Okay, whats next- after ACS
- Thread starter Bograt
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^ FYI to the both of you guys, on behalf of all us Pilots-to-be, we really appreciate your stories and input. The information you share with all of us is invaluable. And in case no one has said it before, Thank You.
Not at all. The more info, the better.
I do want to be a SAR Multi Pilot (Much like Zoomie is right now), but I'm sure my choices will change about 8 different times through the whole process.
Not at all. The more info, the better.
I do want to be a SAR Multi Pilot (Much like Zoomie is right now), but I'm sure my choices will change about 8 different times through the whole process.
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Changing your mind isn't a bad thing, you'll get lots of exposure to different instructors that come from different communities and that will shape what your career goals are. As I said earlier, I wanted jets when I was sworn in, by the time I was done Moose Jaw I wanted nothing but helos, why I changed my mind is based on a multitude of different things. Wherever you choose or get chosen to go, it's a great job.
Cheers
Oh yeah, you're welcome, glad we could help.
Cheers
Oh yeah, you're welcome, glad we could help.
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Thanks for the corrections guys.
With regards to the number of jet slots in a given course, maybe the guy who told me that was exaggerating slightly to get the point across that the number of jet spots and your chances of getting jets really depends on the course you make it on. It did get my hopes up though...I was hoping that it could have been true.
...it amazes me how many pilots-in-waiting are hoping to pick up a transport or helo spot as their first choice
I can see how that quote can seem kind of naive. I didn't mean to suggest everyone wants multi or helo, or that competition for jet spots is low, or that somehow jets are far superior to helo or multi. I'd be ecstatic no matter what spot I took. All I meant by that is that I had expected every pilot-to-be to want jets, and so far out of the six that I have talked to only 3 are putting jets down as their #1 choice. Which, as Inch said, does make it very competitive if there is 1 jet slot per 6 students.
Thanks again for the info. As Born2Fly said, information is what us newbies are looking for...better to be informed than disillusioned.
You're right Zoomie, I do need to do some more research. I'm trying to do that now and was glad to see you guys on here answering questions. It was great to get the chance to tour 4wing and talk to some people up there, although I am sure I only got the info from a fighter pilots point of view. It sure looks pretty exciting. I even got the opportunity to go up!! - from what I have experienced, I can't see how it could loose it's excitement. But my dream has always been jets.
How many hours do you guys see, or expect to see, on average in a given year? I know its higher than hornet pilots, who I hear get around 130hrs or so on average.
Its pretty scary hearing that the failure rate at helo school can be so high. I would have thought that by that point any one who was going to wash our would have already done so. Is it that high for multi-engine's Zoomie?
With regards to the number of jet slots in a given course, maybe the guy who told me that was exaggerating slightly to get the point across that the number of jet spots and your chances of getting jets really depends on the course you make it on. It did get my hopes up though...I was hoping that it could have been true.
...it amazes me how many pilots-in-waiting are hoping to pick up a transport or helo spot as their first choice
I can see how that quote can seem kind of naive. I didn't mean to suggest everyone wants multi or helo, or that competition for jet spots is low, or that somehow jets are far superior to helo or multi. I'd be ecstatic no matter what spot I took. All I meant by that is that I had expected every pilot-to-be to want jets, and so far out of the six that I have talked to only 3 are putting jets down as their #1 choice. Which, as Inch said, does make it very competitive if there is 1 jet slot per 6 students.
Thanks again for the info. As Born2Fly said, information is what us newbies are looking for...better to be informed than disillusioned.
You're right Zoomie, I do need to do some more research. I'm trying to do that now and was glad to see you guys on here answering questions. It was great to get the chance to tour 4wing and talk to some people up there, although I am sure I only got the info from a fighter pilots point of view. It sure looks pretty exciting. I even got the opportunity to go up!! - from what I have experienced, I can't see how it could loose it's excitement. But my dream has always been jets.
How many hours do you guys see, or expect to see, on average in a given year? I know its higher than hornet pilots, who I hear get around 130hrs or so on average.
Its pretty scary hearing that the failure rate at helo school can be so high. I would have thought that by that point any one who was going to wash our would have already done so. Is it that high for multi-engine's Zoomie?
