Zeddy,
As far as I'm aware, I've had no considerations regarding the height change. We are not kept in the pool any longer than 12 months. And yes, the height was changed right when the first offers came out which was from memory around mid Feb. I finished FSP in Nov '09. What cheeses me off is that there has been two Army intakes since I've been in the pool and I was made medically unfit for both of them due to the sitting height change. Now that they have changed it again and I have been remeasured at 95cm(the max now), there is now not another intake until March, my file runs out in November. It hurts big time. To do assessment, medicals and OSB Tamworth again before the March intake is going to be another hurdle I imagine, things will have to run very smoothly. All I can do is keep believing and try not to grow 1mm.

G'day Chinook,

Times have changed. The basic/advanced split is based on 20 hrs and currency. Gliding and ultra light have a different weighting as well.

I noticed that my ~10 hours in gliders and several powered hours added up to all powered on their noticeboard at BAe.

If you had over 20 glider hours, you'd probably be in advanced. I don't think its that rigid though, ie. if you've got over 20 but haven't flown in a long time there's some room to go basic (or at least that's what I gathered from a guy that was in the same situation on our course).

I don't know for sure though! ;)

cj,

Keep thinking positively mate (I know it must be extremely tough though) - miracles do happen. I know your heart is set on rotary, and Navy are only taking in a few DE's a year, but are you allowed to change your preferences post FSP? I assume not though..:confused:
I attended that VIP event at Brisbane airport yesterday (anyone else go?) and I spent some time checking out the a109 augusta - pretty neat for a rotary. Pretty hard to go past the super hornet though, especially when FLTLT "Burger" from 6 SQN was commenting that "we have too many hornets and not enough pilots yet!" Saw quite a few ears perk up at that:ok:

Hi

I'm also a post-assessment day candidate eagerly awaiting the possibility of the October FSP. On the question of glider hours, I was told by my recruiting officer that 1 gliding hour = 0.75 powered flight hours and that gliding was encouraged, not quite as heavily as Chinook (who has some pretty interesting points) but yes it is preferred, most likely due to the old 'bad habits' argument. Also, I've heard of people with 15 or so hours all up undertaking the advanced course based on the fact that the majority of those hours were in the 2 months prior.

Just a quick question to anyone in a position to answer, I was recommended at my OSB last week for Aerospace Engineer through the undergraduate scheme. Is there a chance of receiving an offer before I attend a FSP - Engineer was my 3rd preference, pilot being 1st. And if so, would accepting that offer take me out of the running for FSP and pilot all together?

Sorry about the long post, just wanted to check before I call up my recruiting officer again.

Cheers
Kyll

Cheers for the good wishes Zeddy and yes I was able to change my preferences post FSP/ height change but frustratingly my file expires about a week or two before the next offers from Raaf or any service for that matter. :(

So cj0203, does that mean that most likely your file will be returned to DFR? From there would you start from scratch again? Anyone else keen to elaborate?




---- unrelated question,

Has anyone considered joining the RAAF reserves? There are a few (approx. 10) jobs in the RAAF reserves that include officer roles and/or responsibilities which require you to do OTS prior. Although the recruiting process is the same as any other job in the RAA by which I mean you have to progress through the YOU session and assessment day. You obviously wouldn't do FSP as you cannot become a reserve pilot. I have to wait until July next year to sit my assessment day again for RAAF DEO, but if I apply for the reserves could I start a seperate recruiting process or will I have to wait until July next year when I have my assessment day again and add reserves as another job option? (I will contact DFR regarding this issue to clarify and receive reliable information, but I'd like to hear what you guys think anyway?)

BP77

BP77 let us know what recruiting says about that, I have also considered joining the reserves.


Cheers
Nick

BP77, Yes my file will be returned to DFR. :mad: The spec testing is valid for 3 years so I will have to do assessment, medicals and OSB Tamworth again. As you know flight screening can only be done once but I was happy with my results there. Apparently I can do my medical again before my file runs out, as my medical expired in June.

Well guys, I had my YOU last week for ATCO. Must have done OK in my tests as was able to apply for pretty much any role, which I assume happens for most.

Was told Spec testing is in Sept, however got a call advising I'm ineligible to proceed until I become a citizen :ugh:(I'm a NZ citizen with Perm Residency). I knew this could be an issue as the DFR website did change its wording in that area a few months back.

I'm absolutely gutted, however only have to wait till June next year for citizenship. Hope ATCOs are still in need then!!

