Best current RAF Aircraft
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I don't think they are as impressive and interesting to fly on the inside as they 'are' on the outside. I personally think they look ugly, the C variant looks the best as it at least looks proportionate with the larger wings and looks to have much better visibility than the B.
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Jamie. There’s clearly a lot of egos on this thread, the “back in my day” gang, and some “look how high I can pee!” comments.
If you fancy a real challenge, taking nothing away from any other aeroplanes mentioned above, you could do a lot worse than the Poseidon MRA Mk1. A very varied job, with a good bunch of low level flying thrown in. There’s a huge amount of information available on line, and the RAF Facebook page has lots of great info (yours etc) on Poseidon.
Best of luck!
If you fancy a real challenge, taking nothing away from any other aeroplanes mentioned above, you could do a lot worse than the Poseidon MRA Mk1. A very varied job, with a good bunch of low level flying thrown in. There’s a huge amount of information available on line, and the RAF Facebook page has lots of great info (yours etc) on Poseidon.
Best of luck!
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Jamie. There’s clearly a lot of egos on this thread, the “back in my day” gang, and some “look how high I can pee!” comments. And, as ever, some really good stuff, thank goodness!
If you fancy a real challenge, taking nothing away from any other aeroplanes mentioned above, you could do a lot worse than the Poseidon MRA Mk1. A very varied job, with a good bunch of low level flying thrown in. There’s a huge amount of information available on line, and the RAF Facebook page has lots of great info (yours etc) on Poseidon.
Best of luck
If you fancy a real challenge, taking nothing away from any other aeroplanes mentioned above, you could do a lot worse than the Poseidon MRA Mk1. A very varied job, with a good bunch of low level flying thrown in. There’s a huge amount of information available on line, and the RAF Facebook page has lots of great info (yours etc) on Poseidon.
Best of luck
Or they just never fly because of costs and need?
I don't think they are as impressive and interesting to fly on the inside as they 'are' on the outside. I personally think they look ugly, the C variant looks the best as it at least looks proportionate with the larger wings and looks to have much better visibility than the B.
I don't think they are as impressive and interesting to fly on the inside as they 'are' on the outside. I personally think they look ugly, the C variant looks the best as it at least looks proportionate with the larger wings and looks to have much better visibility than the B.
From around 65 years ago:
Long before the days of GNSS, INS, automated planning systems and the like - just paper charts, G4F compass and stopwatch. Single seat, 'German' LL Wx and no navaids.
I wonder whether many RAF pilots could match that sort of skill these days? OK, I know that high speed FJ LL isn't the be-all and end-all that it used to be, but surely it's a skill worth maintaining?
Long before the days of GNSS, INS, automated planning systems and the like - just paper charts, G4F compass and stopwatch. Single seat, 'German' LL Wx and no navaids.
I wonder whether many RAF pilots could match that sort of skill these days? OK, I know that high speed FJ LL isn't the be-all and end-all that it used to be, but surely it's a skill worth maintaining?
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"yes it was in a Hawk" - I rest my case.
Is 100 Sqn still a streaming option after AJT, particularly if you have a desire to be streamed there onto the Hawk T1?
If not, then I feel the answer to my original question probably isn't FJ if the only option is Typhoon or F-35, could somebody comment on this?
From everything posted on here so far it seems to either be the Herc or Poseidon, I still think the C-17 must be as well, they seem to be constantly flying going all over the world doing all kinds of missions.
What's wrong with the Chipmunk?
In response to the Spit, that's why I wrote excluding the BBMF in my original question. Although the question now is do you HAVE to go FJ if you want to fly Spits and Hurricanes and the rest further down the line? Surely hours and experience in a Chipmunk or other vintage taildraggers is more useful and relevant to getting into WWII fighters than hours in an F-35 or Typhoon?
Thanks again for all the input and info,
Jamie
Is 100 Sqn still a streaming option after AJT, particularly if you have a desire to be streamed there onto the Hawk T1?
If not, then I feel the answer to my original question probably isn't FJ if the only option is Typhoon or F-35, could somebody comment on this?
From everything posted on here so far it seems to either be the Herc or Poseidon, I still think the C-17 must be as well, they seem to be constantly flying going all over the world doing all kinds of missions.