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The failure rate at the Mutli-Engine school is about 1% - remember Helicopter flying has absolutely nothing in common with fixed wing flying. When I went to Phase 3 to learn how to fly multi-engine aircraft I already possessed 90% of the skill set requried. Helo pilots go to Phase 3 knowing what a helicopter looks like and have to learn the rest. This is what attributes the higher wash-out rate for the Helo boys.
Answering questions is what Inch and I are here for - we want people to come into our trade - we are looking for the best and brightest that Canada has to offer (no - we are not recruiters).
Answering questions is what Inch and I are here for - we want people to come into our trade - we are looking for the best and brightest that Canada has to offer (no - we are not recruiters).
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saintjoseph, just a quick reply before I head to work. A Sea King pilot could expect around 300-400hrs per year and over 500hrs if you're deployed since you alternate each day with the other crew, 1 Sortie one day, 2 Sorties the next. I know guys that have gotten 450hrs in 6 months overseas with a serviceable aircraft which is the catch, if they're serviceable, you'll fly your arse off since that's really all there is to do on the ship. If the SK is busted, it's a pretty boring 6 months. We're expected to upgrade to Maritime Helicopter Capt (MHC) within 18 months and you need 500hrs to do that.
Cheers
Cheers
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saintjoseph,
I was actually on the course that Inch spoke about with the one guy who wanted jets...and that was me. It didn't always start out that way though, one the first day our course director asked us all to say what we wanted to fly and 4 of us said jets. Actually, it wasn't until right near the end that everybody had made up their minds on what they wanted to fly. The guys who changed their minds to helo and multi did so for a variety of reasons but most importantly are loving what they are doing now. Our course was a bit of a rarety in that all 14 of us received our first choices but try not to worry about the slot distribution too much. I had a lot of fun in Phase II flying the Harvard II and I've seen people get so wound up about what they are going to get and how they have to be perfect they have to be that they forget to enjoy what they are doing and at the same time, being so result focused ended up having some hard times. I'm not trying to preach but I think that if you go into Moose Jaw eager to learn and try your best and worry about the results at the end, you'll definitely have a good time. The Harvard II was a blast and I look back at Phase II with a lot of good memories.
The selection process at the end of the course is kind of a mystery to students...everything happens in the "fishbowl" in the NFTC building. Prior to this your course director does go over your final score and class ranking and ours gave us an indication of the slot distribution in terms of numbers (we were told 2 jet, 6 multi and 7 helo if I remember correctly) I think our basic scoring of the course was broken down to the 25% groundschool, 25% daily flying, 25%tests and the mystery 25% officer development. From these results there was a selection board with a good number of higher-ups from each stream and flight commanders who hash it out. It is at that point your course is ranked and slots are distributed but I think quite a lot of thought is put into who goes where.
Hopefully this shed a little bit of light on the process. Feel free to ask any questions about anything to me, I'm not as a regular as a poster as Inch or Zoomie but I'm happy to shed any insight that I can.
I was actually on the course that Inch spoke about with the one guy who wanted jets...and that was me. It didn't always start out that way though, one the first day our course director asked us all to say what we wanted to fly and 4 of us said jets. Actually, it wasn't until right near the end that everybody had made up their minds on what they wanted to fly. The guys who changed their minds to helo and multi did so for a variety of reasons but most importantly are loving what they are doing now. Our course was a bit of a rarety in that all 14 of us received our first choices but try not to worry about the slot distribution too much. I had a lot of fun in Phase II flying the Harvard II and I've seen people get so wound up about what they are going to get and how they have to be perfect they have to be that they forget to enjoy what they are doing and at the same time, being so result focused ended up having some hard times. I'm not trying to preach but I think that if you go into Moose Jaw eager to learn and try your best and worry about the results at the end, you'll definitely have a good time. The Harvard II was a blast and I look back at Phase II with a lot of good memories.
The selection process at the end of the course is kind of a mystery to students...everything happens in the "fishbowl" in the NFTC building. Prior to this your course director does go over your final score and class ranking and ours gave us an indication of the slot distribution in terms of numbers (we were told 2 jet, 6 multi and 7 helo if I remember correctly) I think our basic scoring of the course was broken down to the 25% groundschool, 25% daily flying, 25%tests and the mystery 25% officer development. From these results there was a selection board with a good number of higher-ups from each stream and flight commanders who hash it out. It is at that point your course is ranked and slots are distributed but I think quite a lot of thought is put into who goes where.
