The RAF Driving School at St Athan in 1969 had a classroom fitted with about 12 consoles containing a steering wheel, gear lever, dashboard and a brake, clutch and accelerator. A 16mm film was projected on the screen and you had to "drive" your desk according to the road shown on the film. At one stage there was a 3 point turn where you reversed, turning round you viewed the screen in a mirror. It did not seem very realistic, not sure how long it was in use.

I remember those 2 machines - the steering wheel and the drum with the spiral of metal contacts with a delayed connecting wiper arem. But I spotted immediately that if you kept your eyes glued to the top of the drum and steered as though you were on that bit, it was dead easy. Hence my score was pretty good.

On the stick and rudder pedals CRT dot device, it was quite simple to keep the dot within the target zone. You also had to move a 'throttle' lever if a light came on; the thing was, everyones' lights came on one after the other, so you just had to watch them coming on along the row of consoles and move the lever in time with the sequence - again they must have thought I had lightning quick reactions. Wrong, just a little cunning!

One of those things is now at the Newark Air Museum, but doesn't work. Along with an F-4 simulator which does - a much better aptitude tester!

However, I always maintained that half an hour in a Chipmunk and a weekend in a wet tent would soon identify the 'right stuff'!

Gents, a picture paints a thousand words;

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1.../aptitude2.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1.../aptitude1.jpg


If you give OASC a quick bell, I'm sure they could power them up again... now there's a possible venue for a reunion :ok:

25 years later and we now use this instead...

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcollegecran...0FDA8D029C.jpg

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcollegecran...B751301893.JPG

I went through on kit somewhere inbetween in the late 80s - looked like it was based on the BBC Microcomputer. The cubicle still looks the same though - they must have brought them up to Cranditz from Biggin-on-th-Bump!

LJ

If you ever go to the Space Centre at Leicester they have a wall with lights you have to thump to test your reaction, I was easily beaten by a bloody 8 year old :{:{

I too go back to Hornchurch, c.1950, but for those who might be interested, the British Army accepted childhood commissions in the 17th century. It was a method by which an officer, who had given meritorious service, could be rewarded by a commission for his son at little cost to the State.

The youngest was supposedly aged 12 months. The practice died out with a four year old, born 1696, commissioned as an Ensign in 1700, aged just 4.

For those who wish to follow it up further:
Notes & Queries, 8th Edition, Vol. VIII, Nov.30th, 1895.

Many thanks SilsoeSid ... I love the note on the COVT contraption ... London Bus Driver ... another career opportunity missed :E

BEagle ... to quote a previous quote of yours ... that's a "wet tent in Wales" :ok:

I guess most won't remember the name of their Review Officer at OASC (Biggin Hill) ... but does anyone remember Wing Commander David Penman DSO OBE DFC ?

I had the great pleasure of knowing and flying with Wg Cdr Penman when I was in short trousers while he undertook his final tour at Biggin before retirement.

He was on the famous WWII Augsburg raid ... here he is as a young Flt. Lt. A very inspirational man ... sadly no longer with us.

David Penman Augsburg British Pathetic News

Best regards ...

Coff.

The dot-on-the-screen was the hardest for me, as the rest of my testees were hopeless. The machine went 'beep' when the dot was outside the box IIRC, and I had an aural deluge of beeps around me. I wouldn't be surprised if this was intentional.

The interview questions were very tricky too. I remember being asked what I would do if I arrived in my hypothetical strike Jaguar at my nuclear target to discover the aiming point was a primary school playground.

Those questions are bit mean, I've had several in my time. You feel a right arse giving the Jimmy Savile answer - "F*** the kids" :E, but in the final analysis, what else to say? If the school is on the enemy equivalent of JHQ, then what difference does it make if the aiming point is a school playground or the guardroom? Evil bastards who set those questions, and then watch you squirm while you justify carrying out your orders.

I much prefer shark infested custard.

You should have told him by the time your Jag had got there the war would have been over..

I seem to remember that my main concern was that perhaps I was on the wrong target, and I remember asking whether I would have been told what my aiming point was.
I hadn't had a happy time at school over the previous few years, so I was quite happy to pickle away on a school. Beats burning the place down in the hols!:E

If I remember rightly, wasn't there 2 coloured lights; one needing a push forward and the other a pull back of the lever? Hitting the lever in good time was a piece of p**s but it was getting the right direction that was a bugger.

I also remember those pictures of a JP in various attitudes and having to choose which blind flying panel picture best matched it.

When I went to the Hill in '66 for Test in Advance, there was no "fruit machine" test. When I went back in '68 with my A Levels, some evil sod had introduced it.



Edited to correct TiA year being the same as the "live" test (fail) date. Thank Heavens they never tested my typing skills.

Yes, one white light and one red.

I never did the 'fruit machine' test either - thank heavens! I'm not sure, but I think I did the tests in about 1966. Written tests and aptitude machine tests first, then if you were selected for the next phase you did the hangar games and leadership exercises. I guess I was young and naïve in those days - I quite enjoyed my time there.

I somehow managed to beat the system at the time but the thing that really freaked me out was the medical tests.

ISTR starting with about 100 candidates and as we progressed through the phases the herd got thinned out with alarming rapidity. We could have ended up with only ten people!

The 10 minute "think about it" tests was the one I remember 'fondly'. You were given a scenario and had 10 minutes to come up with a plan which you were then questioned on.

Mine was a mountain rescue scenario which fortunately I had some experience in. I was pushed on my answer; "Yes, but if you do x and y you will get there 5 minutes before". "Bugger that", I said. "That involves miles of carrying a stretcher and you'll end up f*cking the rescuers and probably the casualty. Better to wait for the tide to go out and drive the casualty out".

They were impressed that I couldn't change my mind under pressure.

I spent two days at Biggin Hill, being assessed for a Flying Scholarship. I remember the CVT machine, but I didn't remember it looking anything like the picture.

My most clear memory was the eye test, which was more of a memory test, because while waiting my turn, I was sat next to the chart!