Has anyone given the fatpass thing a go? fatpass.co.uk

I was wondering as it was recommended by a guy I knew, he passed his OASC, but you have to pay 6 pounds I think.

Also is anyone heading down there in September?

Just because one person passed after having rwad it does not mean it is worth the money. Noone I know who got through OASC (and I know more than a few...) did it by buying revision hints.

There is nothing out there worth buying in terms of hints, tips or advice. All you need and more is available for free in hundreds of places, you just have to be bothered enough to pull out your finger and find it.

If you can't do that, then you shouldn't be applying.

completely agree with muppet of the north. however, in my preparation I used a couple of books about passing cognitive selection tests, in addition to the normal OASC type examples. I would recommend using these as a complementary source of sharpening your overal mental agility and lateral thinking.

there is no "silver bullet" book out there that will tell you how to pass OASC! just like the current affairs, you have a wide range of sources available to you to help broaden your knowledge/abilities.

I was looking over the training schedule recently, why do the RAF do 62hrs of flying during DEFTS but the AAC only do 40 and the RN do 58.5?

Just curious.

OASC Bulletin 12
 

In the last bulletin, John had completed the first day of the Exercise Phase having undertaken the Discussion and the Group Planning exercises. Then, having had a good night’s sleep, he woke early and prepared himself for the demands of the second day.

John and the other 5 members of his syndicate walked over to the OASC ready to be picked up by the OASC control staff outside of their syndicate room at 0720hrs. All of the syndicates were then led to the Exercise Hanger. Everyone sat around an example exercise and listened carefully to a hangar familiarisation briefing. This briefing covered hanger protocol, health and safety and techniques to employ when executing the various exercises; it also covered the general rules that applied to all of the exercises. John took particular note of this part of the briefing as he knew that any limitations or rules would have to be taken into account during all of the exercises in order to create a full and credible plan. Once the briefing had been completed, one of the 2 boarding officers for his syndicate came around the corner and led John’s syndicate to the first exercise.

The boarding officer briefed that the first exercise was a Leaderless and would last for 30 minutes. He further briefed what the team had to do, what equipment they had to use and other special rules that had to be taken into account. At the end of the briefing, each member of the syndicate was given the opportunity to ask questions. John asked a couple of questions to clarify a few points regarding the rules, knowing that he would not have any further opportunities to ask questions once the exercise was underway. Then the 6 members of John’s syndicate lined up behind the start line before the board wished them luck and announced that the time was about to start. The first 2 minutes of the exercise was spent in a survey of the course. During this period, all rules could be broken and the equipment could be moved. John made very good use of the time, directing people in the group to try different things while he too moved around the course, judging distances and considering possible techniques to employ. Before they knew it, the 2 minutes was up and the syndicate was told to return all the equipment back to its original position and then to move quickly back behind the start line. A boarding officer then told them to go on with the exercise.

The following 28 minutes went past very quickly only being interrupted by the boarding officers halting proceedings when someone broke a rule or to provide the team with a time check. John tried to maintain a central presence within the group, speaking and directing in a loud and clear but not forced voice. He also tried to encourage others within the group. Again, candidate number 5 was being quiet and rather peripheral to the exercise, so John tried to get him involved as much as he could. John made sure he was always busy, looking for opportunities to get involved with the current part of the plan or looking at the next part of the plan, and generally being a proactive member of the team. Most of all, he tried to make sure that the Team kept moving when they hit problems as he remembered being told by the boarding officers that it was better to test ideas rather than waste time discussing them for a long time but making no progress. To the shock of the syndicate, time was called even though they had only achieved half of the exercise. The syndicate looked like they had been working quite hard and there was a buzz of energy as they all walked over to one of the waiting areas. The boarding officer then debriefed the exercise by asking what went well and what didn’t before telling the syndicate to relax for about 10 minutes before the next set of exercises would commence. John and the other candidates talked excitedly amongst themselves about how they had done and how they could have improved their performance. The 10 minutes passed very quickly before the boarding officer came into the waiting area to brief the next part of the Exercise Phase, which would be the Command Situation Exercises.

Next week, we will follow John through the next part of the exercise phase.

For more information regarding any of these areas highlighted, please contact your AFCO and they will be able to give you more detailed information regarding specific cases.

Please note that, although OASC will endeavour to answer generic questions that arise, we will not be engaging or commenting on individual cases. In those cases, the individual is advised to contact their nearest AFCO who will be able to deal with any queries. All information published is for information only. Information regarding a career in the RAF can be found at http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers

OASC Newsflash
 

OASC Bullet 12
 

A very nicely written appraisal of the exercise phase at Cranwell. I have not attended their myself, however it sounds like it hasn't changed much since my attendance at Biggin Hill in 1989.:ok:

My only comment would be that the bulletin appears to be written in a tone directed to the younger audience.

