On aptitude:
Without sounding too glib, aptitude really is that - aptitude. I'm not sure that any manner of practice will help you in any great sense apart from maybe honing the brain a little. Certainly those of us not brought up on X-box staggered our way through just fine. You can get into Mensa type puzzles which will certainly introduce you to logic puzzles but as for the rest - mental agility and hand/eye coordiantion - what you have right now is all you need. Don't kid yourself into thinking you can revise for an aptitude test like a GCSE. If you could, it wouldn't be an aptitude test would it? It would be a memory test.
On pilot/observer:
The points raised so far, passionate ones at that, all have validity. The question you need to ask is why in particular you want to be an Observer? Family connections? Work experience? Magazine article? professional satisfaction? All have implications for the type of advice you receive.
Without sounding like an advertisment, the aircrew of tomorrow will be less categorised in pilot/observer terms and more likely into weapons systems operators.
The RN is really pushing hard for fixed wing aircrew, a job where you get a chance to do all the things the observer does and get a great view of the world at the same time. You have the added benefit of always getting off the boat first.
Standing by...
Last edited by FB11; 27th Jun 2005 at 14:58.