Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps (Chinese:

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

香港航空青年團) is a voluntary uniformed group (although people working at headquarters get paid) subsidised by the Home Affairs Bureau

Home Affairs Bureau

Home Affairs Bureau is one of the policy bureaux of the Hong Kong Government.One of the important roles of the Home Affairs Bureau is to enhance liaison and communication with all sectors of the community including the Legislative Council and the general public.Tsang Tak-sing has been the...

of the Hong Kong government and is registered under the Societies Ordinance as a non-profit making charitable organisation. Created in 1971 with ties to the British Armed Forces

British Armed Forces

The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

' Combined Cadet Force

Combined Cadet Force

The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...

.
It is an aviation-orientated, disciplined youth organisation, which aims to provide its members with initial aviation education, to develop their leadership capabilities and to promote their social awareness through community service. It is also an organization supported by Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragon Air for aviation training.

Apart from training in aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

knowledge, the HKACC also organises outdoor activities such as parachuting, rifle drill, familiarization visits, hiking, night journeys, field training camp, and even a flag days. In the summer, canoe courses and other aquatic activities are organised. In addition members of the Corps are obliged to take part in community service.

They are divided into 4 wings, Hong Kong Island, New Territories, Kowloon, and No 6 Wings. Those wings are further divided into squadrons. Each squadron consists of a minimum of 35 cadets.

Qualifications

The qualifying age for joining HKACC is between 12 and 21. When you join at these ages, you are a Recruit Cadet. As you progress, you will become a Basic Cadet. After qualification for a
First Class Cadet, you can qualify for Corporal, and then sergeant and so on. There are currently around 4,000 cadets and 800 adult members (officers) at over 40 different schools/buildings. HKACC's purpose is to serve the Hong Kong Community for their services. The HKACC symbol is based on a propeller

Propeller (aircraft)

Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...

and the blades are for the values: Honesty, Tolerance, and Justice. You must obey those values in order to promote to a higher rank.

Customs and Courtesies

Title	Pledge
Cadet Pledge	"SIR/MA’AM (rank), I pledge that I will serve faithfully in the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate in unit activities, obey my superiors, wear my uniform properly and advance my training rapidly so that I may be of service to my community and my fellow citizens, SIR/MA’AM (rank)”
Definition of Discipline	"SIR/MA’AM (rank), discipline is that mental attitude and state of training which renders willing obedience and proper conduct instinctive under all conditions. It is founded on respect for and loyalty to all properly constituted authorities, SIR/MA’AM (rank)"

Rules

Communication

One must learn to obey before he may command.
When a fault is pointed by your superior, you should not offer any explanation unless offered permission to understand.
When receiving an unjust order from a superior, cadets should follow the order, fulfill the task, and make complaints later.
Cadets should not criticize their fellow officers before other people.
An officer’s order is ordinarily accepted without questions.
HKACC members escort a lady, higher rank cadets, and officers by walking on his/her RIGHT.
Cadets must use the Chain Of Command when trying to reach an officer

HKACC members cannot wear uniform when:

Engaging in a paid employment not associated with HKACC.
Engaging in political activities.
Participating in sports events (unless authorised by HKACC).

Cadet must wear the beret/headgear at anytime, except:

Sitting
Eating or Drinking
At work and on board public transport
In a hangar
Authorized by an officer

Dress Code/Uniform

The HKACC has similar dress uniform to the RAF. They are very strict with standards - every "meeting", there is an "Open-Formation" (inspection) where officers and instructors check the uniforms. If they are not satisfied, cadets (including Corporals) must do up to a maximum of 200 push-ups.

A cadet with a satisfying uniform and appearance must have the Following:

Polished Boots
Ironed Uniform
Short Hair
Good Standing Posture
Attitude (Alert/Awake)

Uniform

No.3A/B RAF Service working dress - grey shirt and trousers
No.2A/B Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

uniform blue service dress - light blue shirt, black tie, blue-grey trousers
Peaked cap
Peaked cap
A peaked cap, forage cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations and also by many uniformed civilian organizations such as law enforcement agencies...

, Beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....

or Forage cap
Forage cap
Forage cap is the designation given to various types of military undress, fatigue or working headresses. These varied widely in form, according to country or period...
No.1
No.6

Organisation

Commanding Officer - Group Captain Jones Wong.
- Liaison Unit
- Commanding Officers Office
- Honorary Officers Coordination Unit
- Administration and Support Group
  - Medical Flight
  - Technical and Operations Squadron
  - Supply Flight
  - Public Affairs Flight
  - Administrative Support Flight
  - HQ Administration Flight
- Operations Group
  - IACE Unit
  - Liaison Unit - Mainland
  - Task Force Flight
  - HK Island Wing
  - Kowloon Wing
  - NT Wing
  - No 6 Wing
- Training Group
  - Adult Training Squadron
    - Officer Cadet Training Flight
    - Recruit Instructor Training Flight
  - Aviation Education Squadron
    - AAEP Flight
    - Parachute Training Flight
  - General Service Training Squadron
    - Skills Dev Flight
    - Admin Support Flight
    - HKAYP Flight
  - Ceremonial Squadron
    Ceremonial Squadron
    The Ceremonial Squadron an HQ Unit of Training Group of the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps.-History:The Ceremonial Squadron was created December 1998 and officially established on 1 May 1999. The unit has gained recognition of high standard of drill on its debut performance on the Hong Kong Cadet Force...
  - Central Training Squadron
  - Firearms Training Flight

Ranks

Officers

Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
Officer Cadet
Officer Cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries...
Officer Trainee

Instructors

Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
Sergeant Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor may refer to:In education:* Professor of a technical subject like dance or civil engineering at a university* A teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill**flight instructor**drill instructor**Physical Training Instructor...

Cadet Ranks

Cadet Warrant Officer
Cadet Flight Sergeant
Cadet Sergeant
Cadet Corporal
Basic Cadet
Recruit Cadet

Cadet classification

Staff Cadet
Senior Cadet
Leading Cadet
First Class Cadet

There is no way to identify "Basic Cadet" and "Recruit Cadet" as cadets of both ranks look identical.

Age limit for cadet ranks is 21, and age requirement for non-cadet ranks is 21 as well. The amount of Cadet Warrant Officers is extremely low ever in HKACC's history due to age limit.

AAEP Scholarship

It was first introduced in 1997 and has been offered annually ever since. The first AAEP was available only to members of the HKACC and other uniformed youth organisations. In 2000, AAEP opened its door to all Hong Kong residents and it was in that year that Cathay Pacific Airways and the General Flying Services Pty Ltd in Australia became co-organisers of the programme. Swinburne University of Technology officially joined in 2001 and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2004 as its co-organisers.

Participants must complete the following 8 compulsory subjects divided into two modules which comprise of a total of 20 sessions:

Technical modules

Aerodynamics (ADY)
Aircraft general Knowledge (AGK)
Operation, performance and planning (PERF)
Flight rules & air laws in Australia (LAW)

Navigation Modules

Navigation (NAV)
Meteorology (MET)
Radio Communication (RT)
Human Performance and Limitation (HPL)

Awards

Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps issues their own awards to their members and are not part of the government issued Orders, decorations, and medals of Hong Kong

Orders, decorations, and medals of Hong Kong

The existing Hong Kong honours system was created after transfer of government of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China as a special administrative region in 1997...

. The medals and clasps are similar to those given by the RAF:

Hong Kong Cadet Forces Medal for Distinguished Service
Hong Kong Cadet Forces Medal for Meritious Service
Hong Kong Cadet Forces Medal
Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps Medal of Special Merit (Gold, Silver and Bronze)
Hong Kong AIr Cadet Corps Honorary Officers' Efficiency Award
Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps 30th Annivesary Commemorative Medal

Fleet

HKACC does not operate any aircraft, but they utilize aircraft from partners in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Aircraft used for training include:

Robinson Helicopter
Robinson Helicopter
The Robinson Helicopter Company, based at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California, is the largest manufacturer of civil helicopters in North America.-History:...

R44 Raven I
Robinson R44
|-See also:-External links:* * * * * *...

- borrowed from Hong Kong Aviation Club
Hong Kong Aviation Club
The Hong Kong Aviation Club was established in 1982 upon the amalgamation of the Hong Kong Flying Club, the Aero Club of Hong Kong and the Far East Flying & Technical School.-History:...
Eurocopter AS350B2 Ecureuil - via Heli Express
Hong Kong Express Airways
Hong Kong Express Airways Limited , is an airline based in Hong Kong, with its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to 19 destinations in seven countries across Asia, including codeshares with its sister airline, Hong Kong Airlines...
Eurocopter AS355
Eurocopter AS355
The Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 is a twin-engine light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale...

Ecureuil 2/Twinstar - via Heli Express
Hong Kong Express Airways
Hong Kong Express Airways Limited , is an airline based in Hong Kong, with its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to 19 destinations in seven countries across Asia, including codeshares with its sister airline, Hong Kong Airlines...

Glider training is provided by private flying schools in Australia