qantas pilot cadetship

[sam_0_12345]

hey, anyone whose applied for the qantas cadetship and got through, do you have to be really really really good at maths, do u need a lot of leadership skills etc???

[carro]

a bit of both, just have to show that you are competent in maths. I think a lot of it comes down to personality as well

[BAE146]

.................and lotsa $$$$$$$$$$$ !:{

[brown_hornet]

I wasn't going to reply to this post because i wanted to see it disappear through the pages asap given the way cadet threads go but you did ask......Carro's hit the nail on the head, school marks are definitely not everything though. Qantas take everything into consideration when determining the competitiveness of an application, having the neccessary pass marks is just another tick in the box so to speak. Leadership and teamwork ability is certainly a big feather in your cap, i guess the ideal applicant would have reasonable passes at school / uni and have a demonstrated ability to work well as a leader and in teams......Also, to quote the Qantas website, the most competitive applicants will be those that have a clear orientation and motivation towards a flying career. Anything you can do now to show an interest in aviation is the biggest tip i can possibly give you and thankfully there's many things you can do.....gliding, Air TC, photography, etc. Trying to be a bit of an 'all-rounder' rather than concentrating all your energy on one thing such as school marks is probably the best way to go, after all I was told in an interview that QF aren't looking for rocket scientists. Probably a good thing considering my marks:}
Hope this helps, enjoy the thread before the slagging begins:hmm:

[sam_0_12345]

thanks for ur reply's guys but Dad just doesn't want to go gliding because it'd cost a lot of money so what about cadets at school?

[2p!ssed2drive]

... i'll grab the popcorn

[jetstar1]

thanks for ur reply's guys but Dad just doesn't want to go gliding because it'd cost a lot of money

Sam,
Maybe nobody has told you that the 'cadetship' is self funded. Expect to part with close to $100k for the training. Gliding still sound expensive?!

[KezFlyer]

Sam, i am not a trained pilot yet but i have done plenty of research into options, I must admit that you have to give careful consideration to who you will be up against on a Qantas cadetship and the pilots you will be up against once you become qualified. you will be up against people with excellent HSC scores in Maths, Physics and English and a wealth of flying experience in gliding etc, just think about the rich kids whose dads are already pilots and you'll get the idea of the exposure they may have already had to aviation. I am also noticed your post regarding your eyesight and i must admit Qantas will be a hard ask for someone without 20/20 vision, what the airlines look at is your longetivity in a job, will your eyes be twice as bad in 20 years? Who knows. I need glasses to be able to fly and the CASA regs do allow a degree of 'bad' eyesight but just be aware the major airlines do not necessarily recruit by what CASA say, they wont admit it but they do!

I am undertaking self sponsored training in Sydney and hope to go onto instructing or general aviation to get my hours up, then I will be looking to start at somewhere like Rex on turboprop aircraft, hopefully I will make it to Qantas one day but I feel in this industry it is best to (although be committed and ambitious) not aim too high at first otherwise you could be in for a lot of costly disappointments, feel free to PM me if you need any advice, I have spent the last 8mths just doing research so have a good idea of the pros and cons!

[brown_hornet]

Sam, to give you an idea of the cost to go gliding, i used to be able to get in excess of 5 hours gliding time for the amount it would cost to get 1 hour in a C172! If it's still too expensive, there's always the option of joining a club and getting involved in the days activities; ground crew, retrieve crew, radio guy etc etc. It takes a team of people (there's that word!) to run a day of gliding efficiently.
Have you tried a search too? There have been plenty of posts in the past re school marks etc and the cadetship.

[rmcdonal]

Air Training Corp..Now known as the Air Force Cadets, is a cheap way of getting yourself in the air...I think powered flying goes for around $100hr?? Try and beat that at any school in Australia.
However if you can't fund that sort of money....then the QANTAS Cadetship maybe a little out of your league.

[sam_0_12345]

so you guys are saying perhaps go the direct entry way or get my cpl and then try for the level 2 cadetship then?

[Wizofoz]

Sam,
If you can get in on the Level one, then go for it. I don't think missing out on Level one prejudices getting a level 2 later.

What IS being said is that you will be up against guys who have shown a long term commitment towards and Passion for Aviation.
I was flying R/C models at 10 and doing my PPl at 16 (NOT through a rich Daddy, but through working in the local supermarket afternoons and Saturdays).

