Madeline P, Thank you for your service. What aptitude tests are involved and when are they required to be completed?

Hi Stephen,

Thank you so much for your question.

Its good that you have some flying experience - is this fixed wing or rotary?

Firstly, I would just caution that whilst selection for AAC pilot does include the aptitude tests, it also requires a successful selection at either Sandhurst (for officer pilot) or recommendation (for soldier pilot) which is normally 3-4yrs after completing phase two training. There is no guarantee that an aptitude pass will reserve you a place in pilot training. If you have further questions about the differences between soldier and officer pilot then please feel free to ask.

In terms of selection process itself. You will be required to pass three stages: aptitude tests, aircrew medical and flying grading.

The aptitude tests consist of 6-7hrs of computer based training that tests your problem solving, mental arithmetic and hand eye coordination.
The medical is fairly thorough and looks through your past medical history as well as hearing, eyesight, limb measurements etc to ensure you'll fit in the cockpit. Both the aptitude testing and medical are held at RAF Cranwell.
Finally flying grading- this is usually 4-5 weeks of learning to fly a Grob Tutor at Middle Wallop. If you have previous flying experience this may well be the easiest stage for you!

I hope that all makes sense? Personally I have gone into flying as a direct entry officer. I did my selection tests and grading before starting at Sandhurst. I completed the standard year course at Sandhurst and then started the pilots' course after commissioning. I would suggest that this is the easiest way round to do the tests because you will have more time to complete them before beginning your military training.

The AAC page on the British Army website as more details about everything I have covered but please feel free to ask any more questions.

Take care,
Maddie

Thank you so much for the quick reply. I have mainly completed my hours in fixed wing aircraft. I have completed at least two hours in a rotary aircraft and I was satisfied that I feel I could go onto further training.
I am in touch with the Officer Recruitment Team and I will talk further with then highlighting some points you have mentioned.
With the computer based aptitude is there any software currently out there that can assist with mentally training for this? I have sat the Aptitude test for the RAF and I only passed in certain areas, would this be of similar calibre?

Many thanks

Stephen

Hi Stephan,

Thanks for your reply.

The aptitude tests are exactly the same as the RAF ones. In fact all military pilots take those same tests. It's been a few years since I did mine so I don't want to give you false information but I believe that you need to score a minimum of 100 for an Army pass. I definitely failed one of the tests and still scored an overall pass but like I say, things may well have changed. It's best to speak to the recruiting team just to make sure you have the up to date requirements.

I know that there are some products on the market to help revise for the tests. I mainly focussed on the maths elements as I knew that was my weaker point. So if you have already had exposure to the tests then youll have a good idea about which elements you need to focus on. Again, the recruiting team should be able to give you some better advice on which products would be the most helpful as I'm a bit out of touch now.

I hope that helps. Please let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Take care,
Maddie

Hi madeleine,

I hope you are doing well, I wanted to know what do you mean by phase two training as in the training at sandhurst or training after sandhurst. This is taking into the fact im applying for an officer role. I hope to become a pilot but I wanted to know the process and length of becoming a pilot in the army.

my second question is why does it take 3-4 years for selection. my third question, can you break down the steps in the process of becoming a pilot in either wildcat or apache after sandhurst.

Many thanks