Career in Indian Air Force

[guitarboy]

Hi,
Does anyone have any idea as to what happens after the Selection @ Indian Air Force with a CPL?

As in do we get to fly Transport Aircrafts? or Ground Duty? or what basis do they decide on?

I know for sure its not the Fighter Jets as thats only through NDA.

Also how long is the Physical Training for before the Flying training starts?

[superdunkaroos]

As far as i know they had started conssdering short service commission officers for fighter squadrons.
Basic training is around a year at the AFA hyderabad after which you will be sent for advanced flight training. Your performance and merit(during training) will decide which category you get offered. The short service bond is for 14 years(i'm not sure if they allow extension or not)
As long as you are medically fit you will fly.

Again this is when i appeared for the selection process a year and a half ago, things might have changed.
Check their official website for more information.
Indian Air Force (http://careerairforce.nic.in/)

[guitarboy]

So how was your experience for the selection process, could u elaborate?

They have started taking the AFCAT, was it there too when u appeared?

Also is a Graduation Degree also required with the Valid CPL for Flying Branch for people with CPLs?

Why didnt u take it up? If u dont mind stating the reasons..

thanks

[superdunkaroos]

Interesting.

I applied for with a graduation degree, no flying experience whatsoever

It used to be a CDSE(combined defense services exam) for entry into various services, and based on your national rank you would get a call from the army,navy,airforce or a combination of them. Subjects were English,Math,General Aptitude(physics,chemistry,gen knowledge)

Now as far as the selection board goes, it was held in Dehradun. A week long affair consisting of the following:

Day1
-An hour long briefing on flight instruments followed by a test on the same
-Later in the day the PABT test, Just like playing video games :D
*Remember if you fail the PABT you can never appear for the flying branch again.

Those who don't either of these are sent back.

Day2(officer quality tests)
-Basic reasoning, written(very straight forward)
-Picture perception test, with a blank slide in the end(use your imagination :E)

Again those who fail these are sent back.
Rest stay on for the full board.

Day3(Group exercises, Indoor)
-we were seated around a small geographical model and given a situation, had to come with a plan and then a team leader had to narrate that to the officer.
-Next was for/against group discussion on current affairs..with multiple topics.

Day4(Group exercise, Outdoor)
-Group obstacle course: You are given buckets,planks and ropes and have to figure out a way across various dugouts(10 I think), needless to say did not go very well :p
-Individual Obstacle course: Limited time to complete the course which involves everything from climbing, jumping, balancing, hanging etc
Aced this, infact i started a second round because the officer told me that I had some time left :ok:

Day5(Psycho analysis?)
-personal one on one with a psychiatrist/pscychologist, who asses your mental abilities.
Anything can be asked from the ground to the sky and everything in between

Finally short listed candidates are informed on the 6th day and appear for the board interview.

Day6(Board interview)
-All the officers who have tested you so far sit around an oval table with you in the centre, with the director(senior airforce officer) in the middle.
Again everything goes, 'why did you do this? that?' assessing your life decisions for example.

Important
From what i gathered they do not necessary look for superhumans who get straight A's and can run kilometers without breaking a sweat but rather individuals who are willing to learn and put in the effort.

In the evening results are declared over a cup of tea and the selected are given medical examination forms for AFCME and money for train tickets, which we ofcourse missed, thanks to the delay in the paper work.Took the midnight bus to Delhi.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The medical:
This itself is a week long affair

day1: General test(height weight etc)
day2: Blood tests + ultra sounds
day3: A dozen different xrays!! pretty sure I got more than a healthy dose of radiation that day :eek:
followed by leg length measurements, this is what officially brought an end to my selection :p
day4: Ear,nose,throat + eyes + ecg(funny we were told to wear the machine overnight and bring it back the next day)
day6: Review : A senior officer looks at all your reports and asks you general questions and finally compiles your report and send it to the director
The director meets you personally and lets you know of the outcome in his office.
I got rejected because my leg length was over the max permissible limit :8, funny because there was another guy in my board who got rejected for being too short, I guess we had extremes in our batch.
I was given an offer to serve as a ground duty officer which I respectfully denied.

Word of caution: A lot of the tests are done by not so educated NCO's of the airforce, there are a loot of errors on their part especially when conducting xrays.
You are given a months time to appeal their decision, the review is done at the army hospital RR. Two of my batch mates initially rejected got a review done and are now flying in the airforce.

Lodging and food is provide during the entire stay.
The airforce is really short of officers, but their induction standards will not come down. So prepare well and all the best! :ok:

[LieDetector]

ouch, that sucks.
Anyways thanks for the info

[guitarboy]

@superdunkaroos

Thank You for your post! very Informative! hard Luck! but then thats a sign of better opportunities to come your way.

[nikhilheb]

Tough luck with the long legs!

Any idea about the Coast Guard FSB and similarities with Air Force FSB?

[superdunkaroos]

yes nikhil all defense selection boards are similar the only exception being flying branches will have a PABT test.

I have no personal experience in coast guard selection but from a friend who is flying dorniers now it is relatively simpler compared to the Airforce.

[guitarboy]

Recruitment Advertisement in IAF.

Indian Air Force : Life in Air Force (http://careerairforce.nic.in/applicaton_forms/AFCAT01-12/index.html)

Last Date : 13th Jan 2012

AFCAT on : 26th Feb 2012

SSC Starting Jan 2013

[abhimakam]

Wat exactly do i have to prepare for if i plan to take up AFCAT?
Is there anything new that i have to prepare for that we havent studied for our CPL?

[superdunkaroos]

No, its more of a general aptitude test, look here:
http://careerairforce.nic.in/AFCAT%20_syllabus/AFCAT_Sample.pdf

[airbuscopilot]

Goodluck to everyone for the exam on 26th Feb.

Concentrate on Speed and Accuracy.
They dont need people who can answer all questions so no need to panic.

Practice is the key for this one.

100 Questions - 2hours

[Fareastdriver]

I got rejected because my leg length was over the max permissible limit

You were not the first or will be the last. It is an ejector seat problem. Either excessive loads on the thigh bones or knees hitting the instrument panel.

[superdunkaroos]

^Yes correct, as told by the president of the medical board, Trainer A/C's of the IAF cut short my career(if there ever was one?).

I am eligible to apply after obtaining a CPL on my own as I would be physically fit for transport A/C's.

[3greens 1inthemirror]

is there any limit for the eye vision? people with glasses are allowed?

[THE747CAPTAIN]

No glasses are not allowed in Flying branch of the Indian Airforce in permanent commission , but 6/9 vision correctable to 6/6 by LASIK is allowed for flying Transport and Helicopter in Short Service..Lasik should be done 6 months prior to medicals and should be properly healed..

[THE747CAPTAIN]

If your leg length is less than 99 cms and more than 128 cms you are not at all allowed in the flying branch....

[smart737789]

hi some doctors claim that the lasik surgery cannot be detected in ur eyes after 10-15 days is it true and what is for the coast guard with lasik ?