Be yourself, don't do stress, be confident, don't bullsh*iyt, wear clean strides, comb your hair, manage your time in exams, know what makes your future employer tick.

Thanks for the advice mate ... but i was kind of looking for something along the lines of the level of difficulty that these upcoming tests contain. Would anyone know if they are much harder than the ones given out on JOES day?

Hey Mark,

From what I've read, there are some more specific mathematics kind of tests that relate to aircraft, calculating range etc. It's beneficial to get an idea of thinking in terms of lb of fuel, nautical miles, knots etc.

i.e.

You have 620lb of fuel on board and a current fuel flow of 96lb/hr. You are 96nm from your destination and travelling at 84 knots ground speed. How much fuel will you have left when you reach your destination?

THANX for the help guys. I done my battery of tests today in my pilot specific testing ..... got through :). The recruiter said i got ticks in all 6 of the sections required so im ok to go on to complete my defence and psyc interview as well as my medical. Any pointers for the next stage ?

Regards,

Mark

Nice work. Hope to be joining ya soon!

For the psyc and defence interviews, take LJR's advice above.

Don't stress. Don't lie. Be yourself. Be honest.

And yes, I'm aware "don't lie" and "be honest" mean the same thing, intended to reiterate the point.

So guys still waiting for my assessment day to be booked, trying to stay calm. Just a few questions ...... would anyone be able to tell me the hardest part of the selection process, i don't mean to overly confident, but is the hardest part the testing side of things?

The other question is regarding the phase in which i would be placed into (basic or advanced). See i've completed 21.4 hours of dual flying the cessna 172, and i know from what i've read the cut-off from which one will be placed into the advanced phase is around 20 hours. The problem is however, that i have not flown in about 1 year and 2 months ..... So could anyone tell me if i'd be placed into the basic or advanced phase?

Regards,

Mark

RAAF Pilot Spec Testing
 

Hi all,
First off, thanks to everyone that has posted on previous threads similar to this, I found the information invaluable! Anyway, I need help with the spec test, heres what has happened so far:
I wanted to apply for RAAF pilot in yr12 for a possible appointment the following year at ADFA. My year 12 results were enviable, with very strong scores in maths, chemistry, english and especially physics. I thought at the time it would be a good idea to get some experience in that environment, so I applied for the reserves (keeping in mind that this is also something I could do while at school!). Anyway, the defence recruiter at JOES day suggested I apply for pilot right then and there, and after some persuasion I agreed even though I hadn't prepared. Well, apparently my scores at JOES were very good, and soon enough I was booked into a Pilot Spec Testing day.

This is when the dream went a bit by the wayside. I didn't pass first up unfortunately, but I was told I can keep trying if I want. So next year I tried again with the same result and only now did they tell me, contrary to what I had been previously told, that I only had three strikes on this one (I had all the time in the world, so I figured it wouldn't matter butting my head against the brick wall that is the spec testing day a few times! :ugh:). I was also told that my scores were very strong all round - except for the instrument reading one.

I had previously been told that the IR test was all about accuracy, so as you can imagine, I was quite cautious so as to get my answers right (only to find out later that its a speed test!). Anyway, I took the year to travel Europe by myself, working holiday in England .ect to get some life experience into me before I faced the coming year (2008). My last test was a year ago, and I can now head in whenever I want - but this is my last attempt. As far as I'm concerned, instrument reading is not really an innate skill and can certainly be improved upon. Given this, and considering I scored well all round otherwise, theres no way I'm not going back a third time for the job that I have dreamed about since I was a kid. There is nothing I wouldn't do to get this job - it's the first thing I think about every morning and its on my mind when I go to sleep at night to be honest. I have heard plenty of people have made it in on their third go, so I haven't given up.

Is there anyone out there that has been in a similar predicament, has passed/taken the test before, or anyone that is/has worked closely with anyone in a profession and could offer any good advice as to what I can do here? Clearly the IR is the test I need to improve on, but how to do that best is anyone's guess. My stance here is that it would be foolish to rush in right now without improving in every way I can first. If anyone has any advice at all for me on any part of the assesment don't hold back - any advice, criticism, suggestions or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I'm here to learn, so cut loose! Thanks in advance for any help, as I said before, you've all be a great help so far (its a pity I never looked around on the net before taking the tests before!! :\...Oh, and sorry about the long post :D).

- Samuel

Mudrat,

I have no idea why you failed. Maths is not my strong point, in fact I had not even completed year twelve when I passed in 2002.

