What advice would give to a person such as myself which has applied to be a pilot officer to give me the best chance?
Additional information
I’m looking for any tips/advice at all in which you can give me in order to be able to put me a step ahead of any other potential applicants such as myself that are aiming for the role of being a pilot in the AAC. I am an 18 year old previous student with 11 GCSE’s and also hold a triple distinction in aeronautical engineering (DDD). I have started working full time at amazon until I join preferably next year. I am training myself alongside my job with army pilot officer specific aptitude tests and all other important topics as well as my fitness until i feel like I am in a good position ready to join. I would love to be able to fly any rotary aircraft for the AAC one day as it has always been a goal of mine as my main passion is to fly, but my most preferred aircraft would have to be the AH-64! I look forward to hearing back from you. Yours sincerely Benjamin Harrison wood
Ben T. asked a question to British Army
Category: Career Advice
Date asked: Friday, September 18, 2020
Last reviewed: Sunday, September 27, 2020
Madeline J.
Wildcat Pilot
Hi Ben,
Thank you so much for your question. I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
It sounds like you've got a very sensible plan in place with regards to preparing yourself but there are certainly several tips o could give you to help you along.
Firstly, where abouts are you in your application to join as an Officer? I'm sure you'll know from your research that regardless of your trade in the Army, you are always an Officer first and so that's the first hurdle for you to pass. You need to successfully pass AOSB and be awarded a place at Sandhurst. There's lots of information about this on the Army website and I'm sure you're pretty clued up on it already but it's worth getting this done and put of the way before starting the AAC pilot application tests.
Secondly, (I say this to everyone who really has a passion to fly) it's worth researching flying in both the RAF and Navy too. The RAF are the real specialists when it comes to flying and, if successful in the pilot aptitude tests, you would join their officer training with a guaranteed place as a pilot whereas at Sandhurst the place isn't guaranteed until you pass the interviews in the second term. It's always worth looking into all the options so you're certain you're making the correct decision. I am obviously very biased towards the AAC but it's important that you know about all the options out there that would be available to you!
Thirdly, it's great that you're already familiar with the aptitude tests. This is the best preparation you can do to help. I would also recommend practicing your mental maths and speed/distance/time calculations. The quicker your brain can work out simple maths, the easier you will find some of the tests.
I'm not sure whether you are already in contact with the AAC recruiting team but it's worth having a chat with them too. They will be more current with their information and will be able to help you along the way. Stuart M. Is on the team and might also have some pearls of wisdom for you?
I hope that's enough to get you started. Please let me know if you have any more questions of if any of what I've said doesn't make sense!
Have a good rest of your weekend and speak to you soon,
Maddie
Sunday, September 27, 2020
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