AIB prep, navy pilots non-flying duties

[oliver moore]

I'am currently en route to join the navy as a pilot, for those of you currently flying for the FAA, I would appreciate some response to a couple of questions.
1. What sort of duties/activties may you be involved with outside the cockpit, once in front line service. Typical daily life that sort of thing.
2. When not based on a ship, what sort of tasks may your flying hours consist of. Will it be predominantly training exercises and war games, or perhaps as a sea king pilot may your role change to that of SAR around the british coast.

( I know there are alot of topics on AIB and FAT's prep, but if you feel like adding some of your professional advice on either of these subjects as an addition to the above, it would be appreciated.)

[BEagle]

Mainly buggery and knot-tying, one gathers.

Plus changing in and out of various sailor suits and practising Jackspeak, ah-harrh me hearties.

[AllTrimDoubt]

Oi...BEagle...NO!!!

[NDB]

Learn the words for Y.M.C.A!!!

[althenick]

Learn the words for Y.M.C.A!!!


... Don't you mean "In the Navy" :D :D :D :D :D

[360BakTrak]

....yes you can sail the seven seas.......:}

dammit.......I know the words:{

[Taffer]

Oliver,

I'm in the same boat as you (fnar, fnar), with my AIB in a few weeks.

One of the non-flying duties will be as a divisional officer, looking after the career development of a certain number of ratings. I'm sure any serving FAA personnel here will confirm if this is true.


If not, do you lot just sit around in the wardroom and play uckers all day? :=

[An Teallach]

Somebody give Father Jack's brother - our own Venerable BEagle some more drink, please ;)

Drink! beggary! Tars! :}

[southside]

Hmmm...daily routine of a Navy guy at sea...

well, thankfully no two days are ever the same but here is a typical.

0700 - Wakey wakey - Nice cup of tea brought to you by the duty steward
0730 - Breaky - Full fat boy required.
0800 - Nip down to the hangar to chat with the boys, discuss the days work with the chief, talk about the flying programme for later that day.
0900 - Coffee in the mess, discuss the future programme with the Ops Officer.
0930 - write a lengthy report on one of yuor lads who is up in front of the Captain on a charge of being 10 minutes adrift (late for work ).

1000 - Off caps, your now defending your chap, telling the Captain (Judge and Jury) that he's really a top bloke and this offence was caused when he rescued a stray Cat whilst on his way to work.

1030 - Captains Cabin, receiving a bollocking for not bulling your shoes prior to defending your lad.

1100 - Consoling the lad on his £200 fine
1200 - Lunch
1300 - Flying Brief
1400 - Launch for a CASEX (ASW exercise)
1600 - Land on
1615 - Debrief the Captain on the incident when the Torpedo (which was not lashed to the deck) careered across the flight deck and landed in the nets.
1630 - Write the Incident signal (ensuring that you embellish the incident as much as possible in order to divert flack from you)
1700 - Phys on the flight deck
1800 - In the bar, chips and smally eats.....No beer allowed - No drinking at sea.
1900 - Scran

2100 - In the mess either watching a movie, beating the fisheads at Uckers or defending the fact that you get paid more than most of them in the mess.

2230 - Lights out, pipe down, sweet dreams.

[Taffer]

Sign me up for some of that!


P.S. Did it really take an hour of your day to console someone about a £200 fine?

You caring, sharing bunch.
:O

[Talking Radalt]

Hmmmm... a few decodes......

For "wakey-wakey" read: Peace shattered by loud, relentless clattering of chains as the jets/cabs/most accommodating Wren are unchained from the hangar floor three inches above your weary head. You are fuzzy through sleep deprivation ensured by the pointless whining of a generator just under the floor ("deck" apparently) from 23:01 until it stopped abruptly at 06:59, just to make sure you could hear the chain thing. And you cannot move due to your back seizing after "sleeping" on a 4'6" x 2'3" bed with a big bath sponge as a mattress in an environment airconditioned down to -10 and 1% humidity.
Once all the chains have stopped dropping on the floor above you, some wag will launch an attack using a tannoy ("pipe" apparently) along the lines of:
"Now hear this! Now hear this! <short burst of one of those Hollywoodland hooter thingies...a sort of Bwoop! Bwoop!"> Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!...Slightly miffed giant squid sighted off the port bow. Sea soldiers to stand by, CQB with a PDA and full NBCDCBDF to muster in 4 Alpha poop deck and prepare to repel boarders. Hands to Playstatons, Hands to Playstations....and launch the Alert-5 aircraft"
....or something like that. :hmm:

Float Navy..... a 17th Century yacht club.....but with guns.