My apologies to the the staff at OASC. I believe you do an excellent job in the selection process for potential Officers and Aircrew.:D

The flippant answer is that the Crabs take longer to learn...:}

The real answer is that the AAC will never fly anything other than RW or an Islander, the RN guys will mostly (for the moment) head to RW, and the RAF chaps will go either RW, ME or FJ, though I don't know the proportions.

OASC Bulletin 13
 

In the last bulletin, John had completed the first dynamic exercise of the OASC Selection Process: the Leaderless. This week, we pick up the scenario as the syndicate waits for one of its boarding officers to brief them on the Command Situation exercises.

The boarding officer briefed the syndicate on the next set of exercises, which would be the Command Situations. In these exercises, each member of the syndicate would take it in turn to lead. The syndicate was briefed in depth about the main differences between the previous Leaderless exercise and the Command Situations, including outlining the exercise protocol, choreography and what to include in the brief. The main differences highlighted were that the Command Situation exercises lasted only 15 minutes and the nominated leader would be the only member of the team to receive a briefing from a boarding officer. The leader would have a minimum of 2 minutes compulsory survey time in which he could examine the exercise, test equipment and then formulate a plan. After the briefing John was called up to be the first leader.

John was taken to his exercise and the boarding officer read him a brief covering its aim and the special rules that would apply. Then, he was given the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the brief, which he took advantage of to clarify some points as he knew he would not be able to ask further questions after this point. The boarding officer then announced that the exercise was about to commence with the compulsory survey. With the clock running, John immediately started to walk around the exercise, moving various pieces of equipment to see how he could use them to achieve his aim. The survey time shot passed very quickly and before he knew it the boarding officer told him to replace the equipment and go to the finish line to call his team; John had been offered the opportunity to continue his survey beyond 2 minutes but he knew that would eat into his execution time, so he chose not to. John briskly got himself into position behind the finish line and then called his team in a loud, clear, confident voice. His team came running and positioned themselves behind the start line. John briefed his team carefully and logically, including all aspects that were outlined in the initial brief from the boarding officer – and, of course, detailed his plan. After the briefing, he ran up to his syndicate at the Start Line to see whether they had any questions. After a couple of misunderstandings had been cleared up, John started to direct his team, standing back to make sure that he had a good view of developments. He endeavoured to speak in a clear and confident manner delivering his orders authoritatively but appropriately, providing sound feedback and encouragement where necessary. He kept his team motivated throughout and maintained a rapid pace in order to attempt to meet the aim of the exercise in the permitted time.

His exercise progressed well although John got stuck on one aspect for a minute or so but, after consulting his team, he was able to re-plan and re-direct proceedings. John didn’t finish his exercise, but was pleased with the progress that had made. In the other exercises, each led by another member of his syndicate, he tried to be a proactive team member, always trying to get involved in the physical and cerebral sense. Also, when candidate number 5 was in the lead, he struggled in his problem solving of the exercise; so, John tried to guide him as much as possible without taking over and tried to encourage him quietly to keep him going.

The 6 exercises were completed in what seemed like 5 minutes and the syndicate looked quite exhausted. However, there was no time to relax because after the final Command Situation exercise, a boarding officer delivered another briefing explaining the next exercise.

Next week, we will follow John through the final part of the Exercise Phase.

For more information regarding any of these areas highlighted, please contact your AFCO and they will be able to give you more detailed information regarding specific cases.

Please note that, although OASC will endeavour to answer generic questions that arise, we will not be engaging or commenting on individual cases. In those cases, the individual is advised to contact their nearest AFCO who will be able to deal with any queries. All information published is for information only.

Information regarding a career in the RAF can be found at http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers

Degree options during RAF Pilot training
 

I believe there is an option to take a degree whilst going through the training pipeline as a Pilot in the RAF, Royal Navy and In the Army Air Corps.
In my Specific are of interest which is the RAF, I would be interested to hear from Pilots or alike who have undertaken, or know of the degree's available whilst training, or any others who could nudge me towards a reference on the above.
Greatly appreciated.

not_so_sis

not_so, not so. In theory it might be possible but in practise, until legislation is introduced to increase the day to 36 hours, you will find that training will take over your life for as long as it takes.

Once you are out of the training pipeline, and on a sqn, you start again with OpQual. Once you have qualified as an operational pilot, say 3 years or more down the line, you will want/need to hone your professional skills.

