Unable to join University Air squadron because of childhood asthma
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UAS Medical standards / Asthma
Welcome to the world as it really is ! UAS's as a potential "lead in" to RAF service can afford to enforce high standards in every sense including medical. Whilst UAS flying training these days is minimal, nonetheless the standard is being maintained. Potential RAF entrants in every branch of the RAF can now expect to be subjected to rigorous selection in every sense, commensurate with the declining numbers required to top up the service, especially FJ pilots.
Even if you fully meet medical standards, you'll still have to perform at the highest levels in every other sense, so perhaps it may not be for you overall.
It's a hard old world out there - contrary to current schools teaching where everybody is made a winner !
Even if you fully meet medical standards, you'll still have to perform at the highest levels in every other sense, so perhaps it may not be for you overall.
It's a hard old world out there - contrary to current schools teaching where everybody is made a winner !
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Does anybody have any more gen on this? I've been researching it on t'interwebs but can't find anything. Do you mean Stevenson as in Commandant RAFC?
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I could understand the UAS medical requirements if the UAS was only for potential aircrew, but it isn’t! I could potentially meet the medical requirements to be an engineer in the RAF but not the UAS. If I happened to be a medical student wanting to later join the RAF as a doctor I reckon I would have got past the medical requirement.
The interviewing officer did say that over 300 people would be fighting for 30 places, so I suppose they can afford to be strict in the medical requirments!
Thanks for the replies, I’ve taken them on board.
The interviewing officer did say that over 300 people would be fighting for 30 places, so I suppose they can afford to be strict in the medical requirments!
Thanks for the replies, I’ve taken them on board.
I could understand the UAS medical requirements if the UAS was only for potential aircrew, but it isn’t!
It is a strangely exclusive requirement, but if they're not playing then they're not playing. Won't hold you back substantially, plenty of people join without having been on their UAS.
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There are other ways of flying....
HRS l992, do you want to fly? or be in the military?
You don't have to choose the second to enjoy the first.....you would be qualified, after possibly a year of training, to fly a glass ship capable of l40 knots, and flights of up to ten hours or more, setting records of up to 750k in the United Kingdom, gain of height to 38,000', to compete on an international level, and to achieve the highest levels of airmanship and skill, with a knowlege of aerodynamics, met, flight planning, possibly moving on to becoming an instructor....and all this without bothering with an engine of any sort. And you get to wear a parachute. The kind that works.
In other words, check out the British Gliding Association Website, the opportunities are much much better than the military, if you actually want to fly. There are special deals for students.
It is highly unlikely that your medical record would preclude your gliding.
You don't have to choose the second to enjoy the first.....you would be qualified, after possibly a year of training, to fly a glass ship capable of l40 knots, and flights of up to ten hours or more, setting records of up to 750k in the United Kingdom, gain of height to 38,000', to compete on an international level, and to achieve the highest levels of airmanship and skill, with a knowlege of aerodynamics, met, flight planning, possibly moving on to becoming an instructor....and all this without bothering with an engine of any sort. And you get to wear a parachute. The kind that works.
In other words, check out the British Gliding Association Website, the opportunities are much much better than the military, if you actually want to fly. There are special deals for students.
It is highly unlikely that your medical record would preclude your gliding.
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Originally Posted by NigelOnDraft
I think Ashley might choose to disagree with this 
T4 Accident Report shows he suffered 'Major' injuries as well.
The GR5 accident
NoD
T4 Accident Report shows he suffered 'Major' injuries as well.
The GR5 accident
NoD
I want to ask him about it next time I see him in the bar, but given it's a rather traumatic experience I'll be sure to tread carefully.
Hope the girl is OK, wherever she is now.
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mary meagher,I like the idea of both. I wanted to join the UAS to fly but also to do all the other things they do. I’ve already got some flying experience, around 30 hours ppl. I can understand your enthusiasm for gliding, I went on a week gliding course at the Long mynd , really enjoyed it! Found it even more fun than powered flying, and much cheaper! I’ve joined the Uni gliding club to continue flying while at Uni.
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Hello HRS1992,
The rule you were quoted about asthma over the age of 3 is bo//o<ks! If you are eligible for the RAF in any capacity, you are eligible for the UAS.
Likely scenarios for you:
You spoke to somebody that didn't know their facts. Often UAS's have their students at recruiting stand acting as a basic filter for those applying. They basically stop anyone unsuitable applying e.g. those in their final year (you join for 2 years initially). So, it's possible that when you mentioned asthma, you spoke to someone who misunderstood the asthma rules.
OR
It wouldn't surprise me if you were fobbed off, with the asthma medical reasons serving as a convenient excuse. As you said, there's about 10 people applying for every 1 slot, and part of the initial filtering process I mentioned above is weeding out those that don't give off the vibe of someone competitive. Perhaps it's possible that your first impression wasn't a strong one, although I'd hope that if this were the case, whoever you spoke to would've had the backbone to tell you straight!
In any case, your application was clearly more than just a passing thought (hence the posts on here!), so my suggestion:
Phone up, and try to arrange an interview. I'd suggest NOT mentioning your medical condition unless actually asked directly. This isn't an attempt to hide it, because before you are attested you will have to be medically cleared by Cranwell anyway (they write to your GP for info), so you may as well cut out any busy bodies that "think" they know and leave it to the pro's that really do!
If not, you can always apply next year, again letting Cranwell be the judge of the med stuff. Good luck!
The rule you were quoted about asthma over the age of 3 is bo//o<ks! If you are eligible for the RAF in any capacity, you are eligible for the UAS.
Likely scenarios for you:
You spoke to somebody that didn't know their facts. Often UAS's have their students at recruiting stand acting as a basic filter for those applying. They basically stop anyone unsuitable applying e.g. those in their final year (you join for 2 years initially). So, it's possible that when you mentioned asthma, you spoke to someone who misunderstood the asthma rules.
OR
It wouldn't surprise me if you were fobbed off, with the asthma medical reasons serving as a convenient excuse. As you said, there's about 10 people applying for every 1 slot, and part of the initial filtering process I mentioned above is weeding out those that don't give off the vibe of someone competitive. Perhaps it's possible that your first impression wasn't a strong one, although I'd hope that if this were the case, whoever you spoke to would've had the backbone to tell you straight!
In any case, your application was clearly more than just a passing thought (hence the posts on here!), so my suggestion:
Phone up, and try to arrange an interview. I'd suggest NOT mentioning your medical condition unless actually asked directly. This isn't an attempt to hide it, because before you are attested you will have to be medically cleared by Cranwell anyway (they write to your GP for info), so you may as well cut out any busy bodies that "think" they know and leave it to the pro's that really do!
If not, you can always apply next year, again letting Cranwell be the judge of the med stuff. Good luck!
Whilst my sister was living at Northolt, her son was diagnosed with asthma. The next posting for the family was Kinloss, and on meeting the new doctor he referred them straight to a local expert who reviewed my nephew, and reversed the asthma diagnosis pronto.
He reckoned most asthma cases were misdiagnosed due to pollution/local effects.
Don't know if this helps the OP, maybe he should register with a GP in Morayshire.
He reckoned most asthma cases were misdiagnosed due to pollution/local effects.
Don't know if this helps the OP, maybe he should register with a GP in Morayshire.
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Whilst my sister was living at Northolt, her son was diagnosed with asthma. The next posting for the family was Kinloss, and on meeting the new doctor he referred them straight to a local expert who reviewed my nephew, and reversed the asthma diagnosis pronto.
He reckoned most asthma cases were misdiagnosed due to pollution/local effects.
Don't know if this helps the OP, maybe he should register with a GP in Morayshire.
He reckoned most asthma cases were misdiagnosed due to pollution/local effects.
Don't know if this helps the OP, maybe he should register with a GP in Morayshire.
.
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After SDR I believe the UAS's will be either chopped or serverly poorly funded by the RAF budget. When they stopped the formal OASC selection processes to get into a UAS, the UAS's went down the pan! At least in these days everybody knew if they past their degree, was still medically fit and passed EFT (or ground branch training) you would have a career in the RAF.
UAS's now days are glorified drinking/(not a lot of flying) club. Many people I personally believe are in it for the wrong reasons. There are some however who are determined to be successful with a military flying career after university. I have actually known some people who are fully determined for an RAF career leave the UAS as they felt it was not worthwhile, but still joined the RAF after university.
I'm not going to reveal which UAS I am a member of as this problem is UAS wide!
On the other hand, the UAS can be a challenging and simply a fantastic place to be! Flying (minimal, but still challenging and fun.), adventrous training, sports and RAF station/ sqn visits.
