Air Cadet Gliding Program

The Air Cadet Gliding Program is a youth gliding program operated by the Canadian Forces (CF) and the Air Cadet League of Canada for the benefit of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

Air Cadet Gliding Program
Insignia awarded to graduates of the Air Cadet Gliding Program
Active	1965–present
Country	Canada
Type	Youth Organization
Part of	Royal Canadian Air Cadets
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Aircraft flown
Trainer	Schweizer SGS 2-33A Bellanca Scout (Central and NW Regions) Cessna L-19 (Eastern and Atlantic Regions) Cessna 182 (Pacific Region)[1]

The program is managed by CF officers (most of whom are CIC officers), and is the largest producer of glider pilots in Canada.^[2] Cadets aged 16-18 years are trained at the five summer Regional Gliding Schools, and about 100 cadets (formerly around 300 before covid) receive their glider pilot license each year.

Outside of the Regional Gliding Schools, the local headquarters provide the opportunity for cadets to participate in gliding familiarization flying during the spring and fall — approximately 22,000 flights are completed.^[3] Senior cadets who have completed the Air Cadet Gliding Program also perform staff duties at glider familiarization flying and at the summer training program.

Locations of the Regional Gliding Schools

• Regional Gliding School (Pacific) - RGS (P) - Comox, BC^[4]
• Regional Gliding School (Northwest) - RGS (NW) - Brandon, MB^[5]
• Central Region Gliding School - (CRGS) - Mountain View, ON and Picton, ON^[6]
• Eastern Region Gliding School - (ERGS) - St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC^[7]
• Regional Gliding School (Atlantic) - RGS(A) - Debert, NS^[8]

Following a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic, the Glider Pilot Training Course resumed at a limited capacity in Northwest, Central, and Eastern regions, with candidates participating from all 5 regions.