Height and/or Weight Issues
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Height and/or Weight Issues
I have another question for you all. I'm 5'8 and play alot of sport, my favorite being rugby. I play inside centre and for those of you in the know you have to be fit and strong as well as fast and agile. I played first team rugby for three years at University as well as a good standard of club rugby.
What am i getting at, i hear you say, well although i do play alot of sport and consider myself fit i do however weigh 15 stone. Now the problem is that i am heaverly bilt, i'm not fat, but i do have broad shoulders and legs like tree trunks. I run four times a week as well as swimming and of course playing rugby. I'm not a 'body-builder' or anything like that, although i do go in the gym and do weight work, but for fitness reasons rather than cosmetic ones.
I got my navy application through with the medical requirments and it said for my height i needed to be 11stone 10lbs and even with the 15% they allow that only brings it to 12stone 7lbs.
My question is how strict are they. I doubt very much whether i will make 12stone 7lbs. The lowest i can probably get to is 13stone, and thats pusing it. But if i'm really fit and have say a body fat percentage of about 10% will they still fail me on my medical.
I would be very grateful if someone could advise me on this as it is critical that i find this information out as i could stop my naval aviation career even before it has chance to begin.
Please help
Welsh Flyer
What am i getting at, i hear you say, well although i do play alot of sport and consider myself fit i do however weigh 15 stone. Now the problem is that i am heaverly bilt, i'm not fat, but i do have broad shoulders and legs like tree trunks. I run four times a week as well as swimming and of course playing rugby. I'm not a 'body-builder' or anything like that, although i do go in the gym and do weight work, but for fitness reasons rather than cosmetic ones.
I got my navy application through with the medical requirments and it said for my height i needed to be 11stone 10lbs and even with the 15% they allow that only brings it to 12stone 7lbs.
My question is how strict are they. I doubt very much whether i will make 12stone 7lbs. The lowest i can probably get to is 13stone, and thats pusing it. But if i'm really fit and have say a body fat percentage of about 10% will they still fail me on my medical.
I would be very grateful if someone could advise me on this as it is critical that i find this information out as i could stop my naval aviation career even before it has chance to begin.
Please help
Welsh Flyer
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Dont worry it is tempered with common sense! Had a great season as prop for the Fleet air arm, only next aircrew medical I was declared 35% overweight. The doc said I had to lose weight, I replied -up your bum chumpy, Ive got selection for the RN team in 2 months time! Long and the short of it was had to do a body fat analysis and a VO2 uptake test which showed I was fitter and leaner than average. Now got a great 'get out of jail free chit' in my medical docs for future years!!!
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Thanks Klunk, your bit of advice was good to hear. The only problem though is that you're already in the navy and have a proven record. What about someone who hasn't actually passed AIB yet, like me?? Do you think the medical officer will do the same thing for me as he did for you??
Welsh Flyer
Welsh Flyer
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Sounds as if there's been a bit of 'Club Class' pie-eating and bitter-swilling, too. Five Foot Eight and fifteen stone???
You may not be a L@rd-@rse, but by 'eck, you're storing up problems for your ticker when you get a bit older, chum!
PS: A bit less time in the gym and a bit more in the library, and you wouldn't be so 'heaverly bilt'. How's that for @n@l?
[This message has been edited by Jackonicko (edited 17 June 2000).]
You may not be a L@rd-@rse, but by 'eck, you're storing up problems for your ticker when you get a bit older, chum!
PS: A bit less time in the gym and a bit more in the library, and you wouldn't be so 'heaverly bilt'. How's that for @n@l?
[This message has been edited by Jackonicko (edited 17 June 2000).]
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Thanks for the positive and not at all p**s taking replies guy's. I would like to add that Scott Gibbs (Welsh & Lions center) was 15 stone 7lbs when he was at his best, and was only 5ft 8". You wouldn't call him fat thats for sure. Anyway, i am aware that i have to lose weight, but the question still remains. How strict are they, and do they purly go on height - weight??????
welsh flyer.
welsh flyer.
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There must be some more intelligent way for 'them' to assess your fitness for flying training - back in the 70s we had quite a few rugger-buggers flying on my UAS and they weren't small!! It didn't seem to stop them going on to be RAF pilots though. The current racing-snake mentality seems self-defeating if it prevents an otherwise fit person joining the mob. But don't forget that you won't necessarily get time off to go and grind people's faces in the mud every Wednesday these days - and your instructors will be very peeved if you are off work with sport-induced injuries!!
Perhaps the real problem is just that you come from the land of the language-without-vowels?? Only joking - we have a fairly large Welshman on our squadron!!
[This message has been edited by BEagle (edited 21 June 2000).]
Perhaps the real problem is just that you come from the land of the language-without-vowels?? Only joking - we have a fairly large Welshman on our squadron!!
