Pilots, would you do it again?
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20+ years Army........13 of which rotory pilot/QHI. Loved every nanosecond of it and at times miss it very much. The answer to your question.........ABSOBLOODYLUTELY!!!!!!! But, as Beags said, not sure about the modern services.
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This is great, in fact inspirational. Has just backed up what I already knew - I have to give it a go.
Any RN guys out there? Haven't checked the profiles of all of you that have replied but am probably heading RN so some feedback in that direction would be great.
A couple of you have said that you wouldn't join "todays" RAF or RN. Without this breaking down into a "it aint what it used to be" could you just tell me why you wouldn't do it again today?
Most memorable moments while flying?
Any RN guys out there? Haven't checked the profiles of all of you that have replied but am probably heading RN so some feedback in that direction would be great.
A couple of you have said that you wouldn't join "todays" RAF or RN. Without this breaking down into a "it aint what it used to be" could you just tell me why you wouldn't do it again today?
Most memorable moments while flying?
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Speedbird777.......Main reasons.......Political Correctness, lack of flying hours and lack of good world-wide postings and of course the Bliar government. One other reason......I'm now too bloody old!!!
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Yes, without question.
If I was young again I would do it (maybe I would change few things). Its not when you leave that matters, because you will always look back with found memories and say "....it's not the same as it used to be....." it is when you join that is reaslly important.
It is very different now to when I joined, but that does not mean that they were necessarily the "Good old days".
Try it, and if you do not like it get out. You will only regret never trying!
If I was young again I would do it (maybe I would change few things). Its not when you leave that matters, because you will always look back with found memories and say "....it's not the same as it used to be....." it is when you join that is reaslly important.
It is very different now to when I joined, but that does not mean that they were necessarily the "Good old days".
Try it, and if you do not like it get out. You will only regret never trying!
If you are serious about being a pilot, you must want to experience as wide a spectrum as aviation as possible. In general, the only way to experience military aviation, especially fast jet, is to start off doing it. You can always move on to commercial aviation if you wish later. You cannot go the other way round once past your mid 20s.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. It may not be the same as it was when I started, but then every aspect of life today is different; the relative merits of miltary flying are still the same as they have always been.
But for those of you who have only flown military fast jet, don't knock commercial flying until you have tried it. I loved it, but 9/11 forced me out and back into the FJ world (albeit as a civilian).
Speedbird777, good luck. If you have a hankering for military flying, go for it now or you will regret not trying to for the rest of your days.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. It may not be the same as it was when I started, but then every aspect of life today is different; the relative merits of miltary flying are still the same as they have always been.
But for those of you who have only flown military fast jet, don't knock commercial flying until you have tried it. I loved it, but 9/11 forced me out and back into the FJ world (albeit as a civilian).
Speedbird777, good luck. If you have a hankering for military flying, go for it now or you will regret not trying to for the rest of your days.
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I Love my job, and can not think of a more fun way of earning a living. There are a few **** bits but none of it spoils the fact that I fly mill jets for a living.
The flying is second to none.
Some of the hardware we fly and fight in makes you smile every time you strap in.
You get to see the World (From 5 Star Hotels to Sleeping under the wing)
The social life is great.
There is an adventure and opportunity arround every corner.
A top bunch of chaps to work with.
You get to challenge yourself and push your limits.
You get a career where you can make a difference.
Your totty pulling potential is given a real boost.
You have the coolest Office in the World.
To get through training you will need to give it 100%, and the rewards are well worth it. If its in your blood then, you should know by now. I dont have a single pilot on my Squadron, previous squadrons or friends from training who have said that they made the wrong move by joining the millitary. You can always become a civil pilot on leaving the force.
Happy flying...
The flying is second to none.
Some of the hardware we fly and fight in makes you smile every time you strap in.
You get to see the World (From 5 Star Hotels to Sleeping under the wing)
The social life is great.
There is an adventure and opportunity arround every corner.
A top bunch of chaps to work with.
You get to challenge yourself and push your limits.
You get a career where you can make a difference.
Your totty pulling potential is given a real boost.
You have the coolest Office in the World.
To get through training you will need to give it 100%, and the rewards are well worth it. If its in your blood then, you should know by now. I dont have a single pilot on my Squadron, previous squadrons or friends from training who have said that they made the wrong move by joining the millitary. You can always become a civil pilot on leaving the force.
