Can You Help This Student?
Jet Blast Rat
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,081
Likes: 0
From: Sarfend-on-Sea
British European are still sponsoring.
BC if you are willing to consider the discipline (the RAF are an undisciplined rabble anyway, but I won't go crab bashing here, where I'm out numbered
) then talk to an RAF doc (not sure who in the RAF - the RN it's the President of CAAMB, the Central Aviation and Admiralty Medical Board at HMS SULTAN in Gosport). My sister considered the RAF as a career. She had had a bad knee, but after 2 operations it was OK, and the RAF accepted once she proved she could keep up with the PT (by appearing at initial interview fitter than any of the Cranwell output!). She went for ground branch, but they might be OK in the air. Remember Douglas Bader became an ace despite complete lack of legs!
BC if you are willing to consider the discipline (the RAF are an undisciplined rabble anyway, but I won't go crab bashing here, where I'm out numbered
) then talk to an RAF doc (not sure who in the RAF - the RN it's the President of CAAMB, the Central Aviation and Admiralty Medical Board at HMS SULTAN in Gosport). My sister considered the RAF as a career. She had had a bad knee, but after 2 operations it was OK, and the RAF accepted once she proved she could keep up with the PT (by appearing at initial interview fitter than any of the Cranwell output!). She went for ground branch, but they might be OK in the air. Remember Douglas Bader became an ace despite complete lack of legs!
Moderator
Joined: Dec 1997
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 4,929
Likes: 6
From: Suffolk UK
BC,
is your aversion to the 'strict discipline' of the forces an opinion borne of personal experience, or an assumption based on your presumption of what the forces are like?
I ask because, as the least military person you could ever hope to meet (ask anyone who knows me!), I had 22 years of wonderful times in the RAF. No ground tours, 7000 hours worldwide, enough social life to fill a couple of books, etc, etc. Sure, I clashed somewhat with the more disciplinarian members, but my professional ability and general laissez-faire attitude got me through most scrapes. I loved it - and now I fly 747s for Virgin (still....!). Don't rule the forces out until you've looked closely into what they can offer, and what other people your age feel about the job. And, as Send Clowns says, get more opinions about your knee problem; it may not rule you out.
is your aversion to the 'strict discipline' of the forces an opinion borne of personal experience, or an assumption based on your presumption of what the forces are like?
I ask because, as the least military person you could ever hope to meet (ask anyone who knows me!), I had 22 years of wonderful times in the RAF. No ground tours, 7000 hours worldwide, enough social life to fill a couple of books, etc, etc. Sure, I clashed somewhat with the more disciplinarian members, but my professional ability and general laissez-faire attitude got me through most scrapes. I loved it - and now I fly 747s for Virgin (still....!). Don't rule the forces out until you've looked closely into what they can offer, and what other people your age feel about the job. And, as Send Clowns says, get more opinions about your knee problem; it may not rule you out.
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,450
Likes: 5
From: UK
Don't rule yourself out - let the doctors do it for you because that's what they're paid for. If you knee injury is sufficiently bad to preclude you from the military, do you think the CAA will neccessarily be willing to hand over a Class 1?
Scroggs beat me to it but....if you don't like discipline, join the RAF! From what I've heard even officer training is getting warm and cuddly these days (unlike the old days ).
Scroggs beat me to it but....if you don't like discipline, join the RAF! From what I've heard even officer training is getting warm and cuddly these days (unlike the old days
).
