Latest AIB format
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
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Latest AIB format
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This forum helped me pass my AIB so I thought I'd give a little something back by descibing my experiences, hopefully helping anyone thinking of flying navy.
1) ACLO. Phone them. Visit them. Get them to stick you on Potential Officer Candidates' courses. Worth it - I got to fly a Sea King Mk4, get a go in "The Dunker" and have a shot in the Lynx Mk8 Sim.
2) Navy info. Immerse yourself in as much navy information as you can. Navy news, the Broadsheet. Write letters to navy officers past and present who you have even the slightest thing in common with (one Commodore that helped me went to the same school as me....40 years ago). All sorts of good tips available.
3) The latest AIB format does NOT require you to know much current affairs. Even still, if you want to fly any expensive piece of military hardware, you should read the papers.
4) Maths. Be **** hot - get some IQ books off of amazon, read over your school stuff if you still have it (I was a little rusty after uni). Speed = Distance / Time. Learn how many minutes make up fractions of an hour e.g. 12 mins = 1/5th hr. Practice. Be fast with small numbers and be able to translate long questions involving fuel quantities, times and speeds so that you would be able to make a diagram fairly quick from it.
5) FATs. There is NO POINT in doing the FATs at Cranwell if you cannot add/subtract/divide/multiply quickly. You must concentrate for the whole time you sit down infront of that computer. I found that the people in my group who weren't looking forward to it failed. If you approach it as though its some sort of sadistic computer game, you might do better - it is a little fun, after all. DO NOT get absolutely battered the night before in the Mess, no matter how cheap the pints are. Try hard in every area of the testing, because your score will not only carried forward to the AIB, but to EFT after Dartmouth.
6) A.I.B. With the FATs out the way comes the last big step. Be smartly dressed the whole time - one guy in our board turned up in jeans: instant fail. Talk to the folk in your group, especially your board, get the 1st round in at the Corked Hat down the road so you know them well before the **** hits the fan on Testing Day. Get a decent sleep, lights out by 11.
Loud trumpet noises at 6am? Ah, that would be testing day. Eat lots at brekky because your brain is about to start getting hammered. You should have done some practice with numbers before you came (kinda the same stuff as FATs). If you dont read books or papers before you go to the AIB, you should start ASAP. Your volcabulary will be tested. Essays: practice a couple of essays before you go, even on the train on the way down. Stuff like "Should road users pay higher levels of tax?" or "Do footballers get paid too high a salary?" Couple of pages of writing but all they are looking for is a start, a couple of arguments and a conclusion. Get your spelling and punctuation up to scratch.
After lunch on testing day you'll head to the gym to familiarise yourself with all the kit you and your team will use to bridge the gap over the water or mats. You need to remember everything they teach you here. Securing planks, how to retrieve spars, ropes etc. Get in amongst it, look keen and be as loud as you bloddy can. Everyone in my group went quiet as a mouse, even on their turn to lead the group. RAISE YOUR VOICE!!! When you get back to your room, you'll begin to understand what all the diagrams mean on the posters - remember as many of them as you can. Bleep test - run your tits off, that's all you need to do. Run your fat ass off until you are either sick or you collapse.
Get back to that pub and chat. Aircrew are not allowed to drink alcohol. Gutted.
Contact day - wear your best suit and brightest tie. Polish your shoes the night before in the kitchen.
Depending on how many boards are running concurrently, you'll either go to the gym 1st to do the PLTs (Practical Leadership Tests) or do the planning excercise. Keep that voice up in the PLTs and when you are doing your plan on that bit of paper, keep it simple. It took me 5 minutes to realise mine was a piece of piss. Try as hard as you can to concentrate and remember each of your teams plans - Dont worry about yours until it comes - you will be able to read your plan again before you start on yours. Before anyone does their own, you will all do the leaderless task - grab that sheet before your board member has a chance to give it to anyone and remember that mission statement.
Planning excercise. When you are taking notes on the scenario, read the whole thing through 1st, then take down the important info eg times, speeds. Remember where you are, who is with you, who can do what and what colour your pants are. I'm sure by the end of it the guys sitting next to me were brown. Get as many words in as you can during the discussion. Concentrate the whole time of the questioning, not just on your questions because I can guarantee your pals will get some wrong and the Ltnt will ask you without repeating the question - stay alert. There will lots of S=D/T questions. During the questioning the Ltnt will make new parameters to the scenario become apparent. Afterwards, you are given the opportunity to rethink your plan for a couple of minutes. I'd suggest changing the plan if a new route becomes apparent - I didn't change our plan because I kind of gave up thinking anymore and got marked down for it.
Interview. When you fill out your Q101 form for the AIB, photocopy it: this is what they quiz you on. Think of more scenarios when you have done things that they asked you on the form, more ones than you wrote down. Know your ships including LPH and LPD, submarines and of course your aircraft and missiles. Know where the navy are operating this month which is available on the RN website. You should know what ship does what with what and why.
After that its pass or fail. Remember all they are testing for is to see if you would last through BRNC, so be resiliant in the face of adversity, don't lower your head and always be first to say good morning, sir etc. Again no drinking for aircrew because of the EEG the next morning. Nothing a game of killer pool can't solve.
Feel free to ask any questions, add comments to this post.