Happy flying...
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As with Beags and that knackered old f*rt KENNYR, I wouldn't hesitate to join the Royal Air Force I joined all those years ago. The way it has gone leaves me cold, but then much of the PC, etc, in today's society often leaves me shaking my head in disbelief.
However, you have been brought up in a different age, free from the threat of nuclear anihilation and with rights and liberties that we never had.
The thing that doesn't change, though, is the sheer joy of getting one's pink botty airborne and turning yourself upside down, or doing a greaser landing in a 70 ton bomber; or picking up a half-drowned fishing boat crew; or dropping life-giving food to starving refugees; or shooting a dozen rounds into a Hawk-towed banner; ad infinitum. I know of no aircrew that ever lost their love of flying. I no longer fly, and I miss it like hell.
Go for it and join the most exclusive club in the world - aircrew - and have one helluva ball.
[Hey! Guys! We've got to stop this! Positive Comment! Unreal!]
However, you have been brought up in a different age, free from the threat of nuclear anihilation and with rights and liberties that we never had.
The thing that doesn't change, though, is the sheer joy of getting one's pink botty airborne and turning yourself upside down, or doing a greaser landing in a 70 ton bomber; or picking up a half-drowned fishing boat crew; or dropping life-giving food to starving refugees; or shooting a dozen rounds into a Hawk-towed banner; ad infinitum. I know of no aircrew that ever lost their love of flying. I no longer fly, and I miss it like hell.
Go for it and join the most exclusive club in the world - aircrew - and have one helluva ball.
[Hey! Guys! We've got to stop this! Positive Comment! Unreal!]
Join Date: Feb 2001
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S777 - a word of advice from a non-flying Avionics Engineer after 22 years in the RAF, leaving in 1983. If you are looking for a job because the current one is no longer to your liking, forget it! If you treat the military as another job, it will break your heart. It has to be embraced as a way of life, or it just won't work. Give it your all, the rewards are bloody marvellous. It matters not whether you fly FJ, Kipper Fleet, RW or Tac Supply, without the correct attitude life will be misery.
An understanding wife/family is also a must, you are NOT the only family-member in uniform, they have to endure it as well and deserve your consideration. How my wife put up with some of the crap I have never fully understood, but am forever grateful that she did!
I would have been delighted had any of my kids joined up, but they chose other fields. I arrived in Aus and started a new career still in aviation, was there for 21 years before it all fell in a heap. I look back on 1961-83 with great fondness, not through rose-tinted specs, some of the times were ****house, to say the least.
Embrace it, you will be rewarded.
Best wishes,
TheNightOwl.
An understanding wife/family is also a must, you are NOT the only family-member in uniform, they have to endure it as well and deserve your consideration. How my wife put up with some of the crap I have never fully understood, but am forever grateful that she did!
I would have been delighted had any of my kids joined up, but they chose other fields. I arrived in Aus and started a new career still in aviation, was there for 21 years before it all fell in a heap. I look back on 1961-83 with great fondness, not through rose-tinted specs, some of the times were ****house, to say the least.
Embrace it, you will be rewarded.
Best wishes,
TheNightOwl.
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Well said Nightowl.......I never even thought to mention the sacrifice my wife and children gave to enable me to fly in the Army.
My wife would actually question me on flip card procedures and circuit speeds and heights etc etc. She stayed with me through thick and thin, good times and bad for 13 full house moves in 20 years. It might sound soppy, but to my wife Liz, thankyou and I love you. (A little off topic, but it needed saying...thanks).
My wife would actually question me on flip card procedures and circuit speeds and heights etc etc. She stayed with me through thick and thin, good times and bad for 13 full house moves in 20 years. It might sound soppy, but to my wife Liz, thankyou and I love you. (A little off topic, but it needed saying...thanks).
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Birdseed triple-seven:
I'll second to all the aboves....
I was fortunate enough to do an Exchange tour and then Queen's Flight, 107 countries and a helluva lot of Guinness...thank God for the AUTOPILOT!!!
Great mates, I still keep in touch with a lot of them. And I fly with many of my exchange buddies here at American Airlines.
You don't have to do anything exotic to have a blast - one of the most fun Sqns I was on was one of the most mundane, at Finningley. I miss it a great deal (especially the banter....)
Give it a shot.
