Life after service if you stay in aircraft engineering will require both the mechanical and avionic skills. Unfortunatly service experiance no longer counts unless you work on a civilian equivilent. In my day there were VC10 TRISTAR to name two

I'm smelling a wind up merchant. Also, why are you using the name of a type of weapon as a name? A hand-gun? Why that?
My name is a link to my past. Why yours?

Perception

Across.....

RG=My initials and 56 is my lucky number:ok:

RG56, if you are really trying to get into aircraft maintenance good luck to you.
There have been several comments regardinfg pedantry on here, it is perhaps worth remembering that your signature, certifying maintenance on an aircraft carries very real, and lasting legal responsibilities. It is not uncommon, in the event of an accident or incident, that your work will be scrutinised closely. Your interpretation and understanding of the procedures you have certified against will be questioned to the nth degree.
If you don't understand what you are signing for, you are leaving yourself exposed. What many of the old & bold on here are seeing is a a slapdash, uncaring young chap.
If they are operators of an aircraft could you blame them for being a bit nervous of your attitude?
If they are techies like me, then you would be subject to a lot of supervision because I could have no confidence in either your attitude, nor aptitude. If I have to give you a lot of supervision, you are a burden, and thus a waste of oxygen.

In answer to your original question, I would suggest ICT rather than aircraft, there is very little that is accepted by the licensing authorities these days unless you get to some bits of BZN or WAD.

"and thus a waste of oxygen" and you thought it was bad that I told someone to calm down :ugh:

Again, people are trying to HELP you! Learn to accept constructive criticism. I would suggest that with your current display of attitude, you will struggle during basic training. And as you have now identified yourself, the instructors may well keep an eye out for your arrival!

150/Kitbag,

Get over yourselves! Can't you remember being teenagers? You've both made a number of derogatory, wide ranging and speculative assumptions based on a few lines of internet script.

How would you like me to analysis your characters?

O-P, feel free.

Yes I do remember being a teenager, I worked damn hard to get the apprenticeship I wanted.

Seriously, I'm struggling to see how anyone can condone the sloppy use of the English language/grammar/punctuation, in a safety critical occupation?


Hmmmmm?

Kitbag,

So did I. 140 Entry at Halton. I will...you might not like it!



Mopar,

My staff work at 250' and 750kts, was ****e, it didn't get a lot better once I landed. Why, FFS is written English so important?

Kit bag,

You still have time to correct your spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors...Oh, you don't "regarfing" I'll get back to the others later. You wanted, perfection , live with you failings.

RG, am honestly at a loss at some of the responses you have received after an honest and genuine request for advice.
Am sure you will do just fine, ingore all the BS posts on here about attitude, grammar etc.
Keep your head down, work hard, pass your training, take as much as you can from the service, adventure training, education, life experiences, lifelong friends etc and enjoy what is hopefully a long and happy career.
Good luck.

No, don't ignore the advice about grammar. You might appear to have a slapdash approach to detail but not to worry. It will be a long time before it is your neck in the line, plenty of time to sharpen up.

[quoteKitbag,

So did I. 140 Entry at Halton. I will...you might not like it!



Mopar,

My staff work at 250' and 750kts, was ****e, it didn't get a lot better once I landed. Why, FFS is written English so important? ][/quote]

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree won't we? Call me old fashioned but surely clarity when report writing, is a good thing? This young man has had well intentioned advice from people with a wealth of experience.....people who've been there, done that and got the T shirt. I've been surprised by his reaction to it. Must be me, but I wouldn't be getting smart with people who are in a position to offer the lad some solid advice.

In truth, I didn't actually understand the point you were making in the first sentence of your last post.

MD

I did indeed misspell 'regarding'. My fault, just goes to show those who live in glass houses etc. But you managed to misspell my misspelling, that must have been deliberate on your part.
I finished my apprenticeship before you started yours.

Why, FFS is written English so important?

As just one example:

If your written English was very poor presumably any subordinates who were unfortunate enough to have had their annual report written by you were disadvantaged in the quest for promotion?



As a junior officer (aircrew) at one stage I was writing 50+ annual reports a year, as either 1st RO or 2nd RO (where the 1st RO was a SNCO), on junior ranks and civil servants. I was very aware that what I wrote, and how well I wrote it, could have profound impacts on their careers, and put considerable time and effort into it. Of course, I could have said, "sod that...I'm aircrew, this isn't what I'm paid to do, staff work doesn't matter, I should be flying".....