Good luck,
Andrew
This forum helped me pass my AIB so I thought I'd give a little something back by descibing my experiences, hopefully helping anyone thinking of flying navy.
1) ACLO. Phone them. Visit them. Get them to stick you on Potential Officer Candidates' courses. Worth it - I got to fly a Sea King Mk4, get a go in "The Dunker" and have a shot in the Lynx Mk8 Sim.
2) Navy info. Immerse yourself in as much navy information as you can. Navy news, the Broadsheet. Write letters to navy officers past and present who you have even the slightest thing in common with (one Commodore that helped me went to the same school as me....40 years ago). All sorts of good tips available.
3) The latest AIB format does NOT require you to know much current affairs. Even still, if you want to fly any expensive piece of military hardware, you should read the papers.
4) Maths. Be **** hot - get some IQ books off of amazon, read over your school stuff if you still have it (I was a little rusty after uni). Speed = Distance / Time. Learn how many minutes make up fractions of an hour e.g. 12 mins = 1/5th hr. Practice. Be fast with small numbers and be able to translate long questions involving fuel quantities, times and speeds so that you would be able to make a diagram fairly quick from it.
5) FATs. There is NO POINT in doing the FATs at Cranwell if you cannot add/subtract/divide/multiply quickly. You must concentrate for the whole time you sit down infront of that computer. I found that the people in my group who weren't looking forward to it failed. If you approach it as though its some sort of sadistic computer game, you might do better - it is a little fun, after all. DO NOT get absolutely battered the night before in the Mess, no matter how cheap the pints are. Try hard in every area of the testing, because your score will not only carried forward to the AIB, but to EFT after Dartmouth.
6) A.I.B. With the FATs out the way comes the last big step. Be smartly dressed the whole time - one guy in our board turned up in jeans: instant fail. Talk to the folk in your group, especially your board, get the 1st round in at the Corked Hat down the road so you know them well before the **** hits the fan on Testing Day. Get a decent sleep, lights out by 11.
Loud trumpet noises at 6am? Ah, that would be testing day. Eat lots at brekky because your brain is about to start getting hammered. You should have done some practice with numbers before you came (kinda the same stuff as FATs). If you dont read books or papers before you go to the AIB, you should start ASAP. Your volcabulary will be tested. Essays: practice a couple of essays before you go, even on the train on the way down. Stuff like "Should road users pay higher levels of tax?" or "Do footballers get paid too high a salary?" Couple of pages of writing but all they are looking for is a start, a couple of arguments and a conclusion. Get your spelling and punctuation up to scratch.
After lunch on testing day you'll head to the gym to familiarise yourself with all the kit you and your team will use to bridge the gap over the water or mats. You need to remember everything they teach you here. Securing planks, how to retrieve spars, ropes etc. Get in amongst it, look keen and be as loud as you bloddy can. Everyone in my group went quiet as a mouse, even on their turn to lead the group. RAISE YOUR VOICE!!! When you get back to your room, you'll begin to understand what all the diagrams mean on the posters - remember as many of them as you can. Bleep test - run your tits off, that's all you need to do. Run your fat ass off until you are either sick or you collapse.
Get back to that pub and chat. Aircrew are not allowed to drink alcohol. Gutted.
Contact day - wear your best suit and brightest tie. Polish your shoes the night before in the kitchen.
Depending on how many boards are running concurrently, you'll either go to the gym 1st to do the PLTs (Practical Leadership Tests) or do the planning excercise. Keep that voice up in the PLTs and when you are doing your plan on that bit of paper, keep it simple. It took me 5 minutes to realise mine was a piece of piss. Try as hard as you can to concentrate and remember each of your teams plans - Dont worry about yours until it comes - you will be able to read your plan again before you start on yours. Before anyone does their own, you will all do the leaderless task - grab that sheet before your board member has a chance to give it to anyone and remember that mission statement.
Planning excercise. When you are taking notes on the scenario, read the whole thing through 1st, then take down the important info eg times, speeds. Remember where you are, who is with you, who can do what and what colour your pants are. I'm sure by the end of it the guys sitting next to me were brown. Get as many words in as you can during the discussion. Concentrate the whole time of the questioning, not just on your questions because I can guarantee your pals will get some wrong and the Ltnt will ask you without repeating the question - stay alert. There will lots of S=D/T questions. During the questioning the Ltnt will make new parameters to the scenario become apparent. Afterwards, you are given the opportunity to rethink your plan for a couple of minutes. I'd suggest changing the plan if a new route becomes apparent - I didn't change our plan because I kind of gave up thinking anymore and got marked down for it.
Interview. When you fill out your Q101 form for the AIB, photocopy it: this is what they quiz you on. Think of more scenarios when you have done things that they asked you on the form, more ones than you wrote down. Know your ships including LPH and LPD, submarines and of course your aircraft and missiles. Know where the navy are operating this month which is available on the RN website. You should know what ship does what with what and why.
After that its pass or fail. Remember all they are testing for is to see if you would last through BRNC, so be resiliant in the face of adversity, don't lower your head and always be first to say good morning, sir etc. Again no drinking for aircrew because of the EEG the next morning. Nothing a game of killer pool can't solve.
Feel free to ask any questions, add comments to this post.
Good luck,
Andrew