I'll second to all the aboves....
I was fortunate enough to do an Exchange tour and then Queen's Flight, 107 countries and a helluva lot of Guinness...thank God for the AUTOPILOT!!!
Great mates, I still keep in touch with a lot of them. And I fly with many of my exchange buddies here at American Airlines.
You don't have to do anything exotic to have a blast - one of the most fun Sqns I was on was one of the most mundane, at Finningley. I miss it a great deal (especially the banter....)
Give it a shot.
Gentleman Aviator
Of course I would! The RAF, rather like nostalgia, is not what it used to be - so what! That's exactly what old b%ggers were saying when I joined nearly 36 years ago. The services may be a little out of date (in the best sense) but continue to reflect the outside world.
Yes we have H&S, PC and equal opportunities. Mostly good news - the only things girlies can't be in the RAF are rockapes and catholic padres!
But we also no longer have to wear suits in the Mess on mondays tuesdays and thursdays (blazers or sports jackets only wednesdays and weekends!), and I don't think anyone these days would be thrown out of breakfast by a senior officer on a saturday morning (as I once was) for daring to wear a cravat and not a tie with my tweed jacket!
"Teetering - I don't think that material round your neck constitutes a tie within the meaning of mess rules. Get out!"
Don't think even BeAGs wants those days back.....
...... but if you have to think about it be sure you've got the 110% commitment it needs.
Of course I didn't enjoy every day but eventually enjoyed every job - even the non-flying ones had their moments. And 5000+ hours qualified on 10 different military types ... priceless.
Do it again? I only wish I could ... si jeunesse savait ... si viellesse pouvait or something like that
Yes we have H&S, PC and equal opportunities. Mostly good news - the only things girlies can't be in the RAF are rockapes and catholic padres!
But we also no longer have to wear suits in the Mess on mondays tuesdays and thursdays (blazers or sports jackets only wednesdays and weekends!), and I don't think anyone these days would be thrown out of breakfast by a senior officer on a saturday morning (as I once was) for daring to wear a cravat and not a tie with my tweed jacket!
"Teetering - I don't think that material round your neck constitutes a tie within the meaning of mess rules. Get out!"
Don't think even BeAGs wants those days back.....
...... but if you have to think about it be sure you've got the 110% commitment it needs.
Of course I didn't enjoy every day but eventually enjoyed every job - even the non-flying ones had their moments. And 5000+ hours qualified on 10 different military types ... priceless.
Do it again? I only wish I could ... si jeunesse savait ... si viellesse pouvait or something like that
I think the point is sufficiently well made by others - so what do I have to add?
Just that so often good things only look good in retrospect. You forget the bad bits. Yet I can remember being in a crewroom conversation (yes, I know - days of leisure!) where we all sat around agreeing "This is marvellous, wonderful. I could go on doing this for ever" and so on.
Not many jobs like that.
Just that so often good things only look good in retrospect. You forget the bad bits. Yet I can remember being in a crewroom conversation (yes, I know - days of leisure!) where we all sat around agreeing "This is marvellous, wonderful. I could go on doing this for ever" and so on.
Not many jobs like that.
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Geez, KennyR, you fired up a couple of memories which had my wife in stitches! She can STILL quote the basic principles of the Vulcan bombing system, the Mk10 Auto-pilot, the PR9 fuel systems, to say nothing of the Phantom/Harrier/Jaguar simulator systems!
She has stuck with me for 45 years this coming October, and I owe her more than can be said - the separations, shift-work hours, missed birthdays and anniversaries, all taken in her stride. A truly wonderful lady, my pride and joy and my raison d'etre.
Kind regards,
TheNightOwl.
She has stuck with me for 45 years this coming October, and I owe her more than can be said - the separations, shift-work hours, missed birthdays and anniversaries, all taken in her stride. A truly wonderful lady, my pride and joy and my raison d'etre.
Kind regards,
TheNightOwl.
Last edited by TheNightOwl; 22nd Jan 2004 at 08:49.
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Did it in the french AF, was exchange officer with the RAF at valley and Chivenor for 3 years and definitely enjoyed the flying.
Even if military life is not allways easy, I would do it again, I only left when they decided it was time for me to fly a desk.
Gerard
Even if military life is not allways easy, I would do it again, I only left when they decided it was time for me to fly a desk.
Gerard