You sound far more intelligent and educated than myself. My advice would be to take your time before sitting the tests again. I know people who didn't start ADF pilots courses until their late 20s-early 30s so you have plenty of time, no matter what they tell you. You could even finish your degree before applying again.

There are a few good books around to help you with the individual tests. I have one called 'Military Flight Aptitude Tests' that is availlable from Concept Aviation Supplies in Bankstown.

http://www.conceptaviation.com.au/

I have also seen another publication and even a short course advertised in 'Australian Aviation' magazine(I think it's called 'So you want to be a pilot').

Think about if you really want it before you sign on the dotted line. If you fail BFTS you may find yourself stuck in the RAAF for a long time, flying a desk or digging gunpits. Plenty of oportunities exist outside defence if you want to fly but if you do choose to go for it again, give yourself the best possible chance:ok:.

Why was my thread moved to this one? I need RAAF - Royal AUSTRALIAN Air Force help. This RAF thread at best has very, very vague similarities to what I need. I would appreciate it if it were moved back, and not left in a thread frequented by "OASC Candidates and wannabes" and other RAF related personnel.
Not that I hold anything against the RAF, but i'd just like some RAAF specific advice :). Thanks

Well, I passed pilot specific testing, which was the part I was most stressed about really. Some bits of it were pretty hard but I scored well enough obviously. The advice I would give to you guys who go through it is never give up, keep working at it, you may feel like you have done terribly and surprise yourself.

I have assessment day coming up shortly with interview and psych, looking forward to it. Then it's just FSP and OSB, the hardest part of which will be actually getting 2 weeks off work to go to FSP :ugh:

RAAF stuff
 

Hello Ritero,

Congratulations so far!
I've just read your first post months too late, anyway I'd already come up with some comments so I'll send them off anyway. Maybe useful for others...

First off, I've been there and done it all, sailed through the lot but failed the final ophthalmological examination (long story..)

Not in any particular order...

1.Don't be intimidated by the recruiting Sergeant.

2. Tell the truth. These people are trained to tell if you're lying. Example, I was asked if I'd smoked dope. I said yes cos I knew I'd look guilty as hell if I denied it. Asked to explain, I replied I'd tried it at Uni but didn't like it (bit like Bill, but I inhaled..) and moved on etc. That was fine with them.

3. Apptitude tests:
Basic mathematical skills,science knowledge particularly Physics, stuff lfrom years 10/11 (form 4, 5 for the British and Kiwi folks). English obviously. I actually failed year 12 English (lack of interest) but got thru the RAAF stuff no probs. (I have a B.Sc. which prob. helped..)

4. Pshyc. Evaluation (Pshyciatrist):
This one just keep it simple and straight forward. Be confident. Here they are looking for looney tunes. I was asked if I'd ever considered suicide...

5. Hand eye coordination test (stick/rudder pedals moving light, target). Don't know if they still do this test? I did it before the days of PC games! The main thing here is not to PANIC! For me and the others at the time it was WTF?! How the hell do you get the crosshairs on the target. Impossible!? The thing is, you do it twice, 5 minutes apart. They are looking for an improvement 2nd time around. Just make sure don't panic and give up. Couple of guys were failed on this when I did it......

6. Officer Selection Board:

Back to basics really, if you've got this far it should be in the bag. If you live,eat and dream aviation and read/browse aviation stuff fulltime and you really want it, it'll be a piece of p@ss. You ought to have lots of aviation general knowledge. Expected actually, no excuse if you don't. You wanted to be a pilot all your life right? I visited 1FTS at Pt Cook b4 the interview, showed I was keen (they asked me if I had)...
Actual flying experience, depends on your age I think. If you were 26 and hadn't done anything I'd be concerned if I was on the panel. If you were 18,19-early 20's and keen as mustard with no time I'd give you a tick. Just be confident and communicate your desire to become a RAAF pilot. DON'T say u want to learn to fly so you can get your ATPL and become a Qantas pilot!
End of the day they're trying to work out if you have the commitment and are worthy of responsibility of being let loose on a 50 million dollar aircraft or whatever they cost these days.
Don't forget you have to be potential 'officer worthy material'.... Whatever that is, ability in crazy drinking games is part of it from what I've heard from my mates..!

