Air Activities Camp April 2026

Following on from the successful 9 day January flying camp, the NSW Group of the Australian Air League held another camp during the April school holidays at the Air Activities centre located at Camden Airport, southwest of Sydney.

The 5-day camp was attended by 16 cadets from across NSW with the view of building and consolidating their flying training.

All of these students had commenced their flying training at previous camps, and this camp provided them with the opportunity to work on achieving the next stage of their license. They were assisted by a team of instructors rostered on for the camp, and ground staff there to ensure the camp ran smoothly.

In total the cadets completed 59 flights and just over 63 hours of flying during the camp and shortly following the conclusion of the camp, Cpl Christian Laudicina of Manly Squadron passed his Recreational Pilot License under the watchful eye of examiner Steve Reh.

The camp wasn’t without its challenges, with windy conditions on some days making circuits a little tricky. The main runway at Camden was also closed for a day for maintenance, which gave the students the opportunity to experience operations from the shorter grass runway at Camden!

The April camp also welcomed a former student pilot back as an instructor. Warrant Officer Caitlin Roche from Marrickville Squadron returned to help train the latest generation of pilots.

Caitlin started her flying training with the Air League in 2024 and achieved her first solo in June of that year under the guidance of instructor Charles Droudis. Shortly after, she began training with the Qantas Pilot Academy, recently earning her Flight Instructor rating. This allowed her to return and teach the next generation of student pilots – once again under the tutelage of Head of Operations Charles Droudis.

Following the camp, Caitlin is now off to Queensland to begin flying with Qantaslink on the Airbus A220!