Australian cadetship

[davzy]

Hello,

I have just turned 28, started flight training a few years ago, then had 2 children in quick succession which halted my progress, now I am in a position to resume, and I am determined to make it, I have a few questions to ANYONE that may help.

I am signed up to do Year 12 equivelant I am going to study english advanced maths physics and some other ones as well

I have trained up to first solo

the questions I have are

How hard will it be for me to get a cadetship with Qantas or REX?
What will I need to get a cadetship?
What are some of the factors that will prevent me becoming a career pilot?


I am prepared to work too hard for this, If I dont ace the year 12 equiv I will die as I plan to study my ass off, (anyone seen the pursuit of happiness with will smith? thats gonna be me) I am going to commit my whole life to these next few years to try to achieve this goal, I know its a tough road, I know there is a very good chance that I may not make it, but I am prepared ot try.

I thank you all for any assistance you give me,

Regards,
Jason

[WannaBeBiggles]

Hi mate

I'd probably stay clear of the REX cadetship as you end up getting paid squat!
Not sure if the Qantas cadetship allows for year 12 equivillancy, I remember they didn't allow this a few years back.

Either way, you will be coughing up dough for these cadetships, so you could quite easily just pay for your CPL on your own, without being locked in to a 6 or 8 year contract.

I'd suggest you just do your GFPT then PPL (maybe tack on a NVFR rating at the end), then knuckle down and get ALL your CPL theory done and concentrate on your flying.

If you can do it all full time you can get it all knocked over in a year or so, depending on factors such as weather, personal progress etc.

Your CPL theory will take about 2 months for all 7 subjects in a classroom situation.

The job market is great at the moment, so unless you can land a QF Cadetship, do it on your own.

Just my two cents.

[davzy]

your 2 cents worth has been well spent here mate, thanks for the reply, I feel with the lack of pilots and the growing demand for more and more of them I may be able to worm my way into something, I will sure as s**t be trying damn hard anyway, thanks again

EDIT** just how squat is squat with REX, and if it would get my flight career started would i be mad to turn this down if i could get REX easier than QF??? 6 years of squat for 20+ years of joy is a smallish trade off no? I'd be interested in your opinion on this please

cheers

[WannaBeBiggles]

Davey,

have a read of http://www.rex.com.au/cadetpilot/cadet_faq.pdf it will outline the conditions, as well as including a link to the award, from memory it's in the 30k mark...

Also keep in mind that the hours will be logged as ICUS (In Command Under Supervision) which is worth bugger all to most airlines as they want Command time.

Just noticed that you are from Ballarat, Sharp Aviation in Hamilton have a cadetship as well (going for around 96k from memory) and from what I have heard is quite a good cadetship, however your still paying an airline to give you a job and in todays job market that isn't something you need to do.

There are so many low hour jobs going at the moment (check out AFAP), so after say 18-24 months of slogging around in SEP's and probably getting a few hundred hours of MEP (COMMAND) time you'll be in a favorable position to get a look-in to most airlines.

The airlines have orders flowing in, so the market shouldn't dry up any time soon, so being locked in to a regional which is hemorrhaging pilots for 5-7 years sounds almost pointless... You can quite easily enter a regional such as REX with the above mentioned experience and bail out whenever you wish, without having to worry about what you and your family are going to do about this 80k plus 10% interest loan.

I too have considered these cadetships, but have decided to do it on my own back.

Once you have a CPL you can still apply for a Qantas cadetship, so your not locking yourself out of the possibility, plus a CPL will show them you are keen on a career in aviation!

[davzy]

very good advice, thanks, and yes i went and spoke with sharp aviation, they are very good, thanks for your replies you have been most helpful

[Adam_V]

Passes* in English and Mathematics# at a level equivalent to or higher than the NSW Higher School Certificate Examination ^

My interpretation of that paragraph off QANTAS' website is that they do accept equivalents.

Correct me if I'm wrong so I don't look like an idiot;)

[marty1468]

Hi Guys,
I'm in the same boat as Davzy (almost) as i am now 39. I am currently doing my CPL at FTA at Archerfield and have 188.1 hours at the moment. I also like Davzy have a wife and baby daughter and am struggling to come up with funds (I'm currently working at Boeing as a Technical writer).
I talked to Kim at HR at Rex a few weeks ago about the cadetship and she said i would have to start from the beginnning which to me is a lot of expense and money that i dont have.
Also i am going to do my YR 12 equiv nxt year. If someone can enlighten me on this about Qantas that would be great. Does anyone know a good place for Yr12 Equiv? I was looking at TAFE. Seems pointless if no-one accepts it though (Seems strange that Qantas doesn't when organisations like the military DO?). I didn't know that you could ACTUALLY go back to school and do your Yr 12 again?
A mate and I are flying from Brisbane to Cairns and back (inland North, coastal South) in january for some good nav experience and hour building. He's not a pilot but wants to come along for the trip so has offered to pay half. I estimate 20 hours flying time of which i'll pay half so that's awesome. Wish i had more mates like that haha.
I've always wanted to fly for a living but funding has always been the problem and is even more so now with wife and baby. Hope i can make it. I'm keeping the faith.

[WannaBeBiggles]

Marty

Give Dr Steven Holding a call, he is a true legend and also shows you how to apply the maths and physics towards avation :ok:

I think the courses are held at UQ in St Lucia both fulltime and part time.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/aerophysics/main.html

[marty1468]

Thanks Al, I will definately give him a call. I did Physics and Chemistry as a adult foundation course to get into Uni back in '96. I loved the Physics (got a distinction), didn;t like the chemistry so much but still managed a Credit. I was doing bachelor of Science (Aviation) at the time but had to give it up as i got a job in Saudi Arabia. I've been back a year now and am plugging away at my CPL but i thought if i go back to Uni it will take at least 4 years whereas finishing my Yr 12 would possibly take 1? I wonder if the uni time will count towards prior learning? I'll have to check on that one.
Thanks again
Marty

[WannaBeBiggles]

Marty,

your in luck with your degree, if you check out Qantas' 2008 cadetship min's you require the year 12 subjects OR A fully completed Bachelor Degree in any discipline ;)

Link: http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/employment/CadetPilotMinimumCriteria2008.pdf

[marty1468]

The problem is i didn't finish my degree due to me going overseas and working in Saudi Arabia. The quickest way is to do my YR 12 Maths and English. I'm hoping my open foundation Physics and Chemistry for Uni entry will be ok for prior learing? Dont know about that though. I wont mind doing Physics again.