Hope this is of use, good luck to all who are trying. But at the end of the day, luck's got nothing to do with it.... CONFIDENCE

13Snoopy13, if you're still meandering, don't delay any more. Just do it now, you're running out of years. They don't want to spend millions training you if you can only return x years of flying service. RNZAF rejected me on this issue and at the time I was 2 years under the official max recruiting age. (would of failed the eye exam anyway if they were on the ball...)

Cheers

Octane

There's one word to take out of Octanes post; that is CONFIDENCE. I did my OSB at Tamworth in 06 and I didn't project as much confidence as I could have (the board president can be pretty intimadating!) and my marks showed that, but I got here in the end and I'm living the dream here at RMC.

You have to go into the OSB as if your already in and they are asking you to stay, but also know your sh!t. Know, and be able to clearly explain how something flies, exact platform specs and wpn systems with ranges (including ones coming into service) the REALISTIC trg timeline. The little 1%ers, all in detail, but also be ready to say that you don't know, DO NOT bull****, that goes for the DI and the OSB.

Good luck and ENJOY Tamworth, it's an awesome two weeks with some really switched people.

Now to go and run around the bush for a few weeks in nice dry and sunny QLD... hang on....

Royal Australian Air Force spec testing
 

Anyone got any tips for passing the instrument reading test?

MudRat,

Just got your email. Sorry about the 2 month late reply - I haven't been PPRUNeing (or checking that email) for a long time. I'll do a public reply as this info may be handy - it was to me.

Firstly, do you recall who told you that the 3-shot rule applied to spec testing? Was it the psych/psych assist, or your recruiter...or your recruiter relaying the message from the psych? I was not told the same when I had to resit spec testing myself. I was previously under the impression that it only applied to the GAS component (general ability testing), and recruiters have been known to be wrong before (one told me to do the wrong laser eye surgery!).

Secondly, are you aware that you can write in requesting your aptitude testing results? Ask your recruiter for the address to send the request to. In your situation, I'd suggest doing that so you can see if you improved from the first time, and how far off you still are from the cutoff. I can't recall exactly what the psych told me when I had to resit aptitudes (so take this info with a pinch of salt and don't quote), but I believe he said the cutoff for aptitudes graded on the stanine was somewhere around 5, and, as you now know, you have to pass them all. Double check with the psych on the cutoff, if he'll tell you; and please share with us.

You know if you are actually quite close to passing and you possess great suitability for a position in other aspects, recruiters have been known to push for a waiver on aptitude testing results for certain candidates. It is, however, a pain in the ar*e, and a last resort, with no guarantees. Hopefully this information offers you slight relief though.

Here's my advice. As wise as it is to be cautious about the final attempt, try not to psych yourself out before you get in there. Take your time looking closely at the test instructions page and burn the image of the example instrument setup into your mind. Note where each instrument is positioned relative to others, so you can immediately look to the instrument the question refers to. Note their applicable scales, which direction indicates an increase/decrease, and maximum/minimum readings. Don't linger or double check your answers until the end - you will be surprised how few errors you actually make, provided you know how to read the gauge correctly, while covering a lot more ground. And don't forget you still need to pass the other spec tests as well.

The IR test was the one I failed initially as well. I went back a second time, after I went off and did limited instrument flying as part of a NVFR, and passed. With a bit of common sense applied in technique, a bit more sleep the night before, and knowledge that I had to score well on EVERY test to get through, my score was raised from a 2 to a 7 on the stanine. Not impressive, but enough. Incidentally instrument flying has probably been the strongest part of my flying thus far. Go figure how this dark and mystic art of aptitude testing works...

Thanks hornetboy and muckholio for your help! I have the Wings book and I'll certainly look into the other tests you suggested.

Anyway, for the time being, I'm starting a btech aviation course at uni - and by what you guys have said it that may well go some way to assisting me at the IR section (and convey flight motivation.ect) and ill look into the instrument flying. I've made a few mockup tests myself with a variety of different oil, fuel, temp, pressure, va/s, airspeed, rpm, voltage and amperage to try and simulate the test that should help out. I'd really love to at *least* get through and at least prove myself in flight screening or at least the psych interviews this time! I may have my potential private flying career lined up, but I'd love to be an officer and I'm sure nothing in the civvy world compares the the diversity, excitement and challenges you get with a military flying career!

Thanks all,

I got through assessment day and was recommended for flight screening and OSB. I was told that though I'd passed, for OSB I need to do a lot of study on the RAAF - squadrons, aircraft & specs, history, bases, locations etc. Also need to expand my knowledge of the training process, life as a RAAF pilot, career directions, responsibilities (other than flying) etc. I know a fair bit now, but need to know basically everything. I also need to learn as much theory as I can on leadership, I haven't had a lot of experience in this field (not much team sport in high school) which will count against me.

