Originally Posted by
guitarwillie
they thought this position was closed due to future aircraft not having WSO on board, only WSOp.
I thought MR4A had at least 1 WSO on board, and same with the Sentinel R1?
MRA4 2 actually but given a fleet size of 9 that is 18 bodies with no more than a further 18 as staff and replacements. On Sentiel I don't know but if so it would be even fewer.
Given that the MR2 had far more WSO than this and there are dozens on the GR4, there are more than enough WSO in Service to satisfy immediate requirements and probably enough in the pipe for some time too.
Only after the SDSR will it be known if more WSO are needed
in the short term.
ElS, while mentioning fitness, I checked an old fitness diary in the RCAF 5x. As I was approaching 30 I was able to do the 1.5 mile run in 10min 50sec. That was not measured over a mile and a half but as part of a 5 mile run in 36 minutes. A few years later, in my mid-30s, they introduced a quarterly 1.5 mile run for aircrew. From an unfit cold start I could clock about 12-10 which was comfortably under the target. Over 11 minutes for a potential racing snake at Cranditz is strictly low average. 12 minutes is gasping and out of sight.
To put this in context, in my 40s we did a mass station run with the racing snakes clocking under 9 minutes. One racing snake was an ATC Cadet. The rest of his group managed times in the order of 15-17 minutes. That is indicative of the capability of many school boys and school leavers.