Well said, mate, I hope you've had some success!

Hey Rookie,

How many people are in the pool now? I was on FSP in June but back then there were only 15...

Thanks,

Steve

ADF Recruiting
 

Gents,

I am in the process of emigrating to Australia for family reasons. I have just completed a BEng degree and have an interest in flying in the UK. I am therefore interested in opportunities to join the ADF as a Pilot.

Since I am aware I have to gain permanent residency before applying and the restrictions initially.

Can anyone advise me on the Pilot aptitude testing and officer selection process, or an associated link to an ADF official link?

Secondly, as I have a degree already would I go straight to Officer Training School? Would anyone kindly give me an insight to the content to this course, or an associated ADF link? Also an outline of the Pilot training would be helpful.

Many Thanks,

CobraP01

1.1.reading different scales in cockpit or similar
1.2.controlling dot movement using stick/mouse
1.3 ...
all time limiting

2. contact DFR and they will tell you the correct way.
If you do not want to waste your time you can apply now while waiting for your citizenship but they will only process your application once they see the receipt from immigration dep.and other support docs.
Cheers,
TS

Many Thanks for your help. On another subject I'm guessing flying grading fsp carries more weight than computer based aptitude, one would hope!

Secondly, could I potentially join and go to OTS?

Yours kindly, thanks for your input.

the process tips
 

Hi everyone,

I would like to share the following helpful hints for those who are heading off to flight screening.
1. Listen to your instructor, and do your best to do exactly what they tell you to. Sounds simple, but commonly done quite poorly.
2. You do not know how to a fly an aircraft the way the ADF want you to, unless you have been taught to wings standard in ADF training aircraft - so don't think your civilian flying experience makes you more prepared than the next guy. It usually works the opposite, as most young guys who have hundreds of hours of flying tend to think they know better than the guy sitting next to them.
3. Don't answer the instructor back. Explanations at the time are called reasons, those in retrospect are called excuses. The instructors are not interested in your excuses - they know why you stuff things up :)
4. You are not being taught to fly the CT4 at flight screening, so having the manual and knowing it front to back before hand matters not. You are being screened - not taught. Understand this core concept and why things flow fast on FSP will make sense.
5. If you aren't successful at flight screening, you are being saved from a tough, thankless job that you would end up hating. It doesn't make you any less of a person, so while it might be hard, take the positives out of it - accepting this before you go there lessens anxiety.
6. If you aren't interested in flying fighters - as in you don't really want to fly hornets, then don't bother applying. You should be aiming as high as you can, not looking for a cushy job hauling trash and earning cash like some people. Go work for the mines driving a truck if you want that life style. The RAAF want an airlift/maritime force of pilots who worked as hard as they could on course, not guys who did 'just enough' because they are allergic to hard work - those guys kill people. You think flying night low level in a P3 is an easy job that requires a low tolerance for hard work? Be serious with yourself about the hard work required.
7. If you have a uni degree, you will need to work hard to learn how to learn airborne. If you have only high school, you will need to work hard to learn how to learn airborne. If you have a CPL with 2000 hours, you will have to work hard to learn how to learn airborne.....get the picture? The way the ADF train is not replicated many places - so be ready to feel like you have no idea, its the normal.
8. Enjoy the program for what it is, and ask questions of the instructors about what life in the ADF is like for them.

Good luck people!

Lastvarker,

Excellent post, although I'm not sure if all those Army and Navy pilots that successfully complete screening and BFTS will necessarily agree with point 6:ok:
Sure you're not a 'staff' plant? :eek:

Flight screening maths
 

Hey guys,
I am heading to tamworth mid October and have been preparing thoroughly, although I would like to know what type of mental maths is used on a daily basis, and in regards to OSB, what maths questions are/have been asked of candidates??

Cheers, Dan

Lastvarker, pretty insulting mate to Army, Navy and RAAF for that matter. I worked damn hard to get here and all I want to do is fly Army choppers, or is that aiming too low? Get a grip mate. I could really let loose on this but I wont.

"Chopper Pilots- cause jet pilots need heroes too"

Anyone know when the next Army offers are coming out?

cj, got in just before me! For the RAAFies, unfortunately you can't fly helicopters any more, so you may have to settle for those loud pointy kero-to-noise converters.

