9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0069
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 69 the advanced course offers big way formations, night jumps and Sea King/Lynx jumps. The latter infuriates civilians as only military personnel are allowed to jump from the helicop- ters. Parachuting aside, I now have a private pilots licence and the posting has enabled me to gain a considerable number of fixed wing flying hours. If anyone is visiting Wiltshire and feels like a white-knuckle ride in a Cessna, or an invitation to disembark at 14,000ft, please give me a call. RD Army Ice Camp (10-18 Nov 01) he purpose of this particular Ice Camp, held in Igls, Austria, was to introduce Ice Sports to beginners and hopefully har- vest new talent. There was little to prepare participants for the sheer thrill and adrenaline of ice sports. Their incentive how- ever, was the chance to compete in the British Army Novice Championships to be held in January 2002. Of course, only the fastest and best competitors stood any chance. The Ice Camp week was divided into three phases. The first comprised two days of training; the second phase involved ini- tial selection and the third, a competition. The early part of Monday morning was spent exercising in ways designed to improve the strength of the legs and limber the body up for a hair-raising ride only six inches above the ice. The first run was from the Kinder start and the group of 12 beginners stood looking down the ice track in various states of disguised fear. All the group managed to complete four runs, and with each run there was more adrenaline and less fear. However, it was not an entirely trouble free day. With even these beginners reaching speeds of up to 38 km/h, there were a smattering of injuries, from the minor to the very severe 7 unfortunately one of the instructors broke his back towards the end of the day. They had been warned that it was a dangerous sport and here was the proof. On the second day the two best participants, including LCpl Wyatt, made their way a further 300m up the track. This meant more speed, more danger and much more fear. It was the first real day that the instructors began to truly assess the partici- pants: three places were up for grabs for the Army Novice Championships in January They were now reaching speeds of approximately 50 km/h, hurtling down the 700m track in just 54 seconds. The assessment spilled over into day three and, with a track that was newly iced, the speeds were now even quicker. Remarkably, LCpl Wyatt was the only luge competitor from LCp/ Wyatt at speed |
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