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42THE FLIGHT CADET ERA Gp Capt Christopher Finn Gp Capt Chris Finn joined the RAF in 1972. As a navigator his subsequent career was closely linked with the Buccaneer and included tours with No 809 NAS, Nos 15 and 208 Sqns, No 237 OCU, CTTO and HQ 18 Gp. Twice awarded a QCVSA, he was the UK%u2019s laser-guided weapons specialist at AHQ Riyadh 1991. Having commanded the Navigator & Airman Aircrew School at Cranwell, his final appointment was as Director Defence Studies (RAF). Since leaving the service in 2005 he spent ten years lecturing on aspects of international relations and air power at the RAFC Cranwell in association with King%u2019s College London and Portsmouth University and became, and still is, a member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. The Flight Cadet era began on 5 February 1920 with 52 cadets joining the new RAF College at Cranwell. It could be said to have ended on 4 April 2011 when Air Chf Mshl Sir Jock Stirrup, who was the last flight cadet (No 98 Entry) to reach senior rank, retired from the Service. This paper will examine the Flight Cadet System in terms of: its original structure and subsequent major changes; the factors involved in the system%u2019s evolution and eventual demise; and the influence of the system on the Service.1 On 25 November 1919 Air Mshl Sir Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff, outlined his vision for the new RAF in a Memorandum to the Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill. The following summarises Trenchard%u2019s overall view on the structure of the new air force: %u2018[%u2026] to concentrate attention on %u2026 laying the foundations of a highly-trained and efficient force which, although not capable of expansion in its present form, can be made so without any drastic alteration should the necessity arise in years to come.%u20192 In a speech to the staff and cadets at the RAF College in 1921 he expanded on the role envisaged for the new Flight Cadets saying: