Noctis said:
One week to medical? They must really love this guy.
Thanks for your feedback on preparing. I read your post in the Aircrew section. Sorry to hear. I can't imagine the feeling... I'm heading to ASC soon (sent my medical docs 2 weeks ago), I pray for a positive outcome. Regardless, if CAPSS finds me unsuitable, it's probably for the best.
This is what to do mentally: Prepare yourself psychologically in a very strong way. Focus on success and only success, but do prepare yourself to take it with a good attitude regardless whether you win or lose. If you win, keep it modest and don't show off your excitement too strongly in the presense of those who were unsuccessful, out of respect for their hard work that did not pay off. You may see kids there whose dream was to fly ever since young age, and they don't go through. You can imagine the trauma. If you lose, stay strong, congratulate the guys who succeeded and don't complain about your failure. Although it's a decent size setback, remember that you can still come back and try again. Not everyone is lucky the first time, and some people have to work harder to achieve their dream, overcoming the road blocks such as this one. They say most people who try again pass, but that's just a statistic and not a guarantee. And failing CAPSS doesn't necessarily mean you'll be lousy pilot, but it'll make you want to work harder if you still want it badly.
This is what to do physically: Go fly fly fly. Fly planes. Fly sims. Fly MS Flight Sim. FLY! And do it until the cross-check and hand-eye-feet coordination becomes second-nature. Your hours won't go to waste anyway, because even if you fail, you'll just add some more hours to get your PPL and try again. And read the ASC topics on this forum for any more tips and clues. Remember CAPSS is sensitive.
Aircrew selection will be a great experience regardless. It was definitely a hell of a week. There was good comraderie between the candidates, eating all meals together and joking around and giving each other tips. Anticipating each session, reviewing. Talked to some military personnel over meals too, including a couple of pilots. Everyone was very nice and friendly. Instructors were great guys as well. The week was very exciting, but also mentally difficult. The stress is definitely in the air, so it's up to you to control it. I suppose everyone deals with stress differently, but try to take it easy, relax, and focus. Talk to others and joke around to take the edge off. This tactic helped me back when taking university exams. On the last day of aircrew, a few guys couldn't eat breakfast. That's a little too much stress, don't be that guy! All in all, great memories for a lifetime. I'm pretty sure they could make a reality TV show on aircrew selection haha, there is enough stress, excitement, and devastation to make it interesting.
