An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May / June 2026 www.military.ie/magazine 10 | ARTICLE BY LT CONOR WALSH THE STORY OF THE STORY OF THE 41 THE 41 ST ST AND AND 42 42 ND ND WINGS WINGS COURSE CLASS COURSE CLASS T he 41st Wings Course Class (WCC) began their Cadetship as the 41st Regular Air Corps Cadet Class on the 22nd October 2022. The 42nd WCC began their Cadetship as the 42nd Regular Air Corps Cadet Class on the 28th September 2023. Each class began with a weeklong induction in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. This challenging stage of training lasted 18 months for the 41st and 10 months for the 42nd. The first phase consisted of basic military training where fitness, drill, deportment, fieldcraft and weapons handling were of utmost importance and practiced on a daily basis. The remainder of the Cadetship focused on various leadership roles to ensure the Cadets would be ready to commence life as Commissioned Officers in the Defence Forces. Academia became the forefront of the core learning objectives, with Military Law, Irish History and Defence Studies all covered in depth, providing a solid foundation for the Cadets in each of the disciplines. The Cadets then received a Level 7 in Leadership, Management and Defence studies from Maynooth University. Ground school began in May 2024 for the 41st WCC and August 2024 for the 42nd and lasted for eight intense months. During this time over 800 hours of instruction were given on 13 aviation related subjects ranging from Principles of Flight to Human Performance and Limitations. Instruction was provided by both FTS instructors and subject matter experts from elsewhere in the Air Corps. The classes sat examinations both internally in the Flying Training School and externally with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), qualifying the classes to EASA Airline Transport Pilots License (Theoretical Knowledge) standard. The 42nd then began preparations for their own commissioning ceremony on 19th of May 2025. Following this, the classes completed a Computer Based Training (CBT) course in which they learned the technical specifications of the Pilatus PC-9M Advanced Trainer Aircraft. Some of the students were then selected to complete their Flying training in America, while the remainder of the classes commenced their training in Baldonnel. In May of 2025, four students left Ireland to commence their flying course in the United States. The course was run through the U.S Air Force Security and Training (AFSAT) Squadron. The course took place in Dothan, Alabama where students learned basic flying and airmanship in the Cessna 172 aircraft. The students flew the Cessna for nineteen hours before moving to the intermediate stage of the course. The students flew a Grob G-120TP aircraft and learned basic and advanced aircraft handling, airmanship and instrument flying. The first solo of the Grob will be a day that lives in everyone's memory. No aircraft were damaged beyond repair during the course, despite our best efforts!

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