I also think Julian Assange should get onto this so-called 'SATG' ... , or perhaps get Mulder and Scully out of retirement to get to the bottom of this - the public have a right to know!

Yup, if you can't hover you're.................oh hang on, can't say things like that any more:E

*crawls out of hole*
"I.... I made it"

Hi guys,

I just read through most of the pages of this Goliath thread, and I am very thankful of everybody's valuable input (apart from all the drama).

I've got my APT for ADFA Pilot next Thursday, which is probably a bad idea as all the HSC students will be applying around this time... but oh well.

Hoping for the best, thanks again forum dwellers of PPRuNe!
:ok:

(Again RAAF'ies only) but if you're good enough to fly fighters that is where you will go. We need more Hornet drivers and from a company viewpoint the system of best on course picking where HE/SHE wanted to go was just not working. It would be a very difficult line to tread at 2FTS to see you're doing 'too well' to get 'your' C-17 slot and then to try to stuff stuff up just enough to get it....

So we send the top performers on course to fast jets even if they don't want to go there. Guess what happens next? Wasted time and (LOTS) of money when they fail.
If ACG want more pilots, they need to change the way they do business in terms of training and utilisation. Why do you think the numbers of trainee pilots wanting a FJ slot have dropped?

Captain Sand Dune and others... I agree with you, but this argument was played out earlier this year on this thread, and added very little value to the topic of Flight Screening... People got upset (mainly some old knucks...) and the topic strayed without helping those who are keen to get some good gouge on Flight Screening. Can I politely suggest we don't stoke this fire?

But it's so much fun!!!:E

Ref my earlier post - (point 6) sorry i kind of assumed as neither army nor navy have jest this was obvious, but that point wasn't aimed at army or navy, hence No insult intended - talking to the RAAF focused audience only. If you want to fly choppers for army or mavy then power to you, I'm sure that would be a rewarding and enjoyable career. :ok:

Now I've got my grip back.....

To all those who are looking for a rotary career - please feel free to take what you want from the original post - but if you think I wrote that as some underhanded shot at rotary - I could have used far less words to better effect.

I have a lot of respect for the fine work done by the army and navy, as well as the RAAF - I'm not insecure about saying it :-)

And point 9. Gratification for your job should come from within: no one is going to be there after every flight to tell you how awesome you are because you fly tiger, or a C17, or a Seahawk etc. So if you are easily put off by not being made to feel special - you are perusing the wrong career.

Cj: Next time ask for clarification, I'm happy to give it.

Peace

Pool and Offers
 

Hello Fellow PPRuNers,

Any Idea how many people are in the Pool???

Cheers

Hey Skyhigh,

Last I heard (a couple of weeks ago) there were about 50 in the pool with another 60 to go through flight screening between then and november. Just call PSA on the details you were given when you went on flight screening and ask for an update - they'll tell you your rough position, whether or not you are competative for a position in the next intake and the number in the pool.

Cheers,

Steve

Hey guys, I'm 15 years old and want to join the RAAF as it is my dream ever since I've been young. At the moment I'm focusing really hard in order to get this except one thing I can't figure out is how to get life experience. I've talked to a guy who went through FSP a few months ago and passed and he said community service sort of things. Does anyone else have anything like this (except for sports)?

Thanks in advance!

I'd suggest any volunteer work you could get into. For example, Rural fire service, surf life saving, SES etc. Keep in mind some of these do have age requirements before joining.

I'd also suggest getting a job and join cadets if you haven't already.

Also, does anyone have any idea how many people are in the waiting pool for those applying for ADFA entry?

Have a good one,
Generate

Thanks a lot Generate I will definitely pursue and consider some of these options. I already have a job and I'm joining cadets next week so I've got that covered and I just have to work towards everything bit by bit.

Juicey.

Juicey, I was your age when I first stumbled upon this thread, and then I read it in its entirety from the beginning over the course of a week. I suggest you do the same and then come back if you have any questions.

Don't worry too much about the life experience thing. I asked a FLTLT about it who was running an Officer Selection Board information session and his response was that it basically referred to the breadth of experience that you had to draw from in answering questions put to you. I.e. one of the potential things he brought up was that I didn't have a lot of experience leading in an adult environment, and if I couldn't convince the Board that I could on the day and didn't have any examples to back myself up in the interview that I could, the Board may not have recommended me based on my lack of that kind of life experience (they did recommend me, however, so there you go).