So basically a lot of study to do for the next stage, and a bit of waiting to see if I'm offered a place on FSP. I can't go 'till July anyway so that part is not so bad.

If any current RAAF pilots feel like answering some questions shoot me a PM with your email :)

Hi guys! I am still around and am due to have my pilot specific testing in a couple of weeks (earliest possible!).

Can anyone enlighten me as to what kind of math to expect in the additional tests for pilot testing? I know there is aviation reasoning which was one previous weakness I have had to work on, but I can't for the life of me recall what the other math test involved!

Anyone know of any useful resources for practice tests etc?

FYI, I am no longer aiming for RAAF, I have to be realistic, and as pointed out in Octane's post, my age would (despite the fine print) be a cross against my name. So I am concentrating on army & navy aviation as i see this as my best chance for getting through. If I get an RAAF offer, then thats just a bonus!

I have let the DF know I am doing this for a long stint in the ADF, I am not interested in the financial rewards and certainly have no aspirations for flying civilian buses. As for the leadership theory, I did 3 years of it care of my management degree at uni, so hopefully that will count as a plus for me!

As for confidence, its a strange thing, but I actually wondered during the JOES day if knowing the job too well and not having any questions to ask was a good thing?

Thanks to everyone in this thread who have kept it alive, its good to hear some current news. I will let you all know how I went after Pilot Testing. In the event I don't get through this round, I will only be more prepared for the next run at it!

Any assisstance for RAAF JOES days aptitude test
 

I am wish to apply to the RAAF and attend a JOES day. I would appreciate any assisstance in relation to the aptitude test, are there any websites/books out there that would help me in preparation any advice would be great, thanks

ms, your DFR should have given you some info on the aptitude test otherwise it can be found on the defencejobs.gov.au website. This example is pretty much what you can expect for JOES, so if you can do them without a problem then you should be fine.

Other than that, just brush up on your math and try to find some of those career based aptitude tests, i.e. the sort you do when applying for a supermarket job online :). Read the posts above and other threads that relate to the aptitude testing, they will give you a good idea as to what you can expect.

Most importantly make sure you present yourself as officer material on the day. ie. dress smart, be confident and know what you want. Also, if you haven't started researching the job then do it now and know it like the back of your hand. When you book your JOES with a defence recruiter they will pretty much guide you on what you need to know and answer any questions you might have, or refer you to someone who does know the answer(s).

If you are looking for specific books on aviation aptitude testing, well there are the american guides for their military aviation testing, but there are none (that I know of) regarding the Australian Defence Force. Best bet is to sift through the internet and try to find some general aptitude and IQ tests or visit a library/bookshop to see what they have on the topic.

Cheers

There is one for the RAAF, though a lot of the info is outdated. It's called Wings book.

http://www.getyourwings.com.au/

aptitude assessmment centre
 

I'm applying for british forces but if i was in your position (and living in Oz), i would be making use of the pilot aptitude assessment centre.

I can't remember the company's name but they are advertised here in Pprune. If only somebody ran something similar here in the U.K!

Aptitude Testing-Thank you
 

I want to say thank you for your reply.

Had my pilot testing today and got through! Really thought it was game over part way in, but, as the unwritten law of examinations usually go, when you think you did poor you end up doing alright.

Waiting for my defence interview and psych day now.

Good luck to those who are looking to do pilot testing in the future! Believe you can do it, and stay focused on what you really want.

Hey, good to hear there's some more people out there getting through. I had my pilot testing last Monday down at Parramatta. Did very well, I've done a lot of preparation having been living off my savings since January (my last job paid quite well). I found lots of useful info here and moreso on the Australian Air Force Cadet forums, and as a result I'm happy to say I finished every section before time ran out. Apparently that's pretty rare.

For anybody else doing it, the mental math problems get pretty crazy - estimate 359,000 / 42,000, you have ten seconds, stupid hard fractions, etc. To give you an idea of an average long-form problem, a ship could be going at X knots for Y hours, then sustained damage resulting in it going 2 knots faster than 18% of its maximum speed. If it then travels another Z hours, how far did it go in total? Try doing 30 of those under a tight time limit with only paper and pencil!