If you are not involved in Aviation at any level yet, honestly ask yourself if it is what you really want. Even a QF cadetship is a pretty hard road to hoe, ending up eventually in a job that will see you away from home and out of bed at some pretty awful times of the day.

And one tip. If there is one way to put people of my generation off side(e.g-the generation of people who will be assesing you for the position) , it is to use that god awful Text-speak form of writing!

Learn to use CAPITALS and PUNCTUATION!:-???,,..;.

Best of luck with it all.:ok:

[Spelunker]

Why not try the direct entry, and if not successful try the level 2 after obtaining your CPL.

Though Im still a bit worried about you Sam, you say that gliding might be a bit too expensive for your dads liking. Re-read jetstar1's reply#8. For an hour of gliding you will pay about $35.00 . Now for an hour of powered flying with an instructor it will cost you around $160.00.

If you get into the Qantas Cadets direct entry, at the end of the course YOU will have a bill of about $100,000, ONE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND-DOLLARS!!.
If you complete your CPL, and then get into level 2 Qantas cadetship, at the end of the course YOU will have a bill of about $100,000 for all your flying (CPL costs included).
That there is about half your dads house. If gliding is a bit too expensive for your dad, I think he will have a heart attack if you tell him the cost of obtaining a CPL or cadetship.

All the best to you Sam, study hard and you will reap the rewards.

[Howard Hughes]

That there is about half your dads house!
House? That isn't even the deposit if you live in Sydney...;)

[WilliamOK]

Air Training Corp..Now known as the Air Force Cadets, is a cheap way of getting yourself in the air...I think powered flying goes for around $100hr?? Try and beat that at any school in Australia.
However if you can't fund that sort of money....then the QANTAS Cadetship maybe a little out of your league.


I was told that you didn't get a CASA licence thorugh them and that you only get like a 'Cadet' logbook/licence thingo.....

I may be wrong can someone clarify?

[MelbPilot85]

I have got to disagree with a lot of what KezFlyer has said. I know a few cadets and not all had brilliant HSC scores. As far as eyesight goes, I have even come across one who can barely see his glasses in front of him to put them on....
Carro and Brown_hornet seem to have the right idea about being a bit of an all rounder. If you can make it in, why not? If you want to show your enthusiasm, go and get yourself a weekend job at a supermarket pay for a flying lesson every couple of weeks out of your own pocket.
I feel in this industry it is best to (although be committed and ambitious) not aim too high at first otherwise you could be in for a lot of costly disappointments
How about aim high because even if you fall short you will still be way above most?

[Keg]

WilliamOK,

All flying conducted in the AAFC is done so in accordance with the CARs, CAOs, etc, etc. All cadets learning to fly need to have the usual SPL, medical, ASIC, etc, etc, etc.

I have no idea of what this 'cadet' logbook is you speak of. You may be referring to the PH299 (Blue Book) which is the cadet record of service. This tracks a cadets service details including AAFC subjects completed, attendance, promotion courses attended, qualifications and other bits of general information for the cadet (the 'formal' information is retained online elsewhere). One of the fields in the PH299 allows a cadet to record air experience flights but that is for flights where you are a 'passenger' rather than a pilot under training.

Therefore you're wrong and I hope the clarification assists. :ok:

PS: I guarantee that I'm right on the above information although each WG (state) uses different aviation service providers- something for the new OC Air Training Wing to sort out shortly.

[WilliamOK]

OK thanks for claering it up...... This is just going by what an aquaintance of mine who was in the cadets told me...... he musn't of enjoyed it for whatever reason and was trying to dissaude me.... oh well you get people liek that sometimes....:confused::confused:

[sam_0_12345]

Also what's it like at the interview, what type of questions do they ask?

[KezFlyer]

Although you trounced everything I said it was actually good as I was hoping my research was inaccurate! I didn't want to put the guy off I just get concerned that if he's considering Qantas cadetship why is he already asking about his marks? I worry about my marks but thats largely because I'm 26 and its a bit too late to improve them, if the guy is 16/17 and asking then is he as committed as he needs to be?

Regarding eyesight I'm going off the advice of the doctor I saw for my Class One, he was a miserable b%%^**) but I thought he might know more than most!

Anyway you're right I haven't started training yet but just wanted to pass on what I've found out over the last 6-8 months. And regarding 'aiming high' I just think it best (unless money is no object) to not put all your eggs in one basket aiming for Qantas by direct entry in case it doesn't work out because it would be a pretty big kick in the guts for the guy.