What's wrong with the Chipmunk?
In response to the Spit, that's why I wrote excluding the BBMF in my original question. Although the question now is do you HAVE to go FJ if you want to fly Spits and Hurricanes and the rest further down the line? Surely hours and experience in a Chipmunk or other vintage taildraggers is more useful and relevant to getting into WWII fighters than hours in an F-35 or Typhoon?
Thanks again for all the input and info,
Jamie
Jamie
I think you need to have a long hard think about why you want to be an RAF pilot and what you want to get out of it.
You also need to think about how you would present yourself to the RAF.
Firstly if your username denotes the year of your birth you need to be sure you can start IOT in time. I will admit to having no idea if there are caveats based on age due to COVID currently.
My main point though is that you shouldn’t be planning to fly as an RAF pilot just so you can see what it is like at LL.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, should join the RAF with the ambition to fly the Hawk T1 so they can watch the world rush by at 250’.
Just because I have been stuck on the Hawk for years and still get to do some fun flying it does not mean I think anyone should have Hawk flying as their ambition.
If your reason for not wanting to fly Typhoon or F35 is because of the lack of LL flying I suggest you need your head read!
Sure you may not get as many flying hours or time at LL as some multi engine pilots but there is a lot more to it than that.
I’m sure Poseidon, for example, offers a very fulfilling career but I wouldn’t suggest you follow that path just so you can fly at 500’ over the sea for hours on end.
Please take this as friendly advice but if you are a genuine wannabe and not just trolling for fun then I suggest you have a long hard think about what you’re really after.
To everyone else who probably thinks I’m just a FJ throbber who is trying to big up FJs over Multis you are wrong.
Anyone who offers advice should try to be subjective.
Just as I (as an ex Jag mate who is now on my sixth Hawk tour) can suggest not to make the Hawk your end goal, multi engine guys shouldn’t pretend that their flying job is constant wanging around the Welsh valleys at LL.
As for the Chipmunk, I flew in it many times as an Air Cadet. I enjoyed the experience of flying immensely but I found the Chipmunk to be bloody uncomfortable and noisy (the helmets were like a medieval torture device).
If you are thinking about BBMF I would suggest you need to put that on the back burner.
Most guys I know who head that way have 15-20 years flying experience beforehand.
BV
You also need to think about how you would present yourself to the RAF.
Firstly if your username denotes the year of your birth you need to be sure you can start IOT in time. I will admit to having no idea if there are caveats based on age due to COVID currently.
My main point though is that you shouldn’t be planning to fly as an RAF pilot just so you can see what it is like at LL.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, should join the RAF with the ambition to fly the Hawk T1 so they can watch the world rush by at 250’.
Just because I have been stuck on the Hawk for years and still get to do some fun flying it does not mean I think anyone should have Hawk flying as their ambition.
If your reason for not wanting to fly Typhoon or F35 is because of the lack of LL flying I suggest you need your head read!
Sure you may not get as many flying hours or time at LL as some multi engine pilots but there is a lot more to it than that.
I’m sure Poseidon, for example, offers a very fulfilling career but I wouldn’t suggest you follow that path just so you can fly at 500’ over the sea for hours on end.
Please take this as friendly advice but if you are a genuine wannabe and not just trolling for fun then I suggest you have a long hard think about what you’re really after.
To everyone else who probably thinks I’m just a FJ throbber who is trying to big up FJs over Multis you are wrong.
Anyone who offers advice should try to be subjective.
Just as I (as an ex Jag mate who is now on my sixth Hawk tour) can suggest not to make the Hawk your end goal, multi engine guys shouldn’t pretend that their flying job is constant wanging around the Welsh valleys at LL.
As for the Chipmunk, I flew in it many times as an Air Cadet. I enjoyed the experience of flying immensely but I found the Chipmunk to be bloody uncomfortable and noisy (the helmets were like a medieval torture device).
If you are thinking about BBMF I would suggest you need to put that on the back burner.
Most guys I know who head that way have 15-20 years flying experience beforehand.
BV
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I think you need to have a long hard think about why you want to be an RAF pilot and what you want to get out of it.
You also need to think about how you would present yourself to the RAF.
