Op Tastic

Don't forget you will be expected to know how to play the fruit machine in the Mess.

joshiii

when you say your elbow touch your knees does it matter is they touch you thighs because my elbows go down towards my groin when i do them, and am i right when i say that your head and shoulders should not touch the floor throughout the set?

KENNYR

If you are considering a career on Hercules or VC10's then all you require is the ability to eat 20 pies in as many minutes.

RAF and Fitness dont really belong in the same sentence.

BellEndBob

If the standards are as you say, how come we are getting so many fat, generally unfit, officers turning up on their first tour? This is most common amongst the females, some of whom are actually obese.
Is it lack of enforcement at Cranwell?
Many many moons ago, when I went through IOT, we were beasted on the physical side and I left resembling a racing snake as did my peers. Those who did not make the grade fell by the wayside.
That's why I am scratching my head. The standards seem correct but, somehow, the end product does not support this (in some cases).

BellEnd

Brakes...beer

I suspect the standards are as stated, ie pretty low. I left IOT 14 years ago and then completed the newly introduced bleep test. The required standard barely required us to break into a sweat, although it may have gone up since.
GCSEs, A-Levels, Firsts, IOT: change and decay in all around I see...

haribo boy

Lets face it, if you have to worry about the most trivial event at OASC (fitness test) then you should be thinking about your EI regarding the interview, group problem solving, speed distance yada yada yada. THINK BIG PICTURE. Look at the state of some members of the RAF, fitness! Well bending over to put on their quality, suppotive and shock absorbing HITEC Silver Shadows is their best effort for their bleep test. On the very subject of bleep test, i always thought we should run away from the enemy not backwards and forwards till they shoot you and golly gee if you cant survive in the armed forces for a year just by getting by on 11 press ups,......sorry got to dash to go down the Gym for my fitness test.

Time Flies

joshiii

You are looking far too much into this. It doesn't matter where your elbows meet your legs...you will only need to do just over a dozen situps in a minute.

As someone already pointed out, concentrate on something more worthwhile.

On that note..........

Felix Saddler

How do you come about flying for the red arrows? im currently 17 and doing my A-levels, however because of my rough time last year with family problems, i have completely underachieved this year and feel like i may need to resit the whole year to get back on track!! My Question is: what are the chances of me getting into the RAF as pilot with poor school qualifications?

Away from school i completely succeed in the other requirments i believe the RAF look for, as i have my Duke of Edinburgh Gold award, im in Air cadets, and do alot of recreational activities: camping - climbing - cycling - etc etc etc.

My dream is to get into the air force as a pilot but i fear that because of my poor school qualifications that this may prevent me from this. Im not the kind of person to sit around and do nothing all day, i like to get up and do things - go places - et cetera. This is why i believe the RAF is for me and will do my absolute upmost to achieve my dream.

What are the chances of my succeeding with my poor school qualifications? However as far as what the RAF are looking for, i'm it!!
Also how does ones self get itself aquainted with someone like the red arrows?

Kind Regards,

Felix Saddler.

The Swinging Monkey

Felix old boy,
I like your enthusiasm, but the first thing you need to do is go back to school and learn some ENGLISH!!!

Your post was appalling quite frankly. Sorry to be pedantic, but come on, what about capitals? punctuation? grammar? Do they not teach you any of that at school these days? Unless you can get the basics right, I don't care how good you might think you are, you will not get accepted. (or should not anyway!)

As far as becoming a Red Arrow team member, I think your chances are less than nil - sorry, but that's the way it is. And as for this 'Also how does ones self get itself aquainted with someone like the red arrows?' well, ones self does NOT get aquainted with them, they get aquainted with you (ones self that is!)


Still, go for it, what have you got to loose?
Kind regards to all
TSM

Northern Circuit

why is it that all wanna bees get their posts staffed by avid red penners?

an informal request on an informal forum isnt a dessitation for analysis lol

oh and TSM - hes got nothing to lose - terrible english old bean

airborne_artist

TSM

If you are going to pick the guy up on his grammar, for ck's sake check your spelling first.


FS - take the pain now, do the re-sits, get to the recruiting office and the RAF web site and find out all you need to know about aircrew and officer selection, and good luck.

The Swinging Monkey

Northern Circuit,
Don't be silly ol boy, I am in no way a red penner, as you put it. But impressions do count, and if you received a letter of that quality, what would you think? good or bad?
Good luck to him as I say, but lets be honest, with English like that his chances are slim at best wouldn't you agree?
TSM

jayteeto

The second post is so important for wannabees. It is not personal, it is good advice. The army cannot recruit enough infantry these days, but trust me, the RAF have a surplus of pilot applications. Just take a minute to think and you can answer your own question. Lots of candidates have your enthusiasm; you have to stand out from the crowd. You may have been red-penned, but often this is what is needed to make people realise what is actually required. If someone is up against you in selection for the minute number of slots and they have better qualifications, grammar, punctuation and apparant personality, they will take YOUR place. First impressions count and your first impression here could have been better. Lucky for you that this doesn't count for real

Northern Circuit

TSM there is a difference in composing a formal letter and posting an informal paragraph on a forum tho.

