I HAVE always gone with the notion that if man was intended to fly then God would have given us wings - and if that was the case, I would have had mine clipped at the first given opportunity. I'm not saying I have a fear of flying, it's just certain parts of it I don't like - such as the take off, the flight and the landing! So an invitation to spend the day with the award-winning RAF 635 Volunteer Gliding School at BAe Samlesbury was a pretty daunting experience - this was the man who sat with a vice-like grip, astronaut-style on a recent flight to Greece - and that was even before take off.

But after a quick briefing my mind was put to rest. First of all I learnt that the glider I was flying in actually had an engine and thankfully I wouldn't have to fly it on my own!

RAF 635 VGS has scooped awards left, right and centre in the last few years - its latest accolade was coming top in a national league for training the most Air Cadet student pilots.

The school has a 100 per cent safety record but is not complacent about the fact and before each flight, students go through a stringent safety routine.

Before I knew it I was sitting in a two-seater motorised Vigilant glider with my pilot, Flight Lieutenant Alan Howard - who has more than 30 years and thousands of flying hours under his belt.

Despite that, this is when the nerves began to jangle. For every time he said "check" I couldn't help but mumble "are you sure". Soon we were up, and as Blackburn got smaller and smaller my palms got sweatier and sweatier.

But after the initial shock of being in the air for the first time with no air stewards or a duty free trolley, I began to relax and enjoy myself. And as we circled the airbase for the second time, I realised why so many youngsters want to join the Air Cadets and later the RAF.

I even got a chance to 'fly' the glider which Flt Lt Howard compared to like riding a bike. Mind you I would much rather fall off a bike than out of a glider - parachute or not!

Seriously though, joining the Air Cadets gives youngsters the chance to benefit from the character forming challenges and experiences provided which aim to make them better citizens. For details on how to become an Air Cadet, contact Flt Lt Steve Flitcroft of the 1262 Blackburn Squadron on 01254 680435. Fact File

Training commences for air cadets from 13, for both girls and boys.

A trained person can not fly solo until they are 16.

In 1997, 4,000 cadets will be under training in the North West.

This year the school has been allocated 18,000 flying hours for training and has 36 trained voluntary instructors

The school recently received a special award for its outstanding efforts to the world of aviation.arrives back on terra firma unscathed!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.