Instrument comprehension is exhausting, 60 questions in only 9 minutes (9 seconds per instrument). I only finished it with about 10 seconds to go, and the girl next to me only made it a bit more than halfway through. The two joystick test is pretty hellish too, I practiced for it by flying helicopters in X-Plane, but still felt only barely prepared.

Best thing I can advise is X-Plane, focusing on hovering and landing helicopters to improve your hand-eye-joystick coordination (http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Simula...8703543&sr=8-1) making sure to practice using both hands, reversing the controls, etc. Also, this book is great for the written tests (aircraft silhouettes, instrument reading): http://www.amazon.com/Officer-Candid...8703598&sr=8-2

And know how to do mental math accurately and *fast*, it helped me greatly. I learnt my time tables pretty thoroughly, and also how to multiply any two two-digit numbers together.

Given the long, long odds of being selected as a pilot, I was feeling pretty unsure about things until I walked out of the recruitment office on Monday. However, after this performance I think I might actually have a shot at it, just have to hope I don't screw up at flight screening! Anybody have anything useful to suggest about that?

Oh, and in case anybody is wondering the guys at recruitment didn't say anything about keeping quiet about what the tests entailed. Given the number of study materials out in the wild, they seem quite happy for people to share their experiences. Not to mention that with the grueling time limits, to a large extent candidates either have it or they don't.

Congrats mate, I felt the same halfway through mine.

RAAF Pilot Recruitment
 

Hello all,

I am new to this forum and i'm using it as an information source to hopefully help me in my quest to one day becoming an Australian Air Force Pilot.My story goes as follows:

I am currently 23 years of age and after spending the last 8-9 years of my life working in a trade,have decided to finally bite the bullet and chase the career path i have always dreamt of.

Over the past 3 years i have returned to school (night school,because i work full-time) in order to obtain the education requirements necessary for entry.In this time i have also began my testing through Defence Force Recruiting (DFR) and finally had my Assessment Day in January (2008) - where i was given the all clear for Flight Screening.

Now this is where my problem begins.

Since then i have rang DFR on many occasions to see how my application is going,only to be told that "it has been sent to the board".
That is all fair and good however,it has been six months now and i have still heard nothing.

I do realise that they have many applicants and i'm not asking for any special treatment,but,i really would like to know what is happening (whether they haven't looked at it yet,i have been placed in the waiting pool,ect...)

I have managed to get in contact with some current Air Force pilots whom all have been exceptionally helpful and they have all told me the same thing - WE NEED PILOTS,KEEP CALLING DFR.Yet, when i call they have said "there is nothing they can do - Just wait to hear from the board".

Is there any way that anyone here knows of, that i can find out where i stand at the moment.

One of my friends has been to the Officer Selection Board for the Army where the Commanding Officer of the Pilot Selection Agency gave him his card and said,"get in contact with him if he has any problems getting to Flight Screening".He has offered his details to me however,i am a bit hesitant to do that (i don't want to get in trouble).

So if there is anyone here that is in my situation,or any Service members who can give me some advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Mark.

Six months is way too long. Put it in writing and tell em to pull their finger out as you are being stalled and will look at other options. Take the upper hand. They may even like that way of thinking from a future pilot and it may go your way.

"Telling them to pull their finger out" won't achieve anything except to piss the person opening your letter off.
However, making some polite but firm enquiries would be totally fine.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the RAAF is like any large organisation -when you make contact with it, you may not be talking to someone who knows, or cares about, the answer to your question.
Some tenacity is needed, plus careful noting of who you talked to, what their position is, and what they said.
If someone fobs you off with something non-committal like "You'll be contacted in due course", try to pin them down to something specific. If they can't tell you, ask for the contact details of someone who can, then send a letter or email to that person.
Putting things in writing is good, or at least keeping your emails or records of phone conversations so if someone says "Try us again in a month", or some such thing, you can come back to them with specific dates, times, who it was, what they said, etc., so as to not let them use the same excuse twice.
Good luck and keep trying, and don't be put off by the bureaucracy.

Mark 86

My first impression from your post was "well here's a keen young fellow who should be considered" but then you start spoiling it all by showing that you are lazy and inattentive to detail , both detracting from the essentials for a RAAF pilot.

You indicate that your communication skills are inadequate and your laziness by not bothering to use the shift key on the keyboard and being satisfied to demean yourself with an "i".

Indicators such as that mean that you may be careless in the cockpit where much error free computer entries are often required.

Milt

How about you look at your own sentence structure, grammar and punctuation? Those in glass houses and all that...

