#Fighter pilot requirements how to#

If you are good at gymnastics, such as trampolining this is an indication of your ability to orientate yourself in three dimensions. If you are good at table tennis this is a good indicator of eye hand coordination.

Eye hand coordination plays a big part of the recruiting process and it will be tested in a special machine. Physical fitness and ability in sports is important to your cause. After all the course is designed for someone who has no flying experience at all. You need to realise that this flying experience will only help you a certain way on course and those who have joined a course without flying experience will achieve parity with you on course reasonably quickly. The recruiters will ask you why you did this training so let them know that you did the training to help with your suitability for a position on a course. Basically this flying experience will give you some confidence in your ability to operate an aircraft making you more competitive with your application. If you can afford powered flying training then go for it. Gliding is much less expensive and the training provided by gliding club instructors is more aligned to military techniques than the powered variety of training. If you have aviation experience this will also help, I advise people who do not have flying experience to consider gliding. Knowing where all the aircraft are based is also a good idea, you will be questioned on this. Next is motivation, this is measured by your interest in aviation and your knowledge of the RAAF aircraft and the roles that they are capable of performing. If you are unable to settle in to a rigorous study routine you will not pass the course and the recruiters know this. Whilst the academics of pilot training is not in line with a masters degree it isn’t easy either. This indicates your ability to study along with your dedication to task. The first attribute you need is to achieve the highest possible education standard that you are able to achieve. A direct entry who fails to complete pilot course may still have the opportunity for another career path as well but that may require additional training.Ī trainee fighter pilot and instructor in a RAAF Hawk fighter jet at RAAF Base Darwin. Academy graduates however, are more likely to progress through the officer ranks than a direct entry subject of course to their performance throughout their career. The disadvantage of the Academy is that, when compared to a direct entry pilot, the direct entry will have completed their operational conversion course and be a member of a flying squadron just as an Academy graduate is starting pilot training. The advantage of the Academy courses is that if you do not complete the pilot course you still have many other RAAF career paths open to you. If you decide on the Academy you will spend three years undergoing a degree course before you receive a position on a pilot course. There are two avenues available to an applicant, as a direct entry straight to pilot course or through the Australian Defence Force Academy. You also need to realise that the failure rate for pilot course is around 50%, this figure is also very variable and the Defence force has gone to great pains to reduce this with, at times, some modicum of success. The key is to be the most competitive of all the applicants. So you can plainly see that the competition for placement is fierce. Naturally these figures change markedly from time to time depending on many variables. Some years ago recruiting received approximately 1,500 applications for each course, nowadays it is down to approximately 1,500 applications for the four courses each year. Let’s look at the statistics, the RAAF conducts four pilot courses per year with approximately 35 positions. Get as much information as you can from your local recruiting office, know what you’re in for, be prepared. I have also received requests and pressures to write a blog outlining the list of attributes and give some insight into the process.įirstly the best advice I can give is to have a backup plan for your life as success in achieving a placement on a pilot course is not guaranteed.

#Fighter pilot requirements how to#

There are a number of attributes that the RAAF look for during the recruiting process and I am often asked what these attributes are and how to improve the chances of success for someone. I have had the pleasure of mentoring a number of young men in their attempts to become RAAF pilots and I have enjoyed a reasonable level of success over the years.