RAAF Curriculum
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RAAF Curriculum
young fella' in the family is a 2nd year Sci/Law student at Syd. Uni and is contemplating applying for RAAF aircrew and ditching his course if he's accepted. His reasoning is that if he gets scrubbed he can go back to Uni, and he seems fairly adamant 
. He has asked me for some information and advice, but when I was of "that age", RAAF pilots started flying in CT4's at Pt. Cook. I am also wondering whether, if he gets through, a completed degree would help his career.
Could someone please;
a. give me a brief run down on the current training sylabus (the DoD website was rather vague); and
b. give me an opinion on the degree situation.
I think he'd make a good candidate, he's athletic and intelligent, but has no flying experience (bar 25 minutes in a 172 and 15 hours in a 747
). He only wants to fly and would probably knock back Eng etc.
Thanks
H
. He has asked me for some information and advice, but when I was of "that age", RAAF pilots started flying in CT4's at Pt. Cook. I am also wondering whether, if he gets through, a completed degree would help his career. Could someone please;
a. give me a brief run down on the current training sylabus (the DoD website was rather vague); and
b. give me an opinion on the degree situation.
I think he'd make a good candidate, he's athletic and intelligent, but has no flying experience (bar 25 minutes in a 172 and 15 hours in a 747
). He only wants to fly and would probably knock back Eng etc.Thanks
H
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Not sure on the syllabus used today, but would have thought that the ADF would be happy to have someone like him on board. I would think that they would encourage him to finish his degree possibly through Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), a campus of the University of NSW.
This would mean they would pay for his degree, as well as pay him, and at the end would go into Flight Training as a Flying Officer instead of as a Pilot Officer. His return of service would be a little longer than a "direct entry" pilot but the rewards of a "paid for" degree would probably be better. Possibly would lead to more employment opportunities for him when he leaves the RAAF.
Defence Force Recruiting - RAAF, would be a good place to get the full story.
This would mean they would pay for his degree, as well as pay him, and at the end would go into Flight Training as a Flying Officer instead of as a Pilot Officer. His return of service would be a little longer than a "direct entry" pilot but the rewards of a "paid for" degree would probably be better. Possibly would lead to more employment opportunities for him when he leaves the RAAF.
Defence Force Recruiting - RAAF, would be a good place to get the full story.
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The latest iteration of the RAAF syllabus consists of 65 hours in the CT4B at sunny Tamworth (just like the -A, but with more avionics thingies to make it heavier!) and ~ 165 in the PC9A at Pearce.
Without going into minutea (and bearing in mind that these days pilot training syllabi change with every OC/CO!), the CT4 phase consists of mostly GF with about 10 hours IF, 8 hours medium level navigation and 3 hours NF thrown in.
All the fun stuff (advanced GF, low nav, formation, and yes - even IF under that horrible bag for those sick puppies amongst us!
) is done in the PC9.
However I note...
Playing the Devils' advocate, those nasty people at the board will query this. "Only wants to fly", but is studying at uni and has not done any flying lessons at all?!?! This would bring into focus his motivation.
Has he visited a RAAF base and had a look around? What's his knowledge of the RAAF like (e.g. what SQNs fly what, a basic history of the RAAF, the RAAFs' role in recent conflicts, what new aircraft are in the pipeline - stuff like that)?
As for the degree thing, well I'm somwehat biased not having done one. About 4 years less flying I would have got to do!
And BTW, as far as I'm aware the current CDF doesn't have a degree......
Without going into minutea (and bearing in mind that these days pilot training syllabi change with every OC/CO!), the CT4 phase consists of mostly GF with about 10 hours IF, 8 hours medium level navigation and 3 hours NF thrown in.
All the fun stuff (advanced GF, low nav, formation, and yes - even IF under that horrible bag for those sick puppies amongst us!
) is done in the PC9.However I note...
I think he'd make a good candidate, he's athletic and intelligent, but has no flying experience (bar 25 minutes in a 172 and 15 hours in a 747 ). He only wants to fly and would probably knock back Eng etc.