There was me thinking the lad was wanting to join up as an aircraft techie, maybe I missed the bit about him applying to the BBC as journalist!
Give him a break, I've seen a lot worse who went on to do just fine.
Sanctimonious old :mad:s.

Biggus, not 50 but I had to rewrite a 1st ROs report as he, a SNCO could not write.

Whatever happened to the RAF Education Test Part I and Part II?

You had to have Part II to be eligible for promotion to Sgt.

Ian, passing an exam and being wordsmith are different things.

True, but there are minimum standards.

Poor RG56 has had a bit of a hammering here which a quick proof read might have avoided. But most of the criticism is valid. To consider sloppy writing is ok for the internet is insulting to the reader, especially when asking for advice. My writing is far from perfect, but I try. How I envy the many posters on Prune who write with such fluency and humour. Perhaps it would be a good place for RG56 to start.

Hi RG, I think that although yes, the first reply was slightly of target - by and large you are getting an overly hard time.

I joined the RAF straight from school at 16 as (what was back then) A Mech (T) - basically airframe mechanic, with a fast pass to J/T. My English was, and still is, bad! However it did not stop me completing 10years, serving on the front line, and carrying on to get my EASA B1.3 licence with types on the AS350, EC135, B-105 and now starting studying for a CPL(H)

Life in civvy street and the mob is hard, you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio and you'll never go far wrong!

I went back down to my local AFCO and I decided to be a weapons tech so hopefully I get my start date for the pre recruit training soon.:E:ok:

Now that some of you mention English, I recollect being officer i/c a station club.
We went off on an expedition and a sergeant was keen to write the report. I was sure he'd write a good one and wasn't worried about the spelling and grammar because the SHQ typing pool was excellent at cleaning up all that stuff. Although I was on leave when the report was disseminated my 2i/c the expedition was to sign on my behalf and he'd read it, wouldn't he?

Oh dear! What I didn't know was that the sergeant's technical department had their own typing pool and, because it was technical, typed ad verbatim. The 2i/c clearly signed p/p without reading.

The report went to station, command and, worst of all, to the RN :O

When I returned from leave I had a 'See me!' from the Station Commander awaiting.

I learnt about monitoring from that.

Well, I was a gunfitter in the TA but that was only for a laugh.
Unless you're taking the piss haven't you read any of the advice here re post mil career?

Sorry, RG56, that was a bit harsh. It is, after all, your decision. Good luck!

Good move RG, don't be put off by other techies. It stood me well in various guises from age 16 to 62, from a sqn to HQ to UNSCOM. Apart from the wide variety of jobs within the trade, from ejection seats to EOD, you will find camaraderie among the armourers that does not exist elsewhere. No doubt there will be incoming for that.

I do hope that this choice wasn't made because you thought that being known as a fairy was demeaning.

Best of luck.

Well I've heard that plumbers can make great money now all the Poles have gone home!

The report went to station, command and, worst of all, to the RN

Don't worry, Basil, we're not all wordsmiths either!;)

Jack

Friend of mine had hoped to become the youngest WO in the RAF. Sadly he went head to head with OC Eng and LOVed at just 38.

He then went on to become a highly experienced demolitions expert. One time he was hauled off the golf course at Aberdeen, flown to Brindisi and boated straight to a burning LPG carrier.

Another friend, not ex-Mil, runs an explosives company doing quarry work.

Finally another ran a nursing home :)

Sorry about the late entry to this thread but during my 28 years in the mob I was always led to believe that Chaplain was the best job what with only having one AP and no amendments!

Please don't ignore the advice about attitude and grammar.

If a pilot was flying an aircraft that you have worked on immediately prior to their sortie, they would want to be confident that you have paid attention to detail, weren't lazy and cut corners, have accepted criticism like an adult and corrected your mistake to the best of your abilities and have remained calm with a smile on your face while you were doing it. They wouldn't want to have to rectify your mistake by pulling the handle just to give them a chance of finishing the shift they started.

It might seem like some members are being tossers for the sake of it, they probably are... but try to see it as advice that will hopefully keep your conscience clear, aircrew (and those on the ground) alive and you out of prison.

As Tashengurt said, I suppose Survival Equipment Specialist (?) was a step too far? FWIW, ICT or and I hate to say it, Av tech, are probably the ones to look at :ok:

RG56, also try to get a job with a local engineering firm, doesn't matter what sort, learn the difference between a toffee hammer and a rubber mallet.

What? You have to whack them on with a mallet? I am humbled. :E

There's a song going round in my head....

A I'm an armourer... B I'm an armourer....

:p