Firstly if your username denotes the year of your birth you need to be sure you can start IOT in time. I will admit to having no idea if there are caveats based on age due to COVID currently.
My main point though is that you shouldn’t be planning to fly as an RAF pilot just so you can see what it is like at LL.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, should join the RAF with the ambition to fly the Hawk T1 so they can watch the world rush by at 250’.
Just because I have been stuck on the Hawk for years and still get to do some fun flying it does not mean I think anyone should have Hawk flying as their ambition.
If your reason for not wanting to fly Typhoon or F35 is because of the lack of LL flying I suggest you need your head read!
Sure you may not get as many flying hours or time at LL as some multi engine pilots but there is a lot more to it than that.
I’m sure Poseidon, for example, offers a very fulfilling career but I wouldn’t suggest you follow that path just so you can fly at 500’ over the sea for hours on end.
Please take this as friendly advice but if you are a genuine wannabe and not just trolling for fun then I suggest you have a long hard think about what you’re really after.
To everyone else who probably thinks I’m just a FJ throbber who is trying to big up FJs over Multis you are wrong.
Anyone who offers advice should try to be subjective.
Just as I (as an ex Jag mate who is now on my sixth Hawk tour) can suggest not to make the Hawk your end goal, multi engine guys shouldn’t pretend that their flying job is constant wanging around the Welsh valleys at LL.
As for the Chipmunk, I flew in it many times as an Air Cadet. I enjoyed the experience of flying immensely but I found the Chipmunk to be bloody uncomfortable and noisy (the helmets were like a medieval torture device).
If you are thinking about BBMF I would suggest you need to put that on the back burner.
Most guys I know who head that way have 15-20 years flying experience beforehand.
BV
You also need to think about how you would present yourself to the RAF.
Firstly if your username denotes the year of your birth you need to be sure you can start IOT in time. I will admit to having no idea if there are caveats based on age due to COVID currently.
My main point though is that you shouldn’t be planning to fly as an RAF pilot just so you can see what it is like at LL.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, should join the RAF with the ambition to fly the Hawk T1 so they can watch the world rush by at 250’.
Just because I have been stuck on the Hawk for years and still get to do some fun flying it does not mean I think anyone should have Hawk flying as their ambition.
If your reason for not wanting to fly Typhoon or F35 is because of the lack of LL flying I suggest you need your head read!
Sure you may not get as many flying hours or time at LL as some multi engine pilots but there is a lot more to it than that.
I’m sure Poseidon, for example, offers a very fulfilling career but I wouldn’t suggest you follow that path just so you can fly at 500’ over the sea for hours on end.
Please take this as friendly advice but if you are a genuine wannabe and not just trolling for fun then I suggest you have a long hard think about what you’re really after.
To everyone else who probably thinks I’m just a FJ throbber who is trying to big up FJs over Multis you are wrong.
Anyone who offers advice should try to be subjective.
Just as I (as an ex Jag mate who is now on my sixth Hawk tour) can suggest not to make the Hawk your end goal, multi engine guys shouldn’t pretend that their flying job is constant wanging around the Welsh valleys at LL.
As for the Chipmunk, I flew in it many times as an Air Cadet. I enjoyed the experience of flying immensely but I found the Chipmunk to be bloody uncomfortable and noisy (the helmets were like a medieval torture device).
If you are thinking about BBMF I would suggest you need to put that on the back burner.
Most guys I know who head that way have 15-20 years flying experience beforehand.
BV
The original question, if it did not come across, was which aircraft from the perspective of the pilot and flying, is the best to be on. Not just about LL.
Which aircraft gives you the best 'piloting experience'. That could come under, most hands on raw experience with the aircraft, the roles and missions of the aircraft, where they go in the world for what purpose, how often they fly, will hours on X aircraft be better for you and open up more opportunities further down the line than hours on Y aircraft...etc ? I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at.
What is wrong with having the Hawk T1 as an ambition? It's a streaming option and a unit and type carrying out a specific role in the RAF? For me it's mainly because of the flying experience it offers and is said to be one of the best aircraft ever made. If that isn't appealing or a big enough reason then I don't know what is.
Did you, and to anyone else, not have the ambition of flying the Phantom or Tornado or Jaguar when you joined?