I have no doubt that it varies, but ultimately I don't think you should worry. Read through the thread and work out for yourself what you need to do and get on it. And don't mind the dumb posts that I've made in the past. I was *learning*. :p

G'day all,

Wondered if anyone could possibly give me some insight into the process which is applied to applicants who have passed FSP and are waiting in "the pool", specifically in regards to how they are chosen to receive enlistment offers.

My understanding was that you are awarded a score after the OSB which reflects your performance throughout all aspects of the recruitment process and that this score dictates where you ended up swimming in the pool. When offers come up, the applicants with the best scores are simply called first.

However, I recently heard a different theory... That you are awarded a score, and then this score is multiplied by your submitted preference for a particular service, and that there are actually three separate pools (Army/Navy/RAAF).

Meaning that had you not performed as well as another candidate but had a higher preference than them for a particular service, you might still have a better chance than them at getting an offer for that particular service.

Anyone able to confirm or deny this at all?

Thanks for any help, and best of luck with your applications.

WHAT?? What trainee on earth would ever say that they didn't want to fly the F-18, either classic or SuperBug? Weed them out and send them to learn knitting and flower arrangment - to which they would undoubtedly be far better suited.

I believe that 'wusses' is the correct term in the Antipodean vernacular?

Student pilots who desire helicopters or ME more than fighters is not that unusual, in my experience. To each his/her own.

Does anyone know when is the best time to apply? Like the time when there will be the least amount of applicants (I presume its around April - June).

Sooner rather than later......

The whole recruitment process can be more than a year long, particularly if you live far away from a DFR office.

Ain't no time like the present to get the ball rolling....

Fair enough, but I am going ADFA so I don't think the time of year which I apply will make a difference anyways :P (I realised this about 15 minutes after posting).

GU.

Ryano is right and if your going for ADFA 2013 I think you have missed the boat

I plan on going to ADFA in 2014, this is because I plan to take a year off to 'mature myself'.

By the way, does anyone know what kind of questions they ask at OSB? Even the generic ones would be great, because so far in this thread (unless I've missed it) they say prepare for OSB, but I don't know the questions, so how can I prepare for questions I don't know right? ;)

Any other tips would be great for any part of the selection process.

I received an invitation to a FSP, however I have not received any paperwork from DFR saying I have been fit for board or passed assessment day. I know I passed the assessment day interview but I have some medical issues. Did anyone get any paperwork saying the are cleared for board or were you guys just told in person?

GU, mate, I'm going to say that you've missed it.... Try reading the thread with both eyes open!! There's plenty of questions you can expect to be asked buried deep right here. Go to page one and start from there. Time is on your side.

Dude, there are 117 pages in this thread. There is a very high probability that there are detailed answers to any questions you have. There is also a high chance that questions you havent even thought about, or other things that you havent considered are covered.

Life isnt always going to give you the answer on a silver platter, so invest some time in your own development and read the thread.

LongLats wrote:

Hi LongLats,

From my understanding (and please note that I'm not affiliated with the ADF or PSA, so this reply is open for correction!), you are still welcome to reapply to DFR. However, once you have done the initial DFR steps again, you will then sit only the OSB at Tamworth; you will not redo the flying phase. Once you have completed the flying phase of FSP, your file and scores are kept for any future application (i.e. you only fly at FSP once).

So, you will sit an OSB, psychology assessment, etc. at PSA but it will be your FSP flying scores from 2 years ago that will be considered in your new application.

Remember the flying you have done since (your CPL, etc.) will only be seen by the PSA as a sign of your personal attributes (e.g. determination and perseverance to fly). Only your performance at your initial FSP will be considered in determining your ability to learn in the air.

If your flying at your first FSP was up to scratch, you certainly won't be the first to be rejected, then reapply and succeed. By all means, give it a crack.

Good on you for keeping the dream alive and backing it up with a BSc too! You must have been really cut out making ends meet between uni, work and flying training. I'm sure the ADF would regard this highly in your new application. Best of Luck!

FLF

FLF, I was under the impression you could return to the FSP after a period of three years and re-sit the flying component? Could well be wrong!

Looks like we're wide open for correction... anyone know what the case is? CSD perhaps?

Thanks for all your help so far.

I've decided I'm going to go off to ADFA. Does anyone know how what the process is like to get into ADFA?

Thanks.