muppetofthenorth

Just for the record, I don't think you'll be quite so successful if you go to university to study Engineering while expecting it not to have much maths involved!

The only other thing is are you a British citizen? Assuming yes, then when you apply you'll have needed to live in the UK for at least 5 years.

EliasL

I'll answer yours now..

Yes I am a British Citizen.
I do a lot of intense training at the gym, I make sure I run 5km and do the sets I do. I can't remember once when my asthma has effected me physically! I just wish they'd test you on how you are at the age your applying; rather than looking back when you were 10!

About the engineering thing. I know it involves maths, but that maths I can handle, same with astronomy, just not astro physics!

Pontius Navigator

Elias, I see you are in England so that solves that issue. No you do not need Maths or English at A-level.

Most of the other issues you seem OK with apart from one.

Go, with your parents, to your medical centre. There are three approaches. Ask them nicely and they might check your records for free. Or you can make a 'subject access request' and let you and your parents look through your records in the surgery. Or they may ask you to make a formal access request. This is not free and is not at pocket money prices but is not unaffordable.

You really do need to know.

Then you know what you will need to work on at school. Really you need to work on these anyway.

While you are in the ATC you should also be looking at other things as well to broaden your appeal and show you can work responsibly in a team.

but life is not like that!

EliasL

Thanks for the advice guys! It's really appreciated!

Flik Roll

If asthma isn't on your medical records DO NOT declare it (unless you have loads of attacks which therefore make you a liability!)

warty99

What Flik said ... but if it IS on your records, you MUST. They will check your records anyway, and a lie will not go down well. Echoing PN, you need to find out exactly what the story is and exactly what appears on your medical records.

Remember that the rule about asthma is there for a reason. Covering up a medical condition that would bar you from serving, or flying, is not a good idea if that same medical condition has the potential to put your life, or those of others, at risk.

Good luck!

airborne_artist

If Maths is not your strong point then you need to work hard on your mental maths before you go to OASC - the son of a friend had worked really hard to get a B at GCSE Maths, and he failed OASC for FAA officer aircrew (same test as RAF pilot and WSO), and the feedback he was given was that his maths skills had held him back.

At the time he attended OASC he had done no Maths for a year since his GCSEs, so keep in practice, and work on those speed,time, distance skills.

kiwi chick

Welll done Warty99


That absolutely had to be said. It's a no-brainer.

KC

Flik Roll

Elias, what passport do you have? As you need an UK one to be a pilot.... I notice you were born in Algeria? Are your parents English?

EliasL

That question has already been asked and answered, my dad is italian my mum is algerian

Flik Roll

Muppet of the North - I thought it was since birth to be a pilot unless you are commonwealth blah etc.

dagowly

good point. If you haven't been a UK Citizen since birth, you're not in for much luck i'm afraid.
Steve

muppetofthenorth

Flik,

That's my understanding also, but there's also a residency requirement too, to the best of my recollection, that is.

I know when I did all my paperwork for the UAS there was a section requiring me to list my UK addresses for the past 5 years.

3portdrift

DV for all FJ and certain RW and ME posts with a parent from Algeria?

Flik Roll

For sme branches you can be residential 5 years and citizen MOTN. Branches like Pilot, WSO and Int require, in most countries, to be a citizen from birth. Everyone has to list their addresses in the last 5 years for the security clearence. UAS residency requirements are also slightly different now that we aren't recruiting pilots and groudies so anyone can fly who's got the right residency e.g. 5 years.

RAF Website clearly states birth for pilot.

joe_luther17

Hi, Im applying to join the RAF as a piolt, and was just wondering if there were any currently serving pilots out there who could give me a break down of what day to day working life is like? It would be a great help in letting me know what Ive got in store!! cheers

EliasL

I learnt this magical thing 1 day ago, called searching

Henry_Harris

hi, after scouring the RAF's website for a half hour or so i found that to qualify for the RAF as an airmen(airwoman) you are required to run 1 and a 1/2 miles in 12 minutes and 2 seconds or under
hope it helps
good luck

BluntM8

Joe, as AA alluded to, there is no such thing as a typical day. However, there are some constants throughout the day which may give you an insight to the job.

The Sqn day will usually start with a Met Brief at 0800 - everybody attends and as well as the weather, the local area notices (known as Notams), details about temporary ATC procedures, and the number of serviceable aircraft will be discussed.

The pace of the rest of the day is dicated by the daily Flying Programme - the flypro. This is usually compiled by a designated Sqn programmer the day before and will detail the crews, runway slot times and sortie tasking for each flight. The flypro is then run from the Sqn ops desk. The ops desk will be manned by an SAC Ops Clerk (that's a junior airman, by the way) who will carry out the adminstrative tasks such as passing details of upcoming flights to ATC. The Ops Desk is supervised by a duty Authoriser - one of the senior aircrew on the sqn. The task of Duty Auth is usually carried out for a half day period per person, and they are responsible for ensuring that all the flying the Sqn carries out is properly planned and legal. They will also adjust the flying programme to meet any unforseen circumstances such as aircrew calling in sick or a jet breaking.

When you are programmed to fly, the amount of time you spend planning will be dependant on the actual mission to be flown. As a nav, I use a rule of thumb of about 90mins planning for an hour in the air, but that figure could be wildly different for other roles. However, it is usual to gather together to brief a sortie 1 hr before the planned take off time. The crew will assemble and one of them will give the brief. The brief will cover domestics (callsign, which aircraft and which runway, relevant times and fuel requirements), the weather (a more detailed look at how the weather will affect the actual sortie), details of the tasking and the actual plan for achieveing the aim. This takes between 20 and 40 minutes normally.

Following the briefing the crew will go to the Sqn Ops desk and 'outbrief' with the duty auth. The outbrief follows a set list of items which is the same for every sortie and will ensure that the sortie has been properly planned and no loose ends are left to catch you out. Following the outbrief, you then get kitted up, have a pee and go flying.

After landing, you will come back into the sqn ops desk and 'inbrief'. Like the outbrief, the inbrief follows a set format and ensures that the most important safety points have been completed. Following the inbrief, the crew will reassemble and conduct a full debriefing, which will cover the entire process from start to finish, and may last up to 2 hrs. Once that is done, any mandatory reports relating to the sortie must be written and filed and then you can relax again!

If you're not flying, then you may get an opportunity to relax and have a brew in the crewroom but don't bank on it! As well as the flying, we are required to have a thorough working knowledge of the rules and regs that relate to flying - in fact we have to sign to say we've read them every 6 months - so you will need to spend some time with you head in the books refreshing yourself. There's also a lot of other admin to maintain, such as annual medical examinations, helmet check-fitting, all sorts. And of course you will quickly find yourself eligable to become a programmer and in due course an auth too!

Aside from the flying duties, most people have secondary duties too. These can range from running the Station football team, being in charge of a barrack block, being the person responsible for your building through to a whole range of jobs. These can take up a lot of time and are equally important to the day-to-day running of the station. Furthermore you will periodically be tasked to be a station duty officer, which means being 'on call' for any problems encountered out of working hours!

So you can see that there is a lot of different things you can be doing on any given day, Joe. I haven't talked about what happens on Ops because I've not been on any. I hope this helps to give you an idea.

Best regards

Blunty

itsallhappeningagain

Has anyone got any idea what sort of percentage of WSOs head to the fast jet stream and what percentage to multi engine after training? Pilot seems to be well documented but I can't seem to find this info anywhere.