Jamie
When I joined I wanted to fly the Tornado GR1 (as it was then) having made my mind up as a 14 year old after watching Gulf War videos. I later opted for the Jaguar as I progressed through training several years later and was successful in my crusade.
The Hawk is a training aircraft. It is a means to an end. Although 100 Sqn use it in a support role (and other nations have used it in an operational role) it should not be the jet you join the RAF to fly.
Being a Hawk QFI after having gained front line experience is a different kettle of fish.
As much as I loved my tour teaching Tac Wpns on the Hawk T1 (before we formerly started to use the Skymap GPS I might add) I have no desire to fly it again. I much prefer the avionics of the later marks of Hawk. I simply cannot bring myself to fly a jet without a HUD in the year 2021.
Yes, the Hawk offers a great flying experience and is a lot of fun but would you really take that over a Typhoon or an F35?!
All future frontline FJ pilots will spend time on the Hawk as a rite of passage (or maybe even the T38!) and can always come back to it later but it really should not be the aim. You cannot make a career out of flying the Hawk without at least having gained some experience elsewhere either before or after a Hawk tour.
As for which frontline type is the best for pure flying I’m going to butt out of that argument since I haven’t flown any of them.
BV
The Hawk is a training aircraft. It is a means to an end. Although 100 Sqn use it in a support role (and other nations have used it in an operational role) it should not be the jet you join the RAF to fly.
Being a Hawk QFI after having gained front line experience is a different kettle of fish.
As much as I loved my tour teaching Tac Wpns on the Hawk T1 (before we formerly started to use the Skymap GPS I might add) I have no desire to fly it again. I much prefer the avionics of the later marks of Hawk. I simply cannot bring myself to fly a jet without a HUD in the year 2021.
Yes, the Hawk offers a great flying experience and is a lot of fun but would you really take that over a Typhoon or an F35?!
All future frontline FJ pilots will spend time on the Hawk as a rite of passage (or maybe even the T38!) and can always come back to it later but it really should not be the aim. You cannot make a career out of flying the Hawk without at least having gained some experience elsewhere either before or after a Hawk tour.
As for which frontline type is the best for pure flying I’m going to butt out of that argument since I haven’t flown any of them.
BV
You’re not really listening unless it’s what you want to hear, are you? There is no 'best' aircraft. The distinguished pilots on this forum have eloquently written about the enjoyment and satisfaction they have gained from flying just about every aircraft type that has ever entered service - even those types that are now the butt of jokes because of their well-documented shortcomings. These aircraft were not provided for them to have ‘fun’ in, and I suspect much of this enjoyment and satisfaction is more to do with the mission and the people with whom they served than the particular aircraft type in question. They will also confirm that service life can also be tedious, unpleasant, uncomfortable and dangerous at times. The same is equally true of the many non-flying professions in the military. If you just want to have fun you’d be better off joining a flying club. As BV says “you need to have a long hard think about why you want to be an RAF pilot and what you want to get out of it”.
A few thoughts of mine on this:
1. It is not the type that you fly that matters but what you do with it. You could fly the most powerful and agile aircraft in the world but if all you were allowed to do is 30 degree banked turns at 10 000 ft you would be bored very quickly. Even an exciting and challenging flight profile such as high speed, low level soon becomes boring if you can only fly that one profile. Variety of tasks is definitely what gives job satisfaction, and as has been said above the 'fun' comes from job satisfaction.
2. No two pilots are the same and each of us has different motivations and enthusiasm towards different forms of flying. For example, I really enjoy inverted spinning but many do not!
3. Two pilots, three opinions.
1. It is not the type that you fly that matters but what you do with it. You could fly the most powerful and agile aircraft in the world but if all you were allowed to do is 30 degree banked turns at 10 000 ft you would be bored very quickly. Even an exciting and challenging flight profile such as high speed, low level soon becomes boring if you can only fly that one profile. Variety of tasks is definitely what gives job satisfaction, and as has been said above the 'fun' comes from job satisfaction.
2. No two pilots are the same and each of us has different motivations and enthusiasm towards different forms of flying. For example, I really enjoy inverted spinning but many do not!
3. Two pilots, three opinions.
