RAF Pilot First Tour?
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: York
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On a lighter note, pupils in my son's class were asked to write a short story entitled A Typical Day at Brüggen. This was his offering (he was 10): 06:30 A nasty noise coming from mum and dads bedroom - an alarm clock go’s off, dad struggles to turn it off before mum (code name old nag) wakes up. Then he washes, shaves and gets dressed in 30 seconds. Then rushes out of the house to try and catch the squadron transport, but he’d missed it. He jumps on his bike and pedals furiously so not to be late for the 07:00 brief. Then it starts to rain - another typical day at Brüggen.
07:00 Arrives at the squadron to get met brief – they said ‘it won’t rain today.’
07:15 Starts the plan for the sortie. Four aircraft to Northern Germany.
09:15 Finish plan for sortie go to briefing room to brief sortie briefing lasts half an hour.
09:45 Going to ops room, the engineers say ‘the planes are not ready yet.’ Typical.
10:00 Going to planes Alf the driver says ‘Mind your head sir.’
10:30 Take off. Fly mission, mission success on the way home it rains!
12:15 Land Tornado still serviceable. Surprise surprise!
12:40 Back at the squadron for the debrief last 30 mins then looks at film. Dad says ‘The target must have moved, it’s not on my film!’ Typical!
13:30 Five minute lunch break in the crew room. Go back to office to do some paper work, mostly rubbish. Typical.
15:00 A short coffee, back into the office more paper work.
16:00 Look at copy of tomorrows flying ‘why am I not on it.’
17:00 Go home and it’s still raining.
That was 34-years ago. It still makes me smile.
07:00 Arrives at the squadron to get met brief – they said ‘it won’t rain today.’
07:15 Starts the plan for the sortie. Four aircraft to Northern Germany.
09:15 Finish plan for sortie go to briefing room to brief sortie briefing lasts half an hour.
09:45 Going to ops room, the engineers say ‘the planes are not ready yet.’ Typical.
10:00 Going to planes Alf the driver says ‘Mind your head sir.’
10:30 Take off. Fly mission, mission success on the way home it rains!
12:15 Land Tornado still serviceable. Surprise surprise!
12:40 Back at the squadron for the debrief last 30 mins then looks at film. Dad says ‘The target must have moved, it’s not on my film!’ Typical!
13:30 Five minute lunch break in the crew room. Go back to office to do some paper work, mostly rubbish. Typical.
15:00 A short coffee, back into the office more paper work.
16:00 Look at copy of tomorrows flying ‘why am I not on it.’
17:00 Go home and it’s still raining.
That was 34-years ago. It still makes me smile.
If it is anything like my first tour (at Akrotiri), I did little work, heaps of great flying, more money than I knew what to do with, everything cheap. weather fantastic, in short a great flying club. Think the RAF may have changed a bit. 
A little while ago I applied to rejoin the RAF and went through the OASC process. (Sadly, I wasn't allowed to even look in the hangar at the leadership tests). Two things surprised me during the day of my visit. The first one was the number of candidates that could not pass the fitness test.
The second was the lameness of the questions during the interview:
"Why did you want to join the RAF?"
"What, the first time round?"
"Yes" ie not "Why should we have you back?"
...and "Do you know what aircraft the RAF operates in the ISTAR role?"
Maybe it was because they wanted my skillset back in the Service, so I got an easy ride!
....So make sure that you can pass the RAFFT!
The second was the lameness of the questions during the interview:
"Why did you want to join the RAF?"
"What, the first time round?"
"Yes" ie not "Why should we have you back?"
...and "Do you know what aircraft the RAF operates in the ISTAR role?"
Maybe it was because they wanted my skillset back in the Service, so I got an easy ride!
....So make sure that you can pass the RAFFT!
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: UK
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Typhoon first tour: expect 500 hours.
You won't come out of the OCU fully combat ready so will be on a work up straight away. Typhoon is a true jack of all trades now so lots of different weapons and skill sets to be learned. It will be busy.
In a three year first tour expect to go to OP SHADER twice for around 2-3 months at a time. Go to the Falklands once or twice for a couple of months at a time. Do an Eastern European Air policing det for a few months. Do an overseas exercise a year (Red / Green Flag / Middle Eastern equivalent).
Whilst in the UK you will be always working toward your next qualification, whether that be pairs lead / 4s lead etc. By the end of 3 years most Junior Pilots will attain a pairs lead with the qualification of being able to instruct Combat Ready work up serials for new guys straight out of the OCU.
You'll sit QRA once or twice a month between sims and live flying.
In Summary, my recently expired 3 year first tour consisted of 11 detachments equating to around 450 days away.
The best and most rewarding flying is done when overseas. In the UK you will be busy working up for your next qual and sitting Q / remaining current for Q. This can be frustrating as all the priority for spare parts etc goes to high priority overseas Exercises / Ops and as a result a lot of training will be done in the sim. Opportunities to take leave will be limited and very much have to fit in with the Squadron's OP / Exercise / QRA plot.
There is a lot of bureaucracy when it comes to online courses etc but you can easily get all these done on your QRA shifts. The same can be said for secondary duties.