When are you 'Baby Boomers' and senior 'Gen Xers' going to realise that language evolves and younger people, particularly those who have grown up in the digital age, don't communicate in the same way that you do? Nor do they really care what you think about the way they communicate.

I'm sure your parents and grandparents would be mortified by your use of the Queen's English, they're just less likely to chastise you on internet forums. :yuk:

Thanks for the response guys,I appreciate it.

(Mick.B) - I have contemplated putting something in writing however, I didn't want to stir the pot and make things harder for myself.Nevertheless, if I haven't heard anything in the next few weeks I think it will be within my best interests to do so (it will be polite though).

(Arm out the window) - You will be pleased to know that over the past two and a half years i have kept every e-mail i have recieved from DFR,together with all responses i have had from current RAAF Pilots.
The only problem which lies here is that every time I ring to speak to my Recruiter they have moved on and I have someone new to deal with.

(Green on,Go!) - Thanks for the support.

One thing that I failed to mention in my first post was that one of the RAAF pilots I have been talking to is a FCI from Williamtown.He has over 4000 hours flying F/A-18's and I was lucky enough to go for a flight with him.
I may get in contact with him again and see what he thinks.

This is just so frustrating,I know that Pilots Course will more than likely be the most challenging 18 months of my life.But, I am prepared to put in the hard yards and do as much as I possibly can to graduate.

I JUST WISH I WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY!!!

Warning: Thread drift!!!!
 

Green On

Milt might be labouring the point a little, but those 'Baby Boomers' and senior 'Gen Xers' are the Wing Commanders and Group Captains who will assess Mark and his peers at the OSB, and then through the early stages of their careers. Ergo Mark and his peers will just have to 'really care' a little.

Mark for what it's worth, and I think I am a senior 'Gen Xer', or an immediate post-boomer, your comms skills are OK.

Good luck!

(Like This - Do That) - Thank you for your comment.

I have been trying to improve my grammer of late and will continue to do so.

Cheers.

Like this--

Don't be so sure the OSB are so clueless that they haven't realised the world has moved on from the days of black labradors under the desk and pink gins in the O's mess after work:rolleyes:
I believe they have even heard of email..

G'day Mark,

I can't agree more with AOTW's advice. Continue to maintain records of all the times you have made contact (as you have been doing), and keep following up with another polite phone call every couple of weeks or so if you haven't heard anything. This, IMHO (that's In My Humble Opinion in the latest lingo, Milt! :E), is not being rude or pushy - on the contrary, it clearly demonstrates someone with drive and motivation to achieve a personal goal. I think that this is probably a far more desirable quality in a pilot applicant than someone who can spel and do gramma gud! Just don't expect things to magically change once you are actually in the service though - there will still be a fundamental need to follow up everything that you have a vested interest in. Unfortunately, if you don't do it yourself, it just won't get done at all.

The Baffler :ok:

P.S.

If you're lucky! More like a few years, the way things are going at the moment!:{ It's worth it in the end, though.

Mark_86...

To quote you:

Having been through the RAAFs aircrew training system (and graduated!), some years ago, let me tell you that your statement is a gigantic, read really gigantic, understatement.

Your pilot training course will easily exceed ANYTHING else you have ever done as regards both it's difficulty, and how easily it will be to get booted out for not exceeding the required standard, right up to the very last day!

And don't forget, the overall assessment you graduate with will determine what category of aircraft you will be operating following graduation.

By that I mean if you are only average or less in assessment, you will not be getting anywhere near a fast jet, but the C-130 will be the go for you! (600 knots verses 300 knots!)...get my drift here?

Sorry for being blunt..but that's the way it is, pilot shortage or not!

BE PREPARED FOR THAT!

Cheers...FD...:ok:

With blunt-minded individuals like Milt running the show, is it any wonder the military is in such a parlous state these days? Then again, it sounds like nothing's changed since I left the fold 15 years ago...:rolleyes:

Good luck with your application Mark 86. Don't let defence bureaucracy get you down - you certainly seem to have the drive to succeed and fulfil your dream.

Thanks BuzzBox,

I'm not letting bureaucracy get to me.This is what i want to do and I'll stick to my guns until I get there.

Thanks for the support.

Knowing Milt's background I suspect that Mark_86 ought not discount the more senior's advice .. you could, perhaps, do very much worse than drop Milt a line by email seeking specific guidance ....

Yes, I don't think anyone should really be calling Milt a blunt (have a search for some of his previous posts, particularly regarding the Mustang).