joining air corps?

[00martz00]

Hi lads just new to the forum scene but i was wondering if you might be able to help me out with a question or two. I was looking into joining the air corps a short while ago (before i knew there is no recruiting until the end of 2010) and was looking into doing a cadetship. I found out that you need a leaving cert to do a cadetship which I dont have as I left school to do an apprenticeship. However i seen a cadetship booklet on the defense forces website for army and navy for 2008 and noticed that the age limit was 28. I have just turned 23 this month and was wondering if I was to go back and get my leaving cert and (in the off chance) i could get into the air corps before I hit 25 would i have a chance of doing a cadetship?
Thanks for your time lads!

[Goldie fish]

Definitely.
Once you have the minimum standard of education, you have as good a chance as those fresh faced 18 year olds.

[Tadpole]

Hi Martz,
Theres every chance. Despite common belief you dont need to be a genius or be born with a sliver spoon in your mouth.
The best candidates I have seen are always the ones with a passion for flying and the drive to make it happen.
My advice would be to go back, do your leaving and give it a go. At worst you will have a good education for when the recession swings around.

[Goldie fish]

Its a good one to tell the interview panel too. "I returned to school to do my leaving so I could become a Pilot."

[johnny no stars]

Would you consider going back as a mature student and doing a degree instead? if you did a 3 year degree it would leave you at 27 so you'd have 1-2 years to apply, with degree, depending on where your birthday falls in the year.

[00martz00]

thanks lads appreciate it.Would i be able to use a degree instead of a leaving cert?

[johnny no stars]

I'm open to correction but I would certainly imagine so. The leaving cert is the minimum requirement, a degree is a higher qualification and gets extra brownie points in the competition process.

If you do go back, try do something relevent. If you redo the leaving cert, think of doing honours maths, physics and geography to show you'd be acedemically able for the theory part of learning to fly.


by the way, welcome to the board.


edit: sorry my bad, just looked at the booklet and it says graduates need:
a minimum Grade D3 in the following Ordinary/Higher
level subjects:
(1) Mathematics.
(2) Irish. (NUI matriculation exemptions apply).
(3) English. (Candidates whose first language is not English must satisfy the English
language requirements in accordance with NUI Matriculations Regulations).
(4) Third language. (accepted for NUI Matriculation Registration purposes. NUI
matriculations exemptions apply).
(5) Any two Matriculation subjects not already selected.

as well as your degree

best just go for the leaving cert so.

[hptmurphy]

Depends on the degree.

But to a certain extent it would show a certain willingness and sense of maturity that any interview board would take into account.

Might be no harm to get a few hours flying under your belt to further reinforce your enthusiasm for the job

[Turkey]

Have you compleated your apprenticeship?....... 'cause that shows a certain responsiblity and maturity as well?

[00martz00]

Yeah i completed my apprenticeship with a merit.
might look into doing a degree in engineering in that case and then maybe go for it.

[Turkey]

Yeah i completed my apprenticeship with a merit.
might look into doing a degree in engineering in that case and then maybe go for it.

Go for that, in the meantime, perhaps if/when you get in , the DF might let you finish it.....

[Scorpy]

Don't bother with the flying hours, few guys who actually get the job have any significant hours and if you don't get it, it's an expensive hobby. The argument is that the instructors then have to knock bad habits out of you and anyway, the PC9 is so unlike any civvy machine, that previous experience in a grob or similar is like telling a provisional driver that he's about to be given a formula one car for his test.

Think carefully (without meaning to put you off) because with the current crop of pilots on contract for between twelve and fifteen years, the promotional aspects at the moment are very dodgy. The civvy market isn't going to be hiring for a good few years and nobody I know in the air corps is currently too eager to leave. 28 would be a ripe old age to be starting and I think that the age limit only applies to graduates, so you would require a degree to be in with that limit.

However, with an appropriate engineering degree such as telecommunications, aeronautical or aeromechanical systems engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, bio-chemical engineering, or chemical engineering, or indeed civil engineering, you may find that if you DID get the job as a cadet AND you subseqently failed the flying course (about 20 percent washout rate) you would be in a position to transfer to the army or indeed to the air corps as has happened in the past with fallen angels. Engineers are in with better promotional prospects and a higher grade of pay at the moment.

BTW the bio-chemical one and the chemical one you may want to know, will probably end up with you dressed in a large green suit full of armour, up to your elbown in the innards of a large, ticking, possibly radioactive or poisonous explosive device. Just so you know.

Cos you might want to know that!

If you need more info and a real world perspective on life in the corps at the moment, PM me. Anyone else will be met with a hail of computerised lead!

[johnny no stars]

Yeah and the current crop of A330 pilots never learnt to fly in cessnas or anything


I've heard of (from very very trustworthy sources) people getting the air corps and going to the pre-cadetship 2 weeks flying in Bal. They hated it. Really really really hated it and had no natural "knack" for it. It wouldn't hurt to get a FEW hours up. I'm not saying go and get the PPL. But doing 15 hours or so with a few solo hours is not going to hurt. If nothing else, it lets you see if you actually do like it and will show at an interview that you are serious about wanting to fly.

Interviewer "So you have no experience flying whatsoever. So what makes you think you would like to be a pilot?"

Interviewee "Just think I'd like it"

Please.

[Scorpy]

I got it on the no previous experience basis. I also got offered the NS cadets engineer branch with no engineering degree and no apprenticeship experience and was actively encouraged to apply on the day for the executive branch, because they were desperately short of candidates. It's not down to doing stuff that applies to the Air Corps or NS in order to get the job, it's more about proving that you can apply what you have done in general terms to the job and that you are the bees knees at what you have done, no matter how irrelevant it is. How else is an 18 year old school leaver going to be in a position to join straight away? I know that doesn't apply in this case, but to encourage someone to fly and expend hard earned money to build up experience that the Air Corps consider as almost useless and in some cases a distinct disadvantage seems stupid to me.

[johnny no stars]

Nobody's saying it's not unheard of to get it on a no previous experience basis, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt to have a few hours under your belt so that you can confirm most importantly of all to yourself that you aren't going to put all the effort into the application procedure and then find out you hate it.

Is someone with a PPL, no instrument rating and 70 hours instructing in a private flying school to put towards a CPL at an advantage? Hell no.
Is someone with a few hours to get a feel for flying and make sure they don't hate it at a disadvantage? hardly....

Nobody has said it would make the wings course easier. All people have said is a few hours will show you're enthusiastic and pro-active about flying.