Quick Question
 

finally had the doc review and clear my med forms and now have had my file sent to PSA... can anyone give me an idea how long it took them before they got a response for Flight Screening?

cheers

PSA
 

G'day numbersguy,

The length of time varies due to your competitiveness and available FSP spots, but in my circumstance, it was 2 weeks between PSA receiving my file and getting the call. PSA gave me 3 weeks notice to attend FSP.

Dean.

numbersguy,
There are four more PSA programs for the year with the next starting on the 9th of October, romper is correct in saying they start notifying applicants three weeks before but I have heard of people only getting two weeks notice if someone drops out or anything like that. Good luck and make sure you check the program dates on the PSA website and keep your phone close on the days three weeks before they start.

romper,
As you are a candidate that did quite well at flight screening, especially in the flying department, I was wondering what kind of flying preparation you did before heading down to Tamworth? Also, I'm assuming it's best to just prepare as much as possible for the board before heading down but is there anything else you wish you had done that would have helped? Any information would be greatly appreciated, feel free to PM if that's easier.

Thanks heaps
Kyll

Hi guys,

Just wanting to know what kind of education people are getting throught with? I passed the YOU session test but they said becase I have a D in Year12 English and Math I cannot progress any further.
I was talking to someone the other night who had joined through ADFA and he said his mate got in direct entry even through he failed Year 12 completely.
Are there inconsistencies in the requirements? Ive worked full time for 8 years since I left school and halfway through my PPL but am told its not good enough yet some guy gets in with bad Year 12 scores?

Pilot Spec Testing
 

Hi All,

Well I've just finished reading through all 77 pages of posts and can certainly say there is a wealth of information in this thread. Thanks to everyone who has posted their own experiences. The tips and information are certainly going to help equip me in my application process!

Just a bit of background on myself, I initially applied for a Pilot position when I was finishing year 12 back in 2001 and got through the initial stages including all my specialist medicals and being recommended etc prior to FSP. However my application halted at this point due to a couple of different things that were going on at the time.

My desire and passion to hopefully join the ADF as an officer and a pilot never waned and I am now back in the running having recently completed my YOU session and with a lot more life experience behind me.

I have my pilot spec testing coming up in about 3 weeks and am eagerly studying as well as scouring this thread for all the hints and tips I can find.

Some of the testing doesn't sound as though it has really changed a great deal since back in 2001, with the exception of now being computer based and the hand-eye coordination test also sounds like it's been updated.

From what I've read the maths components are made up of the following types of questions:

• Mental Maths
• Speed/Dist/Time

Whilst I'm working on my speed, I should be fine with these and having read through the whole thread I think I'm pretty well equipped to study for the other portions of the test.

My main concern is really in regards to the more complex maths principles since I haven't used these in quite some time. Do these factor in to the tests much if at all? Any tips for revision of these principles?

Thanks,

Ant

GT84,

You will need to meet the base level of education to be looked at. This chap that got in after failing year 12, did he do any other courses to make himself eligible.

Your going to have a hard time if you don't meet the minimum requirements, especially seeing as the highly competitive people would be getting 95+ in their HSC. That's not to say you shouldn't try.

Minimums: ADF Pilot Selection Agency: Royal Australian Air Force

greentea84,
It is quite interesting how strict they are on this pre-requisite. When I applied, although I had completed 2.5 years of university level mathematics they were only interested as to whether or not I had achieved a band 3 in the HSC.

Not sure about your direct entry mate as I'd be quite surprised if someone managed to get through without the proper education requirements. I'm also not sure if you can apply for a waiver or anything like that, what's most likely happened is they have completed an equivalent course at TAFE or a similar institution which I believe finestkind was alluding to.

Good luck with it though mate, let us know how it goes.

Cheers
Kyll

Thanks for the advice. I've been exploring all the options I have and it seems the only one is to do an equivalent level course at tafe. Only problem is that will take a whole year! I'll be 27 by then, at the top of the age bracket. I wish I could do the assessment day and prove my worth. I'm actually quite good at English and math, it's just I was a lazy kid at school :E

@ant1984 I wouldn't be too concerned with not having done maths for a while, it'll all come back to you if you had a sound understanding of the fundamentals when you did it. I managed the tests even though I've not done any complex maths for over 20 years.

Do have a look at Maths Online - Free Maths Tuition For All Australian High School Students if you really want to revise, but I suspect you'll find more useful examples posted earlier in the thread. (So far back I can't even recall what pages they where on.)

Speed will be your greatest friend in the spec testing. Just don't let yourself get hung up on any one question, you can always come back to it.

Doc.

ps: my medical wrinkles have been ironed out now... just got to wait for my 3 months to be up to sit the Def Interview again. Means I'll miss the October PSA spots. ?:-( Hurry up and wait... the unofficial military motto apparently.