[This message has been edited by BEagle (edited 21 June 2000).]
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Faced the same problem in the late '80s - playing county rugby, fit as a fiddle, blah blah. My challenge wasn't so severe as I'm a little over 5'10''. Pilot acceptance was conditional on the weight loss. Made myself ill (Cambridge diet, bin bag running etcetc) although I was so run down and caught every bug going, I was declared fit by the RAF!
Are they being 'weightist' in insisting you lose weight, irrespective of fitness level? Perhaps you could write to the current Chairman of the Services' Rugby union that you are hoping to join? Will you fit in the cockpit? Ultimately, you may have to challenge the jurrasic regulations through political/legal means, but firstly, just ask for common sense to be appplied.
Finally, don't pay any attention to the pie-eaters amongst us who have never attained your level of fitness, and now that they are serving, never will.....
Are they being 'weightist' in insisting you lose weight, irrespective of fitness level? Perhaps you could write to the current Chairman of the Services' Rugby union that you are hoping to join? Will you fit in the cockpit? Ultimately, you may have to challenge the jurrasic regulations through political/legal means, but firstly, just ask for common sense to be appplied.
Finally, don't pay any attention to the pie-eaters amongst us who have never attained your level of fitness, and now that they are serving, never will.....
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Thanks very much BEagel and EESDL, your comments were very much appreciated. I am managing to lose more weight and have infact broken into the fourteen stone bracket, just have to keep going.
I know how you must have felt EESDL, as the amount of training i am doing is takeing its tole on my body, but i guess you have to do what is needed to get in!
Thanks again for the support
Welsh Flyer
I know how you must have felt EESDL, as the amount of training i am doing is takeing its tole on my body, but i guess you have to do what is needed to get in!
Thanks again for the support
Welsh Flyer
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Don't worry too much about it. I had the same problem way back in the 80's when I joined. All you need do is convince them that the weight 'aint fat. It works. However, I will say that in those days IOT PT took care of any weight problem that you may have had!!
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The point that is being missed here is that absolute weight is very important (both min and max). This is because the ejection seats that we use have qiute stringent limits. I can't remember the exact limits off the top of my head (don't tell Staneval) but 15 stone is too heavy - certainly for the Tornado. This doesn't mean that you couldn't fly in it at all (people regularly do) but it isn't a zero zero seat. The RAF therefore doesn't like people starting off with this limitation. However, like eye sight, people who have 'deteriorated' just continue flying with the new limitations. This may not be a problem in the multi/rotary world but again the RAF doesn't like people being limited in their posting right from the start.
This might seem quite negative but I think the one huge positive point is that the RAF is desperate for aircrew and will overlook minor discrepancies for the right candidate.
This might seem quite negative but I think the one huge positive point is that the RAF is desperate for aircrew and will overlook minor discrepancies for the right candidate.
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OK Welshy - I'm a girly so I had the same problem with height/weight but on the other end of the scale (ie: I was too light). I solved it by drinkinng a gallon of water five minutes before my medical then putting on the weight pronto.
The official statistics for the RAF are:
Weight - between 56.8 and 94.0 kg.
The cool thing is, your height to weight ratio isn't important, you just have to be inside those boundaries above, and also be between 865 and 1010 mm height whilst sitting down. I have the official stats here on my lovely green medical form.
Need any other tips, email me, as I've literally JUST passed selction and so have all the up-to-date stuff to hand.
Regadrs
YakYak
The official statistics for the RAF are:
Weight - between 56.8 and 94.0 kg.
The cool thing is, your height to weight ratio isn't important, you just have to be inside those boundaries above, and also be between 865 and 1010 mm height whilst sitting down. I have the official stats here on my lovely green medical form.
Need any other tips, email me, as I've literally JUST passed selction and so have all the up-to-date stuff to hand.
Regadrs
YakYak
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I am Archiving this thread in the Wannabes Archive for future reference.
I am placing most Military Wannabe threads there so that over time you guys can just point young hopefuls to the Wannabes Archive where they will find answers to all the stock questions.
This will free up space for non-wannabe threads.
Cheers,
WWW
I am placing most Military Wannabe threads there so that over time you guys can just point young hopefuls to the Wannabes Archive where they will find answers to all the stock questions.
This will free up space for non-wannabe threads.
Cheers,
WWW
height problems
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If applying for the RAF, 6'5" may give you problems with ejection seat limits. There are sitting height , buttock-knee and weight limits. I am 6'3" and 87 kg and am close to some limits, but I have seen some v tall truckies though!
If applying, the Av Med Centre at RAF Henlow or your RAF Careers centre shiould be able to help.
Good Luck.
If applying, the Av Med Centre at RAF Henlow or your RAF Careers centre shiould be able to help.
Good Luck.