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Old 25th Jan 2021, 08:18
  #75 (permalink)  
JamieKnight95
 
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Norfolk
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Originally Posted by Bob Viking
I think you need to have a long hard think about why you want to be an RAF pilot and what you want to get out of it.

You also need to think about how you would present yourself to the RAF.

Firstly if your username denotes the year of your birth you need to be sure you can start IOT in time. I will admit to having no idea if there are caveats based on age due to COVID currently.

My main point though is that you shouldn’t be planning to fly as an RAF pilot just so you can see what it is like at LL.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, should join the RAF with the ambition to fly the Hawk T1 so they can watch the world rush by at 250’.

Just because I have been stuck on the Hawk for years and still get to do some fun flying it does not mean I think anyone should have Hawk flying as their ambition.

If your reason for not wanting to fly Typhoon or F35 is because of the lack of LL flying I suggest you need your head read!

Sure you may not get as many flying hours or time at LL as some multi engine pilots but there is a lot more to it than that.

I’m sure Poseidon, for example, offers a very fulfilling career but I wouldn’t suggest you follow that path just so you can fly at 500’ over the sea for hours on end.

Please take this as friendly advice but if you are a genuine wannabe and not just trolling for fun then I suggest you have a long hard think about what you’re really after.

To everyone else who probably thinks I’m just a FJ throbber who is trying to big up FJs over Multis you are wrong.

Anyone who offers advice should try to be subjective.

Just as I (as an ex Jag mate who is now on my sixth Hawk tour) can suggest not to make the Hawk your end goal, multi engine guys shouldn’t pretend that their flying job is constant wanging around the Welsh valleys at LL.

As for the Chipmunk, I flew in it many times as an Air Cadet. I enjoyed the experience of flying immensely but I found the Chipmunk to be bloody uncomfortable and noisy (the helmets were like a medieval torture device).

If you are thinking about BBMF I would suggest you need to put that on the back burner.

Most guys I know who head that way have 15-20 years flying experience beforehand.

BV
Thank you for the advice, I have thought about everything you mention. As I said before LL is not the be all end all. Let's drop LL given we know it's irrelevance, insignificance and what still does it and what does not.

The original question, if it did not come across, was which aircraft from the perspective of the pilot and flying, is the best to be on. Not just about LL.
Which aircraft gives you the best 'piloting experience'. That could come under, most hands on raw experience with the aircraft, the roles and missions of the aircraft, where they go in the world for what purpose, how often they fly, will hours on X aircraft be better for you and open up more opportunities further down the line than hours on Y aircraft...etc ? I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at.

What is wrong with having the Hawk T1 as an ambition? It's a streaming option and a unit and type carrying out a specific role in the RAF? For me it's mainly because of the flying experience it offers and is said to be one of the best aircraft ever made. If that isn't appealing or a big enough reason then I don't know what is.
Did you, and to anyone else, not have the ambition of flying the Phantom or Tornado or Jaguar when you joined?
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