Failed my FAT. Advice needed.
So recently I failed my Flying Aptitude Test for the Royal Navy at RAF Cranwell, achieving only 92 out of a minimum of 112 for pilot.
I'm seriously gutted because I've gone from being on track for a career in the Royal Navy, doing well on all previous tests and interviews etc to being absolutely nowhere.
I'm also angry at myself because I feel I could have done a lot better but couldn't sleep the night before (got less than 2 hours in the end) and gave up hope towards the latter parts of the test because I could feel I wasn't producing as good a performance as I could have.
Here's my dilemma: I'm only 17 years old and the careers officer at Cranwell said I'd be invited back to retake the tests due to aptitude peaking at 19-21. In addition to this I feel if I did the tests again I'd perform better overall.
However I really do not want to spend a year waiting to potentially fail again and was informed that the Army Air Corps only require a score of 80 due to the certainty of rotary whereas the RAF and FAA test for potential FJ candidates.
So do I spend a year working and developing as a character and try for the FAA again to fulfil my lifelong dream to fly FJ or see if the AAC would be interested in my services? I realise that the possibility of actually being streamed onto FJ in the FAA is absolutely tiny and given the choice I'd rather fly rotary for the Army than the Navy.
Also, does anybody know how competitive the AAC is in comparison to the RAF and FAA for flying roles?
My head is all over the place and I'd appreciate some advice from those experienced in matters such as this one.
Thanks for reading.