"So You Want To Be A Pilot" Merged Thread 2002 - 2018

[efx00]

Hello There,

I am thinking of joining the RCAF. I'm only 5.2'' tall, not sure about the minimum height requirements. Just like everyone else, I do hope to fly the fighter jets even though my chances are very slim. Can anyone help me with that information?

I contacted the recruitment centre and I was told there weren't any height requirements but when researched I noticed there were height requirements in the U.S. I'm really confused, I don't want to keep my hopes up.

Any information (from a pilot point of view) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
EFX000

 

[dangerboy]

I contacted the recruitment centre and I was told there weren't any height requirements but when researched I noticed there were height requirements in the U.S. I'm really confused, I don't want to keep my hopes up.

I am not a pilot and know nothing about being a pilot but my advice is to go with the information that the Canadian recruiting centre told you and not to worry about what the US does as they are a separate country and their military has different rules and regulations than ours. So if our recruiting centre told you their is no height requirements, that is what i would go off of.

 

[Loachman]

Firstly, there is no RCAF anymore.

Did your research include the Search Function on this site?

I typed in "minimum height requirements CF pilot" and was led to this thread:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/62660/post-790828#msg790828

It's not just height, and there are usually minimum and maximum weights for ejection seats as well.

Measurements used to be taken during Aircrew Selection, and most likely still are.

You can find answers to a lot of your questions in that thread, most likely, as well as in others.

 

[SupersonicMax]

I am thinking of joining the RCAF. I'm only 5.2'' tall, not sure about the minimum height requirements. Just like everyone else, I do hope to fly the fighter jets even though my chances are very slim. Can anyone help me with that information?

It's not only pure height, but also proportions of your body.  When you go to Toronto, after Aircrew Selection (provided you passed), you will be measured.  I think it's all electronic now. 

Also, the minimum weight for F-18 Ejection Seats right now is 136 lbs nude.  With the new seat coming into service this year, I believe it will go down to 101 lbs.

 

[Occam]

Also, the minimum weight for F-18 Ejection Seats right now is 136 lbs nude.  With the new seat coming into service this year, I believe it will go down to 101 lbs.

Will they be issuing phone books for the 101 pounders to sit on, so they can see out the canopy?  ;D

 

[1911CoLt45]

Can any one comment on why they do not take people who want the pilot job but who have licences pertaining to the trade.  I have a private licence.  I went to the recruiters and said am I able to get this job?  They said no at the time because I didnt have a university degree.  I am in the middle come completing my BA in political science now however , but will this education to be considered for the pilot job?

 

[infamous_p]

Can any one comment on why they do not take people who want the pilot job but who have licences pertaining to the trade.  I have a private licence.  I went to the recruiters and said am I able to get this job?  They said no at the time because I didnt have a university degree.  I am in the middle come completing my BA in political science now however , but will this education to be considered for the pilot job?

How much research have you done with regards to the pilot trade, and the requirements for becoming an officer in the CF?

 

[aesop081]

I have a private licence. 

You and a boatload of other applicants so dont feel special.

 

[Loachman]

A private licence won't get you an airline pilot job either.

It's equivalent to a kindergarten graduation, as compared to a degree.

 

[MAJONES]

They said no at the time because I didn't have a university degree.  I am in the middle come completing my BA in political science now however , but will this education to be considered for the pilot job?

When I was working in recruiting (2 years ago) any degree was good for pilot (but a hard science degree was preferred).  That may have changed but I doubt it since it has been that way since at least 1988.

As for the PPL not counting for much, there are a few things you need to understand.  Pretty much anybody can get a PPL if they are willing to throw enough money at.  In the military you have a very limited amount of time to get up to snuff in your flying, you must be a fast learner.  Getting a PPL does not demonstrate anything about your rate of learning.  Also, the military sometimes flies differently from what you would have seen in your flight training.  A good number of the skills that you learned in your PPL are not transferable to military flying.

 

[SupersonicMax]

MAJONES,

Actually, after a few hundred hours of civi flying and a few hundred hours of military flying, I can tell you that the skills learnt on the PPL are very much transferable to the military environment.  While the skills taught on the PPL may not be taught the same way or at all flying in the military (and vice versa), it's still a skill in your bag and makes you think that much more outside the box, especially when new situations occur, not to mention the airmanship aspect of it.

It is true, however, that civilian flying will in no way guarantee success in the military.  The way things are taught is very different and depending on someone's attitude, even with tons of experience he/she may find him/herself failing the basic course.

 

[MAJONES]

Max, I agree that some of the very basic skills are transferable, but many are not.  Attitudes + movements transfer well, circuits, and nav do not.   

 

[SupersonicMax]

Max, I agree that some of the very basic skills are transferable, but many are not.  Attitudes + movements transfer well, circuits, and nav do not. 

We'll have to agree to disagree.  Once you get out of Moose Jaw/Portage, you'll find that there is no more line on the ground where the circuit is.  It becomes, you guessed it, airmanship as to how/where you fly your circuit safely and efficiently in an environment where not necessarily all the airplanes fly all the same speeds.  So your experience flying circuits in a Cessna 150 at the local airport may come handy after all.

As far as Nav, same principles apply in my mind.  Navigating, even in a CF aircraft, isn't brain surgeon material, especially with a GPS nowadays.

 

[MAJONES]

Agreeing to disagree sounds fair   

 

[gcclarke]

Gentlemen, might we be able to say that skills learned while getting your PPL may very well help you once you become a military pilot, they won't help you in becoming a military pilot, which is of course what the vast majority of people reading this thread seem to be concerned with?

 

[SupersonicMax]

I strongly believe that they will help you get through training, if the attitude is right.

 

[MAJONES]

Having a PPL won't hurt, but it's not going to be that much of a boost.

 

[ark]

Gentlemen, might we be able to say that skills learned while getting your PPL may very well help you once you become a military pilot, they won't help you in becoming a military pilot, which is of course what the vast majority of people reading this thread seem to be concerned with?

http://cradpdf.drdc.gc.ca/PDFS/unc90/p532336.pdf

If you want to be rigorous, you can't say it helps but you can say there is a correlation between previous flying experience and success during early flight training (PFT) as per section 4.1.2.

Keep in mind that correlation does not imply causation.

 

[gcclarke]

Well, no, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively and gesture furtively while mouthing 'look over there'.

Thanks for the info.

 

[bdave]

Does anyone know what the required femur length would be? I assume it would be a statistical average?
Average femur length is about 40 cm (femur being from hip insertion to upper knee cap).