View Full Version : Becoming A pilot: Best ways to do. Navy, Airforce or just through UNI
Hey Guys, I’m currently in year 12 in Sydney Australia. (Final year) I want to become a pilot, eventually with an airline (E.g. QANTAS). I am not sure whether I want to be a Helicopter Pilot or a fixed wing pilot, which one has more money in it and which is better, Pros and Cons etc...
NOTE: I HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP FOR AUS AND U.K.
Also I need to know how I should go about becoming a pilot. I know that you can do it through the Defence Forces and they pay for everything and it looks really good but there are many tests you have to pass to get into this. What are the tests and mainly how hard are they? I've had a look at the defence website but it doesn’t really say much about the tests themselves and what the requirements are...There is also the 11-14 year minimum Period of service; Anyone know what happens if you quit the air force before your service time is completed? Would I have to pay the government some leaving fee or something?
There is also the alternative of doing a course at Uni to become a pilot but it costs a lot of money and I don’t really have 100s of thousands of dollars as i'm still a student..
Anyone able to help me out?
Thanks heaps
Shortyyyy
jayteeto
30th Mar 2006, 04:23
Shortyy, from reading your post I can honestly say that you do not have the right attitude to join the military. Get a bank loan.........
Pontius Navigator
30th Mar 2006, 05:52
Jaytee - at least he is honest. Also I think this is a well trodden route down under.
Shortyyyy - don't shout. CAPS IS SHOUTING and SO is BOLD. We can all read.
Go for it. They will bite your arm off if you can fly and try and give you the loyalty injection once you are in. Once sitting in an F/A18 you would swop it for a spam can?
Go now, save uni costs. If you are accepted then go. If not then as Jaytee says, get a bank load.
soz shouting am new to the whole forum thing..yeh im thinkin that forces is good i jst wanna make sure i know enough about what im signing 14 yrs of my life to before i do it...and i haven't flown a plane before so yeh any opinions on which is better?
Btw Jay, What you mean by right attitude? What do you think the attitude i should have should be?
Time Flies
30th Mar 2006, 07:37
Shortyy
Jayteeto is quite right about the attitude. If you are joining the military with the sole purpose of being trained to then leave straight away they will see through you.
Being a military pilot is the dream of many a young man and woman who dedicate their whole lives to making it come true. The selection process contains, as you say many tests you have to pass To be successful you will need dedication, ambition, aptitude and a whole load of luck. If you haven't got each of these in abundance I wouldn't build your hopes up.
Join the forces 1 - Bank Loan 2 ;)
Oh na, i dont intend on goin thru the training then leavin straight after, like the time period is ages bt its definately doable.. jst wanna no about all the possibilities..
I do wanna fly in the airforce but ive heard the pay in the commercial sector is way better though i wouldnt be flying wicked planes...
Wat is being in the airforce/navy like? What force should i go through (also fixed or rotary?)
Pontius Navigator
30th Mar 2006, 09:23
and Shortyy, more advice that has been thrown at all the other wanabees over the years - use proper English when writing and speaking even if your dialect is strine.
I am sure that they have the same cringe effect when they see poor presentation.
Basically it is an attitude of mind. Concentrate on the presentation and eventually it becomes natural. You can then concentrate on th eimportant things and be yourself.
I agree that your attitude appears to suck but then again if you are 16 that could well be a generation gap thing and your desparation to appear 'cool'.
As long as you do not take that attitude along to the recruiters, and everything else being equal, you will be in with a chance.
<<I want to be a Helicopter Pilot or a fixed wing pilot>>
Now I do not know civvy aviation but I would not be surprised if they were unimpressed too. The real question is where do you want to fly. If you like seeing flora and fauna then become a helicopter pilot. I am sure there will be lots of openings especially in Papua New Guinea. You will also be locally based each time - ie short trips, back to the same bed.
If you go fixed wing then the world opens up - blue skies, long-haul, short-haul, air taxi, whatever.
Pontius Navigator
30th Mar 2006, 09:28
Shortyy, after your last post, give up now.
hehe yeh, i dont talk or write letters like this or anything, i only write like this because it is quicker because im in a forum n its not really very formal..its kinda like msn...its not out of trying to be cool, its just a lack of need to be formal really, but yes i get your point:) were you in the forces? if so which one and was it enjoyable?
Pontius Navigator
30th Mar 2006, 09:35
Shortyy,
This is a professional pilots rumour network. Note the emphasis on professional ; it is not a forum like msn for wanabee walter mitty types.
You want to be taken seriously, behave seriously.
Yes I am in the forces, 45 years so I guess I find it reasonably satisfying. My first operational tour was with the RAAF. I have also some little experience of the RNZAF and several others too.
Regardless of country airmen have an affinity. I even found this with one from one of the K'stans too.
Okay, sorry, so out goes the colloquial language and in with the formal.
Where abouts are you from? Is there more demand for helicopter pilots than there is for fixed wing then? I'm guessing one would have an advantage by understanding or speaking languages as well as English?
Do you know whether there are any advantages or disadvantages in joining the Australian forces rather than the U.K? What type of plane do you fly?
Pontius Navigator
30th Mar 2006, 09:54
<<Where abouts are you from?>> UK RAF
<<Is there more demand for helicopter pilots than there is for fixed wing then? >> No idea.
<<I'm guessing one would have an advantage by understanding or speaking languages as well as English?>> Not sure. English is the international language of the air and you should not use any foreign language skills in the air, that said . . .
<<Do you know whether there are any advantages or disadvantages in joining the Australian forces rather than the U.K?>> No idea. I would not have thought so. It really depends on what is on offer and all the cultural and social things. Certainly there seems a steady demand from NZ and also a flow from NZ to UK.
<<What type of plane do you fly?>> Nothing now as I am a bit too old but Bombers, Maritime, AEW, Trainers as a navigator.