Once you have attained a moderate operational proficiency you might consider undertaking training for professional enhancement, such as staff studies or becoming a qualified ----- instructor.

Only when you are away from the frontline, and in a staff job, might you consider you have the time to undertake degree studies.

There are people who have done it but very few. I only got my degrees once I had a regular 9-5 job and the ability to plan my own programme.

Ok well thanks for clearing that up at least!
not_so_sis

RN - Royal Navy

OASC Bulletin 14
 

In the last bulletin, John had completed all of the dynamic exercises in the OASC Exercise Hangar. He now had one more exercise to undertake before the Exercise Phase of the Selection Process was concluded. We left him as he was about to receive the Individual Planning briefing from one of the boarding officers.

The boarding officer briefed the syndicate about the Individual Planning exercise, which would be the last exercise of the Phase. He stated that, in essence, the exercise was similar to the Group Planning in that the candidates would have to create a plan to deal with an imaginary situation in which they found themselves. The clear difference, as its name suggested, was that this exercise would be performed individually. The boarding officer went on to state that candidates would have 20 minutes to read and absorb the facts of the scenario and an associated map, and to create a plan to deal with the situation, making notes as required. Afterwards, the candidates would be questioned individually and alone for about 10 minutes on the scenario and their plan. John was feeling quite tired but knew that he needed to maintain focus in order to clear this final hurdle of the Phase.

The candidates were then led to the Candidates’ Waiting Room, opposite their syndicate rooms, where they waited to be called forward by a member of the OASC Control Staff. While John was waiting, he tried to relax by talking to his colleagues about his experiences in the Hangar earlier that morning. Then, the door opened and John was called forward. He was led into a private study room were he was told to sit at a booth so that he could not see any of the other candidates’ notes; then his study and planning time commenced. He spent the first 5 minutes carefully reading through the scenario to get a feel for what he was being asked to do; then he read through it again, this time taking notes and working on preliminary plans. John kept an eye on the clock on the wall to get a rough idea of how much time remained. Once he had a sound plan written down, he went through it again to check for mistakes. He noted that he had a couple of minutes left, so he decided to work on some contingency plans.

He hadn’t quite completed work on his contingencies before the Control Staff came in to the room and announced that his private study time was over. John was directed to pick up his notes, go to his syndicate room and knock on the door. He waited outside until he was invited in by the boarding officers. John entered promptly where he was greeted. In the room, John could see that there were 2 tables pushed together, and positioned directly opposite the 2 boarding officers. One of the tables had a large map of the scenario attached to a notice board. John was directed to place his notes on the empty table and then to stand beside the map. Once the Board had confirmed that the map was the same as the one that John had been studying for the last 20 minutes, the questions started. John tried to remain calm and composed, whilst answering questions in a clear and concise manner. After being questioned on the outline of his plan, John was invited to pick up his notes and sit in front of the boarding officer who was asking the questions. The boarding officer then asked more questions probing further into the detail of John’s chosen plan. John remained calm and endeavoured to think clearly, accurately and logically. He found it very challenging but answered all of the questions posed as best as he could. The 10 minutes flashed passed very quickly. Then, John was asked to leave his notes on the table and go to the Candidates’ Mess for lunch and then get changed in preparation for his interview. He was feeling quite positive about his overall performance; however, he knew that straight after lunch he would find out whether he had been successful in this Phase - or not!

Next week, we will find out whether John will proceed from the Exercise Phase to complete the rest of the OASC Selection Process.

For more information regarding any of these areas highlighted, please contact your AFCO and they will be able to give you more detailed information regarding specific cases.

Please note that, although OASC will endeavour to answer generic questions that arise, we will not be engaging or commenting on individual cases. In those cases, the individual is advised to contact their nearest AFCO who will be able to deal with any queries. All information published is for information only.

Information regarding a career in the RAF can be found at http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers

I'll p*ss myself if he's failed.

OASC Bulletin 15
 

In the last bulletin, John had just completed all of the aspects of the Exercise Phase of the OASC Selection Process. He had been told to go to the Candidates’ Mess for lunch and then to return to OASC changed into a suit. We now join John as he finds out whether his performance in the Exercise Phase demonstrated enough potential for him to continue to the formal interview, medical and fitness testing parts of the Selection Process, which would commence that afternoon.

