Wannabe WSOp Crewman - Passed OASC, now looking to prepare for 55 Sqn

[WannabeCrewman]

Hi everyone,

My names Matt, I'm 21, on Liverpool UAS and passed OASC back in March, (my Pilot application was binned due to anthro measurements - too tall!) but am incredibly happy that I have been offered WSOp, and accepted it with gusto.

I'm hoping to go down the Crewman route, and (if I am incredibly lucky, as I know its all going to Sorteria) want to go on to the SAR-F. If not, I'd love to go to Chinooks or Merlins.

Anyway, long story short - I'm starting in January next year, meaning I have a good few months of working a mundane 9-5 and sorting myself out physically.

In the mean time, is there anything I can read up on and prepare for? Obviously, I would have thought there'd be a fair bit of aviation meteorology, a bit on aircraft systems, R/T procedures etc, but anything that catches people out or will be covered whilst at 55(R) or 60 Sqn that I havent thought of?

Cheers guys,
Matt.

[Diablo Rouge]

Are the measurment limitations the same for all three services? (The RAF tend to recruit Typhoon pilots and expect all recruits to wish for that particular 'seat') Or in other words, have you explored a pilot position in the Army or Navy. I say this because it is bizarre that a UAS student who I am assuming to be well (university) educated with some Tutor (Grob not teacher) time to be medically unfit for pilot due to stature.

As for prep: When you think your fit enough, get fitter and learn mental and written arithmetic, particulary speed, time, distance. A bit of public speaking action will help which you can get if you pop along to an ATC Sqn and volunteer to teach air cadets.

[WannabeCrewman]

AFAIK, Yeah, they're all pretty much the same. Some 45 Sqn guys down at Woodvale a few weeks back (One of whom was a lanky ex-ALM who re-trained) suggested that in a year or two, I re-apply, go through OASC and if/when the anthro's come back as being outside the limits, appeal against it, asking if I can go specifically ME/RW. This bloke had longer legs (Femur length being my downfall!) than myself so I figured it was good advice.

However, speaking to my OC at the moment (Herc pilot), he said this is unlikely to happen.

I *just* about fit in a Tutor comfortably; writing on my kneeboards is a ball-ache, I've had to switch them over and right on my left knee with my right hand, which gets in the way of the control column, but aside of that there arent any major issues.

RE: Fitness, yeah I am hammering the gym at the moment, got my 1.5 mile down to 9:50 on a treadmill, this is after 3 weeks, so given the 7-ish months I have left, I should get that down to a good time.

Oh yeah, another question - how long is the Chinook OCU for rearcrew?

Cheers, keep the advice coming!
Matt.

[Oldandgrey]

I would concentrate on passing A Sqn first! You will be covering uneven ground at 6kph with a pine pole on your shoulder, then required to think clearly and solve problems. Followership is just as important as leadership :ok:

Its a good course but physically demanding.
Anything else you want to know ask :}

O&G

[Spearmint-R33]

Concentrate on your fitness of both mind and body. So keep cracking on with the Gym etc but also concentrate on Numerical and Vocabulary comprehension skills.

With your training on the treadmill, do you have the angle set to level 1.5? As I have been informed, it is pretty near to the kind of resistance you get with running on the flat outside. Try loading a backpack up with a decent weight and go tabbing as well - in boots.

I will be going the WSOp route but I have to pass the OASC first and with which I am expecting my invite any day now having passed the AFCO part. I already have nearly 11.5yrs under my belt as an Avionics Aircraft Tech so I already have a good understanding of the 'Theory Of Flight', Aircraft Systems and advanced Electrical Theory so maybe that is something you could look at? (Apart from the advanced Electrical theory part - keep it simple)

[Vie sans frontieres]

Get a tree trunk, a length of rope, a dustbin lid and a traffic cone, run up and down about 3 or 4 big hills with them and then set them on the summit of the last hill as some sort of weird supergun at a pre-determined time. Do the same in reverse, sleep in an enlarged rabbit hole and then leopard crawl through the local nursery's sand pit for 10 minutes, ensuring all your mates have pi$$ed in it beforehand. All the above should be done whilst performing constant speed/distance/time calculations, writing demi-official letters to the local Mayor and preparing a 10 minute brief on how to make lasagne verde (and having had about only 5 hours sleep a night for the last month). Easy! :ok:

[Justin Cyder-Belvoir]

Femur length is a bang seat limit: you could fly helos with the FAA or AAC.

[MAD Boom]

Be wary of accepting 'advice' from people who say you can just re-apply in a year or two; from actual experience I know that it's not as simple as that. Once you are in the service, you'll be expected to amortise your training costs before re-branching.

However, if front-end is what you want then I think you will be lucky to find it in the RAF if you are outside of the height limitations. I believe it is true that you must fit the fast-jet requirements to enter training; you are not pre-streamed as far as I know. The RN do accept people outside of the FJ bracket with the intention of sending those personnel to RW flying; I have been on course recently with a guy who did just that. Therefore if this is what you are ultimately aiming for I would suggest you look into the RN or the AAC before you sign on the dotted line for the RAF.

On the flip side, I spent ten great years as NCA before I finally wore them down at OASC to accept me for a commission, and applaud you on your enthusiasm for your WSOp career; I don't believe you would regret it at all.

That said, it is up to you; I said that you should be wary of advice and proceeded to blurt off a load of it myself, but hopefully it is from a position of relevant experience from years of NCA service with the ultimate aim of the pilot branch which I have finally succeeded in achieving.

Whichever you choose, I would suggest a great deal of physical exercise, a few lessons in biting your tongue whilst being shouted out for no good reason, and learn how to iron. The rest will be taught as you go along.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me any time.

MB

[minigundiplomat]

Best advice I could give is stay fit, and keep on top of the Time/Speed & Distance calcs. Google Naismiths Law and make sure you know what a map looks like.

Don't worry about anything else, they will teach you everything they want you to know, in the style they want you to know it.

Chinook OCF is approx 5-6 months depending on weather/ aircraft / what the chicken bones say.

Good luck

[WSOpMatt]

@ Justin: Yeah, as I understand it, to do with your knees and the instrument panel - punching out with will result in you descending on a 'chute missing everything below the knee?

@ Vie: Haha, cheers for that pal, cant wait for it now!

@ Mad: Cheers for the advice mate, much appreciated.

@ minigun: Thanks for clearing that up, done umpteen Google searches but could only come up with the aircrew training pipeline PPT, which doesnt say how long the OCUs are.

One final question - does anyone have a rough idea what date the RAF is completely canning all SAR Rearcrew training? I understand SARTU will still be around, but are they already ending training for SARF-specific rearcrew?

Many thanks gents, any further advice/gen is much appreciated.
Matt.

[rock34]

I'd get off the treadmill and get some miles done outside. You don't need to go daft, general all round cardio stuff is fine. Throw some circuits and swimming in and you'll be laughing. You might find that 9.50min for the 1 and half miler on a treadmill = slower time on the ground. Enjoy!

[getsometimein]

Chances are you wouldn't get into the SAR world before its privatised...

I've personally only heard of 1 person who went straight from training to the SAR-H force, everyone else has done at least 3-5 years on the front line of their type before transferring across... That would equal around 2 years training plus front line experience.

[WannabeCrewman]

Yeah, figured as much. I was aware that it is very rare to go straight from training onto SAR-H, and most guys had a least a tour on another type before applying.

@rock34: Aye, I think I will start getting outside, cheers for the advice.