Felix - take Mr Artist's advice - re-sit and get some qualifications - no pain no gain im afraid

keithl

Why is it that most wannabes appear illiterate?
The anti-pedantic say literacy doesn't matter provided you can make yourself understood. They have not grasped the fact that grammar has evolved to clarify written and spoken expression.
Clarity of expression is particularly vital in aviation.
I rest my case.

Winco

Felix,

As TSM says, you must sort out your English, it is very poor. As someone who has sat on the selection board at OASC (Cranwell) I can tell you that if I had seen that kind of English writing, then I would have marked you down heavily. It is not acceptable to be frank with you. It is OK for those who say it doesn't matter, but the fact is 'It Does' and it may very well make the difference, in todays climate, between getting in and not.

So, go back and sit your exams again if they are not good, sort out your English problems (grammar, punctuation etc.) and give it a go.

The Winco

A2QFI

Good afternoon Felix
Thanks for posting on the forum with your questions. I see that you have already been savaged by the Grammar and Syntax Nazis! The fact is that a modern British education does not seem to equip people for reading and writing in the world outside school but you have already acknowledged that and accept that you have to work on these.
Another prospective pilot posted here a few days ago and was given a very hard time (IMHO). However, you might like to read thru his questions and and the few relevant and helpful comments that he got. You might find some are applicable to your situation.
Your first posting wasn't 100% by the book but it was way better than his!
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235274
Good luck and don't be put off by the 'Banter'
3 errors of grammar, punctuation and syntax in post #4, BTW, not that I care!

flipster

TSM - a bit harsh, old bean? Give the guy a break?

Felix,

If you only have the bare educational minimum - you will be expected by OASC to have surpassed these minimums - so TSM is right (to a point)! Get working on the English grammar, along with showing some determination to always do better than 'just ok'.

If, however, there are exceptional family circumstances that mean that your achievements are 'over and above' those which were expected, then this might count in your favour - maybe! Check with the CIO/careers advisors; they would be better able to judge how OASC would see your circumstances.

Nonetheless, I would recommend that you show greater commitment to your dream by improving what quals you have already got. The 'never say die' attitude is important to you becoming a Serviceman - of any rank or trade. I suspect you have some of this grit; DOE Gold and doing well at ATC is not easy - use that 'plus point' to give you confidence for the 'mountain' you are about to attempt to climb.

But if you want to be a Red Arrow - go for it! If you set your sights that high, then you may feel ok when only get as far as............???!
(A bit of advice - never say to your mates, that you want to be a Red Arrow - they will rib you mercilessly - keep it to yourself!)

Best of British

Flipster

ps I have taught and flown with a number of 'Reds'. They are normal human beings just like you and me (mostly). However, it is obvious from first meeting them that, while they have exceptional flying skills, they also have high intellects and a huge dollop of gritty determination to succeed. (Be warned - 'high intellect' does not necessarily mean lots of GCSEs, A Levels or university degrees!)

Felix Saddler

Ok folks,

I realise you have alot of fun with the Illiterate wanabee’s on this site, However, I believe you may have gotten the wrong impression of me. I am not, whilst amidst the rest, a lethargic, incompetent, lacklustre teen. I do have 14 GCSE’s under my belt, 6A*’s and 8A’s, Both English Lit and language, A*.
When I posted this thread, I wasn’t writing in the manner as I would if I was writing an informal letter to someone important. I can completely understand your decision to criticize my elementary post, nevertheless, I do not think I am the best, nor the worst , but an individual with great determination, who is vastly philosophical.
So I apologise for my inconsiderate attitude with regard to my grammar and will strive to enhance it for the future.
Away From that, I understand what you say about the qualifications, I was unfortunately involved in a malicious environment last year which put an extensive amount of pressure on my back, This pressure mounted as I was predicted 5A’s for my A-Levels. On saying that, I was without a shadow of a doubt expected to achieve this high level of performance which is why i believe i have underachieved.
If I was to resit my AS year and attain this kind of success, which I am more than capable of, would I still have a chance with the RAF?

Kind Regards,

Felix Saddler.

tonkatechie

If you've had personal problems that have distracted you from your studies, the best thing is to resit the year, and get th equalifications that best demonstrate your abilities! You are quite obviously young, and as such impatient to get on with living out your dreams, but rest assured that you have plenty of time to acheive them - just give yourself the best chance.
Your posting here has already given you a good insight into the RAF: people will happily shoot you down the moment you open your mouth to say 'hello', and there's a hell of a lot of 'banter'. Deal with it like an adult; you can happily ignore people who chastise you for your spelling and grammer when, 3 times in one paragraph, the follow a question mark with a lower case letter. Start of a new sentance anyone? That said, poor spelling isn't necessarily a massive hurdle, I once had a Wing Commander write in the F707A that there was a "loose rivot on the l/h wing". Full marks for observation, but not spelt correctly. See where the important stuff lies? Better to have someone who's smart, and can communicate his or her point, than having a total pedant that spends the whole pay picking fault in others.

Rant switch to 'off', brew on.

Edited to add: Sorry to Northern Circuit for my lack of brevity!