Canadian in the RAF
 

Top of the morning to you all,

To start off, I have done a bit of researching, been on the RAF site, and the archive stuff on here, and if I missed anything major, smack my ass, call me Sally, and show me what I've missed:}
So, I was wondering what is necessary for a Canadian-born, but Canadian/British citizen (courtesy of my Father) to enter the RAF as a pilot. I'm currently at college taking liberal arts courses (useless crap really, but its what I enjoy and its what I'm good at) but I didn't do too well in upper level Math and Physics courses in high school, but I'm doing really well in history! :p:yuk: Is being Canadian a detriment to joining the RAF? Will I have to live in the UK for a certain amount of time before I can join? Will I need to finish my college degree in order to join?

Cheers

I myself am currently looking at joining the RAF so i might be able to offer some advice.

While I dont think that maths and physics are essential to join the RAF. Obviously they will help a lot so that might be an issue for them as you have said that you seem to excell more in arts/ himanities.
I can tell you that they prefer candidates straight out of A level (18 years old) and the upper limit is 23 years so you can easily fit in a degree if you wanted. I might be confusing myself with the army but im sure the RAF have online recruitment chats- you should check it out.
With regard to educational requirements you can check the website though im not sure if Alevels/ UCAS points will mean anything to a canadian.

I shouldnt think being canadian will be detrimental to your application- it doessay commonwealth countries and even Republic of Ireland oddly enough. Have you thought about the Canadian forces? I've recently been watching a TV show on discovery about the Canadian air force- F18 hornets! Does Canada have an army air corp or fleet air arm?:ok:
ollie

You may need residency qualifications.

You do not need to finish your degree however it would possibly be a better move.

Your subject does not matter; it is the recognition of your ability to study at a higher level, and stick at it, that is important.

Talking of stickies, have you read the stickie at the top of the page as I think you will find you are not the first.

Are you a proper Canadian or one of those Frenchie types....? Proper canadians can join but the Garlic eaters can bugger off

Just tell them that there are so many Brits leaving to join the Canadian Forces and you're just trying to redress the balance!!

At the turn of the sixties some 30% of active pilots in the RAF were described as 'Dominion, Colonial or Overseas.'

YVRKid,

Why do you want to join the RAF instead of the Canadian Forces?

OBD

Sorry to steal your post, but are the Canadians accepting commonwealth applications yet? I remember speaking to a C130 pilot a couple of months ago who said they were going to start accepting them soon.

For Queen and Country!
In all seriousness, my family is strongly British, I have great pride in being British, my great uncle was a Spitfire pilot who was shot down, and he's a legend in the family, plus, why fly for Canada, when I can fly for Britain, the big Kahuna, as it were.

Plus the RAF is in active Ops and the Air Force arm of the CF is sitting at home (save the transport guys).

What's it all aboot, eh?
 

A couple of my best buddies in the RAF are Canadians. Good luck but be prepared for endless Terence & Philip jokes.

Greetings OBD....I see your lack of productivity (save the odd trip to Home Depot) gives you plenty of time to lurk in these parts! Trust all is as expected.....steady yourself for the inevitable invasion of the BBD clan!!

Back in 2003 RIAT, spoke to a RAF QFI (Bell 412) from DHFS who mentioned they had a CAF exchange officer who was going to transfer to RAF and become a UK citizen. In fact I was told that this guy was more Brit than Brit and the squadron thought he was a Winston Churchill kind of character!! :) considering in his quarters he had the Union Jack everywhere and a kind of shrine to Churchill.

The chap to whome you refer is in the RAF and was so long before the time you state. I know of 2 Canadians in RAF service (both helicopter pilots) and I am sure that there are many more Canadians in BritMil service..

My mind aint what it was, but wasn't there a Canadian Jag pilot whose brother was a CF-18 flier?

There is a Canadian Techie at a large Cotswold Transport base. Looks just like Ned Flanders!! Oakley Doakley!:8

From spheroid:
:*

ahhh yes, got it! don't spheroid rhyme with hemorrhoids ? :E

Shouldn't be too much of a problem. As a Canadian, I completed 18 years in the RAF. Never had a Brit passport. Made life interesting with regard to NATO travel orders on occasion.

camlobe

We like you already. Welcome aboard. You'll do well.

:ok:

A Canuck Joining the RAF
 

I am a 16-year old from Victoria British Colombia, and I am finishing high-school early. I will be finished in June of 2012 (I will have just turned 17), and am taking all of the sciences and maths and getting great grades in all of them. I am then going on an exchange to Germany from September 2012 to June 2013, and THEN I want to join the RAF (Royal Air Force) as a fighter pilot. That is the whole reason I am finishing high school early. I have Canadian citizenship, but may be able to get British citizenship through my Dad's side of the family. I have looked at the RAF site, can anyone tell me if I am missing anything, or need to complete anything before joining the RAF? Any tips or anything of the sort?

"Blame Canada, Shame on Canada,
It's not even a real country anyway .....!" :ok:

I am sure that Canadians never had to ask these questions in 1914 and 1939. It is such a pity that many of them never went home.
God bless them all.

YVRKid,

I would check your facts again!

Link to story here.

Also, there are residency requirements; you may have to have lived here for 5 years before you can apply, if I remember right. I'm pretty sure a single phone call to the RAF careers service or a visit to their site would steer you right.

Bear in mind if you have any wishes to be a fighter pilot, we're now quite small when it comes to fast jets and getting smaller. With the CF-18 around and a sensible plan to replace it with F35, I'd certainly give serious consideration to staying in Canada if I were you.

Have you read the Nationality and residency rules on the RAF Careers web site at:
Nationality and residency - RAF Careers ?

This thread is three years old... I do believe he was correct in what he said three years ago.

5 Forward 6 Back,

Check the date of the post you replied to. When YVRKid wrote no-one was bombing Libya.

CanadaJohn,

You might not get much help here, the RAF is shedding people left, right and centre right now. Student pilots have been "let go" before completing flying training and there are more cuts just over the horizon in 2015. While I don't want to kill off your dreams, I'd look toward the RCAF in addition to the RAF. Otherwise, call the RAF recruitment people, or chat with them on the "interweb" and explain your situation. There are plenty of non-Brits in the RAF so the path you are attempting to walk down is fairly well beaten.

Good luck and study hard.

CWD

Whoops! Ah well, the second part of my post stands for the thread-resurrector.

I am Canadian, not one of the Frenchie types. I abhor garlic. I have known many Frenchie types who served with distinction in the RAF, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mosquitoes, and so on, collecting the random DSO, DFC, DFM, and the like while so doing. The very first RAF pilot to make it home, identify and report a horrible new German fighter, the FW 190, was a Frenchie. Used to work here in Ottawa.

Incidentally, a Canadian pilot in the RAF collected a DFC very recently, in Iraq, I think.

So .... what is your combat record in the RAF?

We had a lot of ex RCAF pilots on Brits in the early sixties. They tended to moan a lot :)

Yep, correct.

Brother in UK was a flying instructor, then flew Hunters and Jaguars.

Brother in Canada flew CF104s and CF18s. Was also a CF18 squadron boss.

One now retired in Norfolk (I think); the other retired in the Rockies.

That's because of all the shagging they were doing!:ok: