Young Pilot seeking advice
 

Hello everyone, I am new here.

I am starting my training for my ATPL-IR at the SMATSA aviation academy in Vrsac, Serbia this september.

I have already got my class 1 medical and have very good results (0.1 eye sight score (0-0.5 required for air force)

At the Academy, we mainly train on Cessna 172 and 310, when we finish we are given approximately 250 hours with a frozen license.

My question is, can I apply to the airforce with this? It is my dream to be in the air force because I've always wanted to fly military type planes, my cousin was an ex mig pilot of the yugoslav air force which has very much inspired me to be a pilot. Keep in mind, I have very outstanding health qualifications according to my medical.

What are your thoughts guys? I would appreciate some advice.

If it helps, I have already flown and landed a Pioneer 200 and ASK 21 Glider.

With all due respect, why don't you just apply to the air force? I'm assuming you mean the RAF as you're London based? Why go through the financial taxation of gaining a fATPL if you're hoping to join the RAF where they will completely retrain you?

Further, if it is the RAF they have this wonderful thing called a careers website. The information there is based upon fact, whereas PPRuNe is a rumour network. If you are not satisfied with their website, go to a careers office...

I echo what is said above. Make a appointment at your RAF careers office and start the ball rolling. The cut of age wise is 22 so your roughly the right age to start the process. It's crazy to train only for the RAF to then retrain you. It may even count against you. Good luck

Ironically most people might get more factual responses by posing their questions here than on the official training websites. The reason being is that the advice and information given by FTOs etc is always going to be biased in favour of taking up the training.

Just a word of caution - passing a medical is just a small step on the road to getting a seat in a Military aircraft. The Forces usually have you undergoing many suitability tests/exercises as part of the selection process and they are looking at parameters that simply aren't examined and aren't relevant in the the civilian world.

As others have said the RAF website and recruiting offices are indeed a great source of information. But since you say

Then you might want to be aware of this (if you aren't already):

Nationality and residency - RAF Careers

That said good luck, hope it all works out, whichever route you choose.

G-for3

Please read my post again......the RAF careers website is not an FTO, so therefore have no requirment to give false or rose tinted information. Being a branch of the MOD the website clearly describes the pathway a pilot would go through, from initial board, cranwell, through EFT and streaming.

where we are? most pilots?

in front of a pc sending cv.
or on a tablet...

once a week, lining up in front of a government agency called unemployment agency... to collect food stamp and benefits...

this is probably where you will end too.

welcome in our jaa club of unemployed pilots... broke and bitter... :-)

hey, would you be interested by a line training? :D

I understand that. Perhaps I should have made myself clearer. What I wanted to do was dispel the rumour that pprune is only really a rumour network (pardon the pun). In my own experiences of this forum over the years it has a great deal of input from a wide range of guys who have been there and done it, and such advice is often more helpful than official sources. ;)

But there is no doubt that the OP should listen to your advice and check out the RAF website! :)

Stefan123,

Are you a British Citizen ?
Do you have dual citizenship ?

If not, you can't join the RAF. They were my first thought after seeing the integrated training costs but I don't hold a dual citizenship so I can't join.

Stefan123,

If you hold a UK passport, you can apply to the RAF.

However, they will be very interested to know as to what you have done up to date that would make you an individual with the qualities and experience that they are seeking. Doing a fATPl is NOT one of those things. It will not contribute anything to your CV, and they may in fact start asking questions about your commitment to the armed forces.

The best thing you could do to increase your chances is to go do team activities, climb mountains, do some sort of survival training, do lots of sports and generally show that you are extremely active, physically fit and an overall well-balanced individual.

For the record, I have also had a dream since childhood that I want to be a fighter pilot. Where I grew up, I watched Su-27s do all sorts of crazy stuff on a daily basis and to say it inspired me is a huge understatement. Now I live in the UK, hold a UK passport but unfortunately, in the eyes of the RAF I wont be seen as a well-rounded individual for reason both within and beyond my control. Having said that, as of right now, they are not recruiting for the "pilot" role. Backlog still remains to be cleared.

Anyways, my point being that your childhood dream will meet reality unless you pull your sh*t together, research properly, and ultimately do everything within your power to have a decent chance of at least making it past the initial screening process in the RAF!

Otherwise you'll end up like me... doing aerobatics whenever you can just to keep yourself sane :E