Caveat many overseas operations have been curtailed recently due COVID.
You won't come out of the OCU fully combat ready so will be on a work up straight away. Typhoon is a true jack of all trades now so lots of different weapons and skill sets to be learned. It will be busy.
In a three year first tour expect to go to OP SHADER twice for around 2-3 months at a time. Go to the Falklands once or twice for a couple of months at a time. Do an Eastern European Air policing det for a few months. Do an overseas exercise a year (Red / Green Flag / Middle Eastern equivalent).
Whilst in the UK you will be always working toward your next qualification, whether that be pairs lead / 4s lead etc. By the end of 3 years most Junior Pilots will attain a pairs lead with the qualification of being able to instruct Combat Ready work up serials for new guys straight out of the OCU.
You'll sit QRA once or twice a month between sims and live flying.
In Summary, my recently expired 3 year first tour consisted of 11 detachments equating to around 450 days away.
The best and most rewarding flying is done when overseas. In the UK you will be busy working up for your next qual and sitting Q / remaining current for Q. This can be frustrating as all the priority for spare parts etc goes to high priority overseas Exercises / Ops and as a result a lot of training will be done in the sim. Opportunities to take leave will be limited and very much have to fit in with the Squadron's OP / Exercise / QRA plot.
There is a lot of bureaucracy when it comes to online courses etc but you can easily get all these done on your QRA shifts. The same can be said for secondary duties.
Caveat many overseas operations have been curtailed recently due COVID.
I've also heard the complete opposite to a lot of this, 250 hours if you're lucky and that's flying very infrequently, with a lot of time in the sim rather than live flying. Same applies to F35 but even less hours.
Indeed so. As for first tours, I had a great time in the '60s. Here is a bit from my book about my first day on my first tour: 'Of course, in 1967, I was the proverbial ‘Innocent Abroad’ and completely gullible. Having disembarked from the Britannia, I was met by two young pilots from my new squadron who handed me a note from the squadron commander. The note explained that promotion exams were being held that very day in the base education centre and that, as I was likely to be away on detachment when the subsequent exams were next held, my young navigator and I should sit those exams that very day. We fell for the jape, hook line and sinker. However, as I had absolutely no idea of even the syllabus let along had done any study, I politely declined what I thought was the first order from my boss.
But the jape continued!
After dropping our bags off at the squadron domestic accommodation (all the operational squadrons, of which there were many, lived in purpose built brick accommodation blocks), we were driven down to our new squadron to meet the key personnel. First to greet us was the squadron ‘Roman Catholic padre’ who ushered us into the squadron ‘chapel’ and proceeded to insist that we signed for our own personal bibles! We started to smell a rat when we noticed a number of handmade posters on the wall stating certain quotation such as ‘Cursed are those who land wheels up’ and ‘Navigators, know thee the way of the Lord’
Following that, we were then taken to the squadron crew room where we came across aircrew playing board games, dressed in winter greatcoats, surrounded by paraffin heaters which had raised the temperature to well in excess of the outside, which already was touching 40 deg. By then both my navigator and I smelt more than a rat.
That evening we attended a dinner in our honour and I was surprised to spot the ‘RC Padre’ smooching with a lady… The penny then finally dropped.'
But the jape continued!
After dropping our bags off at the squadron domestic accommodation (all the operational squadrons, of which there were many, lived in purpose built brick accommodation blocks), we were driven down to our new squadron to meet the key personnel. First to greet us was the squadron ‘Roman Catholic padre’ who ushered us into the squadron ‘chapel’ and proceeded to insist that we signed for our own personal bibles! We started to smell a rat when we noticed a number of handmade posters on the wall stating certain quotation such as ‘Cursed are those who land wheels up’ and ‘Navigators, know thee the way of the Lord’
Following that, we were then taken to the squadron crew room where we came across aircrew playing board games, dressed in winter greatcoats, surrounded by paraffin heaters which had raised the temperature to well in excess of the outside, which already was touching 40 deg. By then both my navigator and I smelt more than a rat.
That evening we attended a dinner in our honour and I was surprised to spot the ‘RC Padre’ smooching with a lady… The penny then finally dropped.'
sharpend,
I enjoyed that! Was it the Canberra wing in Akrotiri per chance? 4 guys from my nav' course were posted there in late '67, Bill Gault, Nick Morgan are the only names I'm sure of, the others may have been Tony McNichol and Pete Gallagher. 2 more went to join the 2 Canberra squadrons at Tengah.
No such jolly japes on the Herc' squadron at Changi that 2 of us joined! We were a staid lot in the transport world!
I enjoyed that! Was it the Canberra wing in Akrotiri per chance? 4 guys from my nav' course were posted there in late '67, Bill Gault, Nick Morgan are the only names I'm sure of, the others may have been Tony McNichol and Pete Gallagher. 2 more went to join the 2 Canberra squadrons at Tengah.
No such jolly japes on the Herc' squadron at Changi that 2 of us joined! We were a staid lot in the transport world!
It may not be SHADER in six years time but fairly naive to assume Op ‘x’ won’t pop up in its place.