John arrived back at the OASC Reception in good time. He talked to his colleagues about the exercises that they had undertaken that morning as they waited anxiously to be told whether or not they had succeeded. The candidates were then told to move to the briefing area and wait. Shortly afterwards, one of the members of the OASC Control Staff announced the names of those candidates who needed to collect their belongings and follow him. John’s name eventually was called but Candidate 5’s was not. John gathered up his belongings and made his way to the Medical Reception to wait for his medical examination and interview. He (and 'Unchecked') were very relieved to have made it through the Exercise Phase this time but felt sorry for Candidate 5. John knew how he must be feeling, after all he had been in that position just 2 years previously. John knew that the people left in the OASC Reception had not made the cut and would be briefed accordingly by one of the boarding officers.

Once in the Medical Reception, the candidates received a briefing from the medical staff outlining what would take place over the next few hours and when their interviews would be. John’s interview was due to take place the following morning. He felt quite relieved about this as it gave him another night to prepare. Immediately after the briefing, John’s name was called out for his hearing test, to be followed straight away by his eye test. He then was anthropometrically measured in detail to determine whether he would fit into all of the cockpits and flight decks of the aircraft in the RAF. After a short break, he had a urine test, an electrocardiogram and finally a spirometry test. Then he was then told that he was not to eat anything after 2000hrs that evening so that a fasting blood test could be taken the following morning. That concluded the medical examinations for the day and the candidates made their back to the Candidates’ Mess.

In the Mess that evening, John bumped into Candidate 5. When he asked how he had got on, Candidate 5 stated that the Review Officer had said that he had not projected himself adequately enough and generally lacked confidence within the group. As a consequence, he could not effectively influence the group’s activities or put his ideas forward in a forceful manner. He was also told that he struggled with problem solving skills. The Review Officer gave Candidate 5 some sound advice on how to improve on his shortfalls and advised him to come back in a year’s time for another attempt. John smiled as that was exactly what let him down on his previous visit to OASC. John gave Candidate 5 a few words of support and advice before going in to dinner.

The following morning, John made his way over to the OASC Medical Reception feeling rather hungry. He was taken immediately into a treatment room to have his blood taken, after which he returned to the Candidates’ Mess for a late breakfast to replenish his energy. Then, having returned to Medical Reception, John was led to a treatment room for a thorough medical examination by one of the doctors before being taken for his medical review. In the review, John was given a clean bill of health and declared medically fit (at this stage only) to serve as a pilot; however, he was told that the results of his electrocardiogram and blood tests would remain outstanding and could impact his medical fitness for selection to FB(P). Nevertheless, John was delighted to have passed the medical at this stage; now he had the challenges of the interview and fitness test to deal with.

Next week, we will follow John through his interview.

For more information regarding any of these areas highlighted, please contact your AFCO and they will be able to give you more detailed information regarding specific cases.

Please note that, although OASC will endeavour to answer generic questions that arise, we will not be engaging or commenting on individual cases. In those cases, the individual is advised to contact their nearest AFCO who will be able to deal with any queries. All information published is for information only.

Information regarding a career in the RAF can be found at http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers

makes very interesting reading :)

Hello all, WSOp Hopeful here
 

i thought i would introduce myself as i've signed up to this forum to get more information and help myself for my current RAF application:

my name is Chris, i'm currently 22 and i'm 3 weeks away from my filter interview at AFCO brighton. I'm applying for WSOp (Crewman) and have been learning / researching as much as i can about the job and the extra roles, and training since i knew this was the job for me. I applied once before as a pilot but got put back 6 months. I was 19 then, but since that experience, i've thought about what i want from a career in the RAF, and there is more than 1 way to fly, and i'm now coming back and more hopeful / confident in this application.

sorry about the life story but sometimes it helps to have a background on these internet forums

any words of advice for my application would be greatly appreciated, i'm not asking to be spoon fed information, but those who are in, or are ahead of me on the application for any job, your views and experiences would be larvly

:ok::ok: :ok:

Chris

Chris,

chaps on here are going to lay into your style of writing I'm afraid! Capitals are not optional at the beginning of sentences!

Sitting in the SNCO mess at Cranwell a little while ago, I came across a large number of airmen aircrew students who, at the end of the course, were in no way guaranteed a flying job. The issue has arisen from the early retirement of Nimrod which has heavily reduced the requirement for WSOp recruitment at the moment. In addition, the Phase II (trade/branch training) system is almost overwhelmed in many areas of the RAF, including WSOp. This has resulted in a bow wave of students that the RAF does not actually need due to the impending cuts. In other words, we already have too many people in the training system.

Recruitment will not stop however, it will slow to a trickle over the next few years. Tough time apply!! Keep your options open and good luck.

Oh the irony of it all! :ugh: