So, for 'quite a bit different', read 'exactly the same'.
Hawk QTIs do CFS groundschool (2, not 4 weeks, since prop theory etc was regarded as irrelevant). They also climb up the chain of B2, B1 and A2 etc.
And for BEagle's benefit, the A2 groundschool is just as lengthy, nauseating and tedious as the QFI one, it just concentrates on more relevant (to QTIs) stuff.....stall in manoeuvre, corner speed etc.
Very interested (but not surprised) to see that the type of Q appears to be irrelevant on the outside. Ever since I joined the RAF guys have said that QFI is 'your meal ticket outside'. Needless to say my choice to go QTI/QWI was based on the desire for more interesting flying (my opinion) and my doubts about the 'meal ticket' theory.
I would also disagree that the QFI tick opens up more doors..perhaps to PTC posts, but a lot of exchange tours require (on paper at least) a QWI tick. There are 3 Hawk QWIs that I can think of that are on overseas exchange, 2 on front line types.
At the end of the day though, some guys get the chance to choose their path, others don't. The main point is that it doesn't really matter. The majority of folks enjoy their 'I' tour(s), whatever the specialisation.
Moosa Aswayita!