Has he visited a RAAF base and had a look around? What's his knowledge of the RAAF like (e.g. what SQNs fly what, a basic history of the RAAF, the RAAFs' role in recent conflicts, what new aircraft are in the pipeline - stuff like that)?
As for the degree thing, well I'm somwehat biased not having done one. About 4 years less flying I would have got to do!
And BTW, as far as I'm aware the current CDF doesn't have a degree......
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Tell him to finished his degree.
Pilot's course will still be there at the end.. do some flying stuff over the next few years then apply. Plus, then when he's a qualified pilot he can log on to PPRuNe and annoy heaps of people by pointing out they are under educated peasants who have no clue about <insert relavent topic>.
Pilot's course will still be there at the end.. do some flying stuff over the next few years then apply. Plus, then when he's a qualified pilot he can log on to PPRuNe and annoy heaps of people by pointing out they are under educated peasants who have no clue about <insert relavent topic>.
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Originally Posted by Captain Sand Dune
The latest iteration of the RAAF syllabus consists of 65 hours in the CT4B at sunny Tamworth (just like the -A, but with more avionics thingies to make it heavier!) and ~ 165 in the PC9A at Pearce.
Without going into minutea (and bearing in mind that these days pilot training syllabi change with every OC/CO!), the CT4 phase consists of mostly GF with about 10 hours IF, 8 hours medium level navigation and 3 hours NF thrown in.
All the fun stuff (advanced GF, low nav, formation, and yes - even IF under that horrible bag for those sick puppies amongst us! ) is done in the PC9.
However I note...
Playing the Devils' advocate, those nasty people at the board will query this. "Only wants to fly", but is studying at uni and has not done any flying lessons at all?!?! This would bring into focus his motivation.
Has he visited a RAAF base and had a look around? What's his knowledge of the RAAF like (e.g. what SQNs fly what, a basic history of the RAAF, the RAAFs' role in recent conflicts, what new aircraft are in the pipeline - stuff like that?).
Without going into minutea (and bearing in mind that these days pilot training syllabi change with every OC/CO!), the CT4 phase consists of mostly GF with about 10 hours IF, 8 hours medium level navigation and 3 hours NF thrown in.
All the fun stuff (advanced GF, low nav, formation, and yes - even IF under that horrible bag for those sick puppies amongst us!
) is done in the PC9.However I note...
Playing the Devils' advocate, those nasty people at the board will query this. "Only wants to fly", but is studying at uni and has not done any flying lessons at all?!?! This would bring into focus his motivation.
Has he visited a RAAF base and had a look around? What's his knowledge of the RAAF like (e.g. what SQNs fly what, a basic history of the RAAF, the RAAFs' role in recent conflicts, what new aircraft are in the pipeline - stuff like that?).
); I think his reasoning is that he thinks he's capable of making aircrew, and that if he was forced into a mustering elsewhere he may as well make more money doing the same thing on civvy street. He has a reasonable knowledge of RAAF ops, bases etc, 2 generations before him have served and he has an idea of what "service life" is like. The fact that he grew up in the bush at least 2 hours from a flying school, and a lack of a clear idea of what he wanted to do with himself hasn't helped in regards to his "experience" (or lack of).Frozo, my first piece of advice was "why don't you finish your degree first and then think about it", but I think at the moment he thinks he's 10 ft tall and bullet proof. I was actually hoping someone would post something along the lines of "tell him to finish his degree and then apply, he'll progress further/faster, find training a little easier etc etc" to back up my argument. It's difficult because it seems like he has a real idea of what he wants to do for the first time, but unfortunately he wants to do it all now
Bloggs, thanks for the link, the book looks good (if it's current)
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Maybe explain that a degree is a good thing to fall back on if something happens after he is a qualified pilot. What if he trips and a stick goes through his eye (god forbid!)?? Better to have a Law/Science degree to fall back on than having to ask "Would you like fries with that order"
Nunc est bibendum
Do a search on the Air Force Cadets bulletin board also. There is a whole bunch of different advice there about the various courses, avenues and so on. Contributors include those who have been there and done it.
http://bb.aafc.org.au/phpbb/viewforu...fca15da966be0f
http://bb.aafc.org.au/phpbb/viewforu...fca15da966be0f
