AAC TA Pilot

[Bomb Doctor]

As an ex army officer (non pilot) who now has PPL(H) and working towards CPL(H) are there opportunities to fly in the AAC TA?

I think I know the answer......but :)

[Sloppy Link]

BD,

TA in the traditional sense has all but folded now so that avenue is closed. Further, a requirement prior to serving in the TA in the flying role is to have been awarded a flying badge ie RN, Army or RAF wings. There is a small number of reservist "pool" pilots but I am certain this is only open to former Army pilots who were current on an in service type prior to retiring from full time service and that type is still being operated.

Sorry.

SL

[airborne_artist]

You are right, and 7 Regt AAC is in the process of being disbanded, meaning very few if any opportunities for those losing their posts.

ABEX | 7 Regiment Air Corp to be disbanded to save money! (http://www.abex.org.uk/?p=326)

[wg13_dummy]

CirrusF, you're talking out of your hoop.

[preduk]

I don't know of the exact answer but I did know some of the lads at 7 Regt and most of them were ex-mil heli pilots, in fact one of them was working with Strathclyde Police at their ASU team.

[Bomb Doctor]

You beat me to it wg13_dummy ;)

The answer doesn't really matter if Shawbury is being binned..... oh well, thanks all for your replies :(

[FrogPrince]

BD,

The closest you will get to a UK cab is with 6 Regt AAC (V) or 606 Sqn RAuxAF.

Would you be prepared to settle for Aviation Operations Support - "Third Man in the AH Cockpit" and all that ?

FP

[wg13_dummy]

Cirrus. I shall rephrase my 'you're talking out of your hoop' comment to 'you're talking out of your hoop yet again'.

So you're suggesting we follow the lead of Switzerland and use them as a model to man our Armed Forces?? :rolleyes:

To me, the world of Army FW isn't shadowy and what you are alluding to is a very special one off case. That case being there was a requirement and the chap fulfilled that requirement where no other option was available. As it happens, the person in question still has a shed load of hoops to jump through (not yours thankfully) before becoming useful to the mil FW fraternity. We dont have 'ferry pilots'. Pointless if all they can do is ferry a cab from A to B.


Nothing against BD but what useful civilian quals does he have to offer the world of military aviation? Are you suggesting his PPL(H) will have the AAC knocking on his door?? Again, I'm not having a pop at BD but merely using his situation as an example to explain some fairly elementary aspects to you. I have no idea how many PPL hours he has or where he gained his qual but we aren't that short of pilots where we have to recruit someone purely based on them having a PPL. In fact, far from it. We have a huge number of candidates not only for FW but RW too.

Are you suggesting he would just bypass the flying training system? The answer would be a big fat 'no'. So, we would still have to push him through the system. Have we gained anything there? No, not really. Due to him having a PPL, does it make him less of a risk on the flying course? In my experience, no. In fact it is quite often a hindrance. So again, there is no benefit whatsoever in placing him on a flying course over someone who is possibly younger, more experienced (non flying) and effectively a blank canvas. PPL or even CPL ownership means very little regarding recruiting someone to fly in the military. If you are not a military aviator, you will not understand why. Actually flying the aircraft is a very small part of military aviation.

If your remarks are based on the current AAC (TA) pilots who you believe merely hold a civvy license, you will find that they are all very, very experienced former military pilots (and out of those, a fair chunk are current ATPL holders).

Bomb Doc, let me apologise for using you as an example but I feel I needed to correct the 'advice' that Cirrus offered. I think he lives in the area his user name suggests - cloud cuckoo land.

[stas-fan]

hey WG13, you are out of touch and in danger of drowning in your own bath water.
Cirrus, who I know has a TA history and plenty of flying expertise, is right with his assesment of use of assets.
Wake up mate, when the new King Airs are in thier 3rd year of going around in circles in Afghan you will be eating humble pie; it will be civil or TA pilots at the autopilot doing Sudokhu; not long in the teeth military pilots.
Oh, and from what I know of Cirrus and his background don't call him on military knowledge, he's been there done that, and not from a 4 star hotel.