Views expressed above are not the views of the UAS, RAF or MoD and are solely the views of fly_surfbeach
UAS's now days are glorified drinking/(not a lot of flying) club. Many people I personally believe are in it for the wrong reasons. There are some however who are determined to be successful with a military flying career after university. I have actually known some people who are fully determined for an RAF career leave the UAS as they felt it was not worthwhile, but still joined the RAF after university.
I'm not going to reveal which UAS I am a member of as this problem is UAS wide!
On the other hand, the UAS can be a challenging and simply a fantastic place to be! Flying (minimal, but still challenging and fun.), adventrous training, sports and RAF station/ sqn visits.
Views expressed above are not the views of the UAS, RAF or MoD and are solely the views of fly_surfbeach
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I have commanded a UAS and so can provide some balance to some of the comments made on here.
The RAF currently assesses all candidates (regardless of branch choice) who have a history of asthma as permanently medically unfit (PMU) for service, this is confusing because as has rightly been said the medical standard for flying on the UAS is the same as for the UK National PPL (ie HGV Class2). The UAS may well have been directed not to recruit students who would not be fit for service (this also includes residency rules – ie resident in the UK for the last 5 years); if so, this is a directive from a higher command authority and so whether or not you agree with it is irrelevant.
So, Albanian Seahorse, your statement that ‘[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']The rule you were quoted about asthma over the age of 3 is bo//o<ks! If you are eligible for the RAF in any capacity, you are eligible for the UAS’ [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']may have been overtaken by events.[/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Fly surfbeach said “At least in these days everybody knew if they past (or should that be passed?) their degree, was still medically fit and passed EFT (or ground branch training) you would have a career in the RAF” This is not true now and while UAS students have a big advantage at OASC there is no guarantee that they will be accepted over and above a direct entrant; with recruiting figures well down OASC is simply picking the best person for the job.[/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']HRS1992 – rather than the somewhat petulant approach of trying to phone up and book an interview when you have already been turned down (failing to mention any medical conditions) may I suggest a more mature approach? Write a nice letter to the UAS commander thanking him for his time at the Freshers’ Fair and explain that you are dreadfully disappointed but understand his decision. Mention that in the meantime you have joined the gliding club and over the next year you will see your GP and investigate whether you really had asthma in the first place (it is often mis-diagnosed in the very young). You will keep your eye on the OASC website for any information on changes to the rules for medical fitness and you will see him again at the Freshers’ Fair in 2011. Your letter will be kept on file and, providing the rules have changed, when you pitch up at the UAS stand in 2011 they will welcome the nice, polite, honest young man from last year. [/FONT]
The RAF currently assesses all candidates (regardless of branch choice) who have a history of asthma as permanently medically unfit (PMU) for service, this is confusing because as has rightly been said the medical standard for flying on the UAS is the same as for the UK National PPL (ie HGV Class2). The UAS may well have been directed not to recruit students who would not be fit for service (this also includes residency rules – ie resident in the UK for the last 5 years); if so, this is a directive from a higher command authority and so whether or not you agree with it is irrelevant.
So, Albanian Seahorse, your statement that ‘[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']The rule you were quoted about asthma over the age of 3 is bo//o<ks! If you are eligible for the RAF in any capacity, you are eligible for the UAS’ [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']may have been overtaken by events.[/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Fly surfbeach said “At least in these days everybody knew if they past (or should that be passed?) their degree, was still medically fit and passed EFT (or ground branch training) you would have a career in the RAF” This is not true now and while UAS students have a big advantage at OASC there is no guarantee that they will be accepted over and above a direct entrant; with recruiting figures well down OASC is simply picking the best person for the job.[/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']HRS1992 – rather than the somewhat petulant approach of trying to phone up and book an interview when you have already been turned down (failing to mention any medical conditions) may I suggest a more mature approach? Write a nice letter to the UAS commander thanking him for his time at the Freshers’ Fair and explain that you are dreadfully disappointed but understand his decision. Mention that in the meantime you have joined the gliding club and over the next year you will see your GP and investigate whether you really had asthma in the first place (it is often mis-diagnosed in the very young). You will keep your eye on the OASC website for any information on changes to the rules for medical fitness and you will see him again at the Freshers’ Fair in 2011. Your letter will be kept on file and, providing the rules have changed, when you pitch up at the UAS stand in 2011 they will welcome the nice, polite, honest young man from last year. [/FONT]
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HRS1992, way to go! All you need now after Uni is a proper job to finance your gliding! preferably one with flexi-hours, so when you see that 500k day forecast, the boss will be understanding of your priorities.....!
