Thanks for the quick responses guys! It is fantastic to hear direct from past and present RAAF pilots themselves as to the ins and outs of these sorts of things.
All three of you have confirmed what I had hoped was the case; that after getting your wings yet subsequently not quite meeting the grade for a particular airframe conversion, you are still a pilot who the RAAF is committed to finding a role that you can fulfill and that you won't be out on the street looking for a new job.
Couple further question; given now it appears fast jet training will ultimately intend to be streaming graduates out into either Super Hornets, Growlers or JSF; would this be determined largely due to slots in squadrons that are available, or would a bunch of other factors go into determining which of the three airframes the RAAF decides is for you?
Growlers for instance seem really interesting in what they do, yet with 12 (now 11) Growlers, compared to 24 Rhinos and an incoming 72 JSFs, would this make a Growler slot probably the most competitive of the bunch to get in?
And would the focus on the RAAF be more to train up new pilots onto JSFs, and source Growler pilots from existing Rhino pilots who perhaps can convert relatively quickly across to the Growler platform?
Again, I have no idea how it is going to work with the three fast jet platforms, and if the RAAF will go all out and have three conversion courses running at all times for new pilots, or try to save $$$ and try to do what I mentioned above; i.e. sourcing Growler crews from existing Rhino/ex-Hornet single seat pilots, and given the numbers split between the three fast jet platforms, instead focusing a LOT more on training up new pilots for the 72 JSFs coming rather than the existing 24 Super Hornets?