings GBT course for six c...
09/05/2026

Very busy day at RAF Wittering today, lots of activities there today and 617 AGS ran a Bronze Wings GBT course for six cadets from Essex Wing. All six cadets reached the required standard to achieve their Bronze wings at the end of the day and thank you for the visiting staff who had an early start to make it possible. 617 Adj Flt Lt Paul James said, another enjoyable course, these cadets certainly knew their aviation syllabus and were very receptive to the course which makes it a pleasure to instruct. Well done everyone!

18–19 APR 2026 – Successful AGS trial at RAF HenlowLast weekend demonstrated the mobility and scalability of the AGS mod...
25/04/2026

18–19 APR 2026 – Successful AGS trial at RAF Henlow

Last weekend demonstrated the mobility and scalability of the AGS model, with 617 and 643 AGS successfully delivering two full Bronze Wings courses away from their home bases at Wittering and Syerston.

Twelve cadets from Beds and Cambs Wing were the first to attend this new delivery location, marking an important step in expanding regional access.

The trial was highly successful, with RAF Henlow now being considered as a permanent AGS site within Central & East Region. Establishing a southern delivery location will broaden access to the Bronze Wings syllabus and reduce travel time for many units.

In the interim, additional courses are being explored under the authority of 617 and 643 AGS, with the longer-term ambition of developing a fully autonomous AGS unit at Henlow.

Four Flight Staff Cadets from 611 VGS also joined the course to up-skill as Bronze L1 instructors. Their involvement will strengthen future instructional capacity as the programme expands, but also serve as inspirational role models for cadets attending the course.

On Sunday, OC Beds & Cambs Wing, Wg Cdr Rob Bradshaw, and OC Hertfordshire Wing, Wg Cdr Haydyn Tanner, visited the course to observe delivery first-hand and engage with both cadets and instructors. Both expressed strong support for the initiative.

Another busy day at 617 AGS, 6 cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing and all achieved their Bronze Wings. Some staff traini...
22/03/2026

Another busy day at 617 AGS, 6 cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing and all achieved their Bronze Wings. Some staff training completed, another step closer to 618 Henlow AGS standing up in April. APO Jason Venn, working hard towards this and excited for the future courses at the third AGS for Central & East Region.

On Saturday 21st March 617 AGS RAF Wittering held a Bronze Wings GBT course and cadets from Essex Wing attended. It was ...
22/03/2026

On Saturday 21st March 617 AGS RAF Wittering held a Bronze Wings GBT course and cadets from Essex Wing attended. It was great course, all six cadets achieved the standard required to be presented with their Bronze Wings at the end of the day. OC 617 awarded the wings and thanked everyone for their efforts they wished everyone a safe journey home.

Another busy weekend at 617 AGS, on Saturday we conducted instructor training with six candidates being put through thei...
08/02/2026

Another busy weekend at 617 AGS, on Saturday we conducted instructor training with six candidates being put through their paces and on Sunday some consolidation of the instructor training whilst six cadets from Beds & Cambs took part in a Bronze Wings GBT course. A great weekend was had by all and some great results for both instructors & visiting cadets.

This weekend saw the first courses of 617 AGS in 2026 and we had the pleasure of Essex & Herts Wings attend. Saturday sa...
18/01/2026

This weekend saw the first courses of 617 AGS in 2026 and we had the pleasure of Essex & Herts Wings attend. Saturday saw 4 cadets from Essex, Sunday saw 5 cadets from Herts and all successfully achieved the standard to be awarded their Bronze Wings. Thank you to the travelling staff who supported the cadets, the AGS staff supported by WG Cdr Nick Gensler C&E Region RAvnO who trained a cadet each day and seeing first hand the quality of the cadets attending these courses. Well done everyone and we look forward to a busy year ahead at 617 AGS!

617 AGS RAF Wittering, held a Bronze Wings GBT Course on Sunday 7th December for five cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing...
08/12/2025

617 AGS RAF Wittering, held a Bronze Wings GBT Course on Sunday 7th December for five cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing and all five were successful to be awarded Bronze Wings. This was day two of the weekend course for 617 AGS and continued to successfully run the new Bronze Wings course which has seen 15 cadets get their weeks over the last four weeks.

617 AGS RAF Wittering ran a Bronze Wings GBT course with 5 cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing today and all 5 cadets wer...
06/12/2025

617 AGS RAF Wittering ran a Bronze Wings GBT course with 5 cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing today and all 5 cadets were awarded their Bronze Wings by OC 617 AGS after successfully completing the assessment phase at the end of the course. Thank you to all the staff that supported this course, the travelling staff from NSW and tomorrow another 5 cadets will attend to hopefully achieve the required standard to receive their Bronze Wings.

Today 617 AGS at RAF Wittering ran its first Bronze Wings GBT Course in the new V2 format, we had 5 cadets travel from E...
08/11/2025

Today 617 AGS at RAF Wittering ran its first Bronze Wings GBT Course in the new V2 format, we had 5 cadets travel from Essex wing and all 5 achieved the standard to be awarded their Bronze Wings. This new format which is a one day course is exactly for the Wings & Squadrons that have a great distance to their nearest AGS and is a grateful reduction on the logistics of a two day course. OC 617 Sqn Ldr Paul Bowden was pleased with how smoothly the day ran and always a pleasure to have C&E RAvnO Wg Cdr Nick Gensler delivering the course to cadets to see first hand the calibre of the Regions potential Aviators. Thank you to all the staff involved both travelling from Essex, potential new instructors and great to get the new course off to a great start following 643 AGS lead from last weekend.

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RAF Wittering
Peterborough

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