Hopefully this shed a little bit of light on the process. Feel free to ask any questions about anything to me, I'm not as a regular as a poster as Inch or Zoomie but I'm happy to shed any insight that I can.
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Inch said:
So then what? Remuster, or do they offer you a voluntary release?
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If you're on obligatory service for getting your university paid for, you have no choice but to remuster. If you're not on obligatory service you can ask for your release, though I'd say that 9 times out of 10 guys remuster. The military life is pretty good these days so most guys don't want to get out.
Yes, poor poor Johnnie and a few others. :'(
Cheers
Yes, poor poor Johnnie and a few others. :'(
Cheers
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Thanks for answering my question. Never been able to get a straight answer on that one.
So here's a couple more questions for our resident experts:
What would you say the average age is going through Moose Jaw? I'm 25 now, and thinking about trying to go back in full time for pilot in 2-4 years, but I'm worried that I'll be approaching "old guy" status.
What's a day in the life of a pilot like? I realize things change when you're deployed, but what's a day at the Sqn like? Obviously you aren't flying all day every day, so what other duties take up your time?
Thanks guys - very insightful and helpful info.
So here's a couple more questions for our resident experts:
What would you say the average age is going through Moose Jaw? I'm 25 now, and thinking about trying to go back in full time for pilot in 2-4 years, but I'm worried that I'll be approaching "old guy" status.
What's a day in the life of a pilot like? I realize things change when you're deployed, but what's a day at the Sqn like? Obviously you aren't flying all day every day, so what other duties take up your time?
Thanks guys - very insightful and helpful info.
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I was 25 (still am) when I got my wings. Everyone on my course was mid-20's. There's guys in their 30's going through and very few in their 40's. Average age I would say is 26-27, keep in mind thought that the RMC guys tend to offset that number to the low side, they're all 23-24 when they go to Moose Jaw and sometime younger. 30 is definitely not too old.
Morning briefs depend on the Sqn but I'd say most are around 0800ish, there's the weather briefing and also any points from the Sqn members are brought up at this time, stuff like Operations, Standards, Admin, etc. Most of the time you've got a secondary duty, some guys work ops, some do the flight scheduling, stuff like that, I'm in charge of the intersection hockey team for the Sqn and all the 2Lts on OJT. There's usually time to play freecell and surf the net a bit. It's pretty laid back, if you've got a flight you'll spend a fair chunk of time prepping and planning depending on what the mission is. We don't always fly everyday, but our Missions tend to be in the 2.5-3 hr range so when you do go flying, preflight followed by the mission followed by debriefing and your day is pretty much spent. There's also the unwritten rule that if you're not doing anything, don't do it there, maybe unique to my Sqn though.
Cheers
Morning briefs depend on the Sqn but I'd say most are around 0800ish, there's the weather briefing and also any points from the Sqn members are brought up at this time, stuff like Operations, Standards, Admin, etc. Most of the time you've got a secondary duty, some guys work ops, some do the flight scheduling, stuff like that, I'm in charge of the intersection hockey team for the Sqn and all the 2Lts on OJT. There's usually time to play freecell and surf the net a bit. It's pretty laid back, if you've got a flight you'll spend a fair chunk of time prepping and planning depending on what the mission is. We don't always fly everyday, but our Missions tend to be in the 2.5-3 hr range so when you do go flying, preflight followed by the mission followed by debriefing and your day is pretty much spent. There's also the unwritten rule that if you're not doing anything, don't do it there, maybe unique to my Sqn though.
Cheers
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I transferred into the Pilot occuipation when I was 26, I am a newly winged Pilot at 30.
That pretty much sums up my days at the office. 0815hrs Morning Brief - 0830hrs check email - NOT Flying - 0900hrs go home
Inch said:There's also the unwritten rule that if you're not doing anything, don't do it there, maybe unique to my Sqn though.
That pretty much sums up my days at the office. 0815hrs Morning Brief - 0830hrs check email - NOT Flying - 0900hrs go home
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Bograt said:
Congratulations Bograt! Once again you have motivated others with your story.