[rivetjoint]

Remember to acquire something from someone else, place great sentimental value on the item and then throw it overboard after making a great decision.

[oliver moore]

cheers taffer and southside! for a positive response. Thanks talking radalt for your account, whether your trying to put me off with some reality, or just enjoy a fictional tale,it was very amusing.:D :D

[Talking Radalt]

Remember to acquire something from someone else, place great sentimental value on the item and then throw it overboard after making a great decision.


...and don't forget to pack an American Football to fling around the flight deck in full view of the engineers.

[4Greens]

All you have to remember is the time honoured phrase: "Carrry on Chief"

[Talking Radalt]

All you have to remember is the time honoured phrase: "Why me in the barrel again tonight?"

[Ullevi]

Try and get on a Potential Officers Course. You might be able to go and spend 3 days at Yeovilton, get a flight, a go in a sim and speak to current pilots face-to-face!

[Triple Matched TQ]

Its just too difficult to describe your day, because "I know its cheesy" Everyday is different. Thats the reason we all do it - Get on a POAC course via your careers office and see for yourself.

The bit about teasing the fisheads about how little they earn is true.

[360BakTrak]

I did a Potential Officer Course at Culdrose 10 years ago and its well worth doing. It was 5 days then (I think) and IIRC we visited just about every section of the unit, although I never went on to do the AIB I imagine it would be very useful.:E

[Taffer]

Yes, the POAC is very worthwhile - had mine at Yeovilton.

Visited most areas of the station, got some (brief) stick time in 702's Lynx simulator (thanks to the instructor for the simulated tail rotor failure!) and a real Sea King Mk.4. Undertook the underwater evacuation training, and had a visit to the FAA museum.

Our hosts were excellent, and I had a fantastic time.


It obviously benefited me, so much so that I get to attend 2 AIBs, not 1. :uhoh:

[southside]

Hey Taffer,

Glad you enjoyed yr POAC time but just one note....the Lynx sim doesn't belong to 702 sqdn....it belongs to the LHF.

[Taffer]

My mistake;

our hosts at the simulator were 702 squadron, so you know what I mean.

Kind of.

Except that I was wrong.

Um.

Yeah.

[pigfist]

Hmmm, I reckon Talking Radalt sounds familiar.

If you are really lucky you get to live on 5 deck in the creche with the baggers and the stick monkeys and the infants in g-suits. No skipping chains, no call-the-hands (courtesy of your "Night CAG" sticker) and just the soft moaning of the Wren steward getting a good seeing to in the cabin next door.

Brings a new meaning to "shakes" though.

Basically, we take the pub to sea with us and make sure it works every night. And uckers is a fine art and should be played as often as possible.

Remember everything has a pk of 1.0 if it hits you.............

[Oggin Aviator]

Yes, the POAC is very worthwhile - had mine at Yeovilton. Had mine at Royal Arthur :ooh: - the Ratings leadership training establishment back in the day.

Had to do the assault course (fun) and the Cliff "n" Casm (not fun!). Had a laugh although nothing flying related. Only had to do 1 AIB though :E so it must have been beneficial.

In answer to your original question, an RN Officer has many extra duties as well as flying as described on this thread whilst an RAF Officer maybe waters the plants now and again. Dont really know who's got the best deal :confused:

Good Luck with your application.

Oggin

[AllTrimDoubt]

Yeah - we did Royal Arthur as a "hold". Great fun though - we were still allowed to run the chasm properly with our barrel of cement bouncing in trail as encouragement to keep moving!

[oliver moore]

Cheers guys for your help, I think getting on to a potential officer course looks like the way forward, sounds like it may be fun too!:D