The only problem will be to find a girl who also understands your priorities....
The only problem will be to find a girl who also understands your priorities....
....as has rightly been said the medical standard for flying on the UAS is the same as for the UK National PPL (ie HGV Class2).
I do hope that UASs survive SDSR; however, if they really have degenerated to the levels some have stated on ths thread, then sadly it would be very difficult to justify their continued existence.
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Originally Posted by fly_surfbeach
After SDR I believe the UAS's will be either chopped or serverly poorly funded by the RAF budget. When they stopped the formal OASC selection processes to get into a UAS, the UAS's went down the pan! At least in these days everybody knew if they past their degree, was still medically fit and passed EFT (or ground branch training) you would have a career in the RAF.
UAS's now days are glorified drinking/(not a lot of flying) club. Many people I personally believe are in it for the wrong reasons. There are some however who are determined to be successful with a military flying career after university. I have actually known some people who are fully determined for an RAF career leave the UAS as they felt it was not worthwhile, but still joined the RAF after university.
I'm not going to reveal which UAS I am a member of as this problem is UAS wide!
On the other hand, the UAS can be a challenging and simply a fantastic place to be! Flying (minimal, but still challenging and fun.), adventrous training, sports and RAF station/ sqn visits.
Views expressed above are not the views of the UAS, RAF or MoD and are solely the views of fly_surfbeach
UAS's now days are glorified drinking/(not a lot of flying) club. Many people I personally believe are in it for the wrong reasons. There are some however who are determined to be successful with a military flying career after university. I have actually known some people who are fully determined for an RAF career leave the UAS as they felt it was not worthwhile, but still joined the RAF after university.
I'm not going to reveal which UAS I am a member of as this problem is UAS wide!
On the other hand, the UAS can be a challenging and simply a fantastic place to be! Flying (minimal, but still challenging and fun.), adventrous training, sports and RAF station/ sqn visits.
Views expressed above are not the views of the UAS, RAF or MoD and are solely the views of fly_surfbeach
I too am pessimistic of the future of the UASs, whether they will be in the budget to continue after the SDR. Perhaps if they reverted to what they once were, with a stricter EFT syllabus, they would be more effective.
I think to call them "a glorified drinking club," may relate to your experience of them, but I would disagree. Yes there is drinking involved, but this is true of any social and/or sporting club at uni, however this one happens to be taxpayer funded, therein lies the issue. I would say that most studes get a great benefit from the flying training, ground military skills, and lectures given once a week at town nights. Some aren't interested in joining the RAF, and with the current climate of cuts, my UAS for example has begun to chop 'em.
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They let me in in the 80s having had childhood asthma (almost certainly an allergic reaction to dust mites) and I spent 12 years going up tiddly up and down tiddly down. I'm sure the periods of forced breathing as a child left me with a very much better than average respiratory system, and I can still knock out 6 minute miles.
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may I suggest a more mature approach? Write a nice letter to the UAS commander thanking him for his time at the Freshers’ Fair and explain that you are dreadfully disappointed but understand his decision.
But, in the mean time, life goes on: you miss out on a year of UAS life and you are overtaken by your friends in the same year of uni as yourself. So, if you are actually serious about this, I suggest the apparently "immature" approach of pushing for what you want a little, albeit tactfully of course.
Just one man's humble opinion, who doesn't need to annotate his posts with titles to add weight to his argument.
And again, only IMHO, my thoughts of UAS's:
- The flying is there for those that want it. Same for all other activities.
- The opportunities are definitely still there for the taking, it's just that not very many students make the most of it!
- Worth the public money? On balance, no. But only because in general, students don't make the most of the opportunities presented to them, which makes it a waste of money. Knowing what I know, and seeing what I've seen, I would find it hard to justify keeping the UAS's amongst these cuts...
- Of course, for those that do use the UAS system to it's full potential, it can be a life-changing, amazingly beneficial part of the university experience.
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Thanks for the advice, I will send a letter to the EUAS officer and try applying again next year. If I don’t get in, I will try for the University Royal Navy Unit.