''Ask yourself whether it is the Navy that you want, or to becone a Pilot. I always wanted to be an RAF pilot''

i did look into the RAF a couple of years but by the time id come back from travelling and done the prep i needed to i would be pushing the age limit of 23... thought did also consider WSOp (L) but then after studying naval history and being in plymouth especially- i think a bit of the naval influence has rubbed off on me, also might have something to do with my lecturer! yes defintely something im going to have to consider on my travels but at the moment its almost certainly pilot (and RN)


''My point - if you want to fly, do whatever it takes to get there. I spent years telling myself that I wasn't good enough after the careers office rejected me over a poor comp. test - shattering a childhood dream''

yes, havent got too that point yet nor was it ever a childhood dream but still i have large people telling me im crazy and i'd never do it- hmm great bunch of supporters i have eh :hmm:


one thing thats just occured to me is that i know i want this but on the other hand i have never actually flown anything in my life- there is always the possibility that i may hate it! ha can you imagine.. i cant see it happening myself but you never know! ;)

During your travels, why not try a mix of gliding, fixed wing and heli trial lessons to see. Maybe even an aerobatic trial lesson. Caution - you may get hooked. Shame you didn't find you way to the local Air Cadets in your teens. I ended up in Australia flying PC-9's.
The only people who think it is crazy will never understand why you are drawn to it. Just join the Navy or indeed any of the Forces, for the right reasons. I ended up in the Army Air Corps and hated every minute of it. I couldn't wait to buy myself out. Maybe I am just a civi right the way through, or maybe at 25 when I joined - too old to change and take the crap. And there was plenty of it - I am sure the Navy is far more civilised though.
Just don't think that IFthe Naval Pilot door closes, another 3 doors won't open - because they will if you knock the right way.:ugh::ok:
Photos: Pilatus PC-9A Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

Photos: Pilatus PC-9A Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net just had a look ;);) nice!

applications...AIB/interview etc
oh just a thought obv in the raf they ask you about different types of aircrafts/differences between etc :}
if your going for pilot in the RN would you have to really know your stuff on both aircraft and ships?

PAPI-74 - did you buy yourself out of the AAC at 25, then go to Pearce to fly PC-9 when the Tucanos broke a few years ago?:confused:

Or did you jump from PC-9 into the AAC? Either way, that's a lot of military flying!

Just wondering if you were on my EFT course at CF in 2000.

Do tell...

You would certainly be expected to know the different classes and capabiltiies of different ships. I would imagine you would need to know the difference between a boat and a ship, a frigate and a destroyer :)

Yep, and they like it if you can use apostrophes correctly too :ok:

ooops bad one on my part should've picked up on that! :)

ahhh come off it you guys! give me a break :p

:E :E

Sorry, couldn't resist it!

at least you don't need a shift key for an apostrophe or full stop.

Union Street - still the same then...:ok:

''Union Street - still the same then...http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/thumbs.gif''

haha oh yes, thought can't say that was the type of influence i was referring to mind! :)

My advice would be to start your application quite soon. As I've said, you have 12 months in the post-AIB pool. If you start now you'll be at AIB in March-April time next year, and you can flex that to fit in with your exams anyway. Assuming, that is, that you get to AIB, as you'll need to pass FATs. If you fail FATs by a smallish margin you have the opportunity to re-take after 12 months.

So plan A would see you pass AIB in April, and then know that you were likely to be offered a start at BRNC in late 2009/Jan 2010. BRNC has entries every term and half term except in June of each year, and if you have good FATs scores (140 and above) then I guess that you can pretty much negotiate your preferred start date. Bear in mind that as a graduate you'll start on £28,000 - another good incentive to get you in there sooner rather than later

Plan B (failing FATs, and re-taking) would obviously defer all that for at least 12 months.

i dont feel 100% prepped and ready and until my exams are over in may, i hardly have time to look at my textbooks these days let alone everything else.. but you think it would be worth starting the ball rolling anyway?

The plan was to go travelling this time next year for 6 months but may cut that down to 3/4 months now. If all goes well and i got AIB/start dates while i was abroad what would happen then, or if they knew i was in a different country they wouldn't ask me to start on those dates? argh i'm really struggling with uni at the mo- im wishing my time away so i can get stuck in with this! :)

Get stuck in. It might be a an incentive to do well at your exams if you have your career in bag and a BRNC start date in your diary..... If you start the learning now you'll know it all in no time at all. Doesn't take much; better than piling it up until the last minute having neglected to learn about ships because you were too busy revising. At least if AIB is out of the way you can really put your all into your exam revision.

Wannabe,

A lot of people I know had not flown anything when they joined up so it is not a bar to progression.
If you really want to become an aviator go for it. Start the ball rolling now-failure at aptitude or AIB stage means a wait of a year before applying again. If the worst should happen use the downtime to address the reasons for failure, and also do your travelling then. The AIB especially will want to know on your second board how you have spent your time since the first one. And if you are successful first time round then yopu will be quickly on to one of the most enjoyable and rewarding careers you will ever enjoy.

One other thing you need to think about before applying:

The RN is an armed force with a lot of people currently deployed in hot sandy unsociable places. Your job may well involve the use of lethal force-how does that sit with you? Think about how you would react to the use of force, as it will certainly come up in the AIB.

Good luck for the future.

CTF

Afternoon

Just want to say that i really appreciate all of the comments, advice etc that iv'e been given on here- i've found every single one of them useful in more ways than you can imagine. It's given me a better sense of understanding in what to expect thats for sure. Please feel free to PM email me whatever with anything you may think i might find useful, i always appreciate it!

Thanks guys :ok::):ok:

oh i just have one more thing i wonder if anyone could help me with... when i looked at going into the raf as aircrew i saw some threads (maybe on tsr?) on migraines which could make you pmu...
i used to have them when i was about 12/13 which they gave me pills for. so with that i went and saw my doctor and had a quick look through my medical history but couldnt see anything of significance... there were hundreds of pages mind. i only had them over that year or so and seemed to grow out of it because have never had them since. i must've only gone to the docs once or twice about them before i had the pills. So it's not like there would be a long string times when i've visited the doctors...

Would i say this at a medical or not?

Tell them, and let them decide. Not telling them, and then being found out is potentially worse. Best part of ten years ago, with no recurrence, I'd say they'll ignore it. You'll get a full EEG at the medical (after AIB).

Pop me yr email address via a PM and I'll send you some helpful stuff for AIB.