Flight Operations Officer and visiting RAF Bases

[heisenberg]

I had a meeting last week at the RAF AFCO in Liverpool, as I'm interested in Flight Operations within the RAF. As I have a degree, the lady at the AFCO encouraged me to go for an Officer role rather than Flight Operations Assistant. I'm interested in visiting RAF bases ahead of putting in my application, so that I can educate myself a little further and show that I have a genuine interest in the RAF's current operations.

I expect there'll be a wealth of knowledge here and I'd like to know if anybody can offer me any advice in how I go about arranging these visits. Would you recommend that I make a few of these visits before I put my application in or should I get the ball rolling, put in my application and make these visits throughout the process? I expect I'll continue to try and visit bases throughout my application but I'm wondering whether or not I should get a couple of them under my belt ahead of my aptitude tests/selection interview.

Any other advice for a prospective Flight Operations Officer would obviously be very welcome too.

Cheers.

 

[vim_fuego]

Although in my time I arranged ad hoc visits for people (some from the Goat) I would say that the AFCO you visited would be best placed to arrange you a visit. Closet flying base is probably RAF Valley but if you want to see a really busy ops then Brize would be worth the extra effort.

 

[Witty_Banter]

It's an interesting situation - a visit to an active Flying Station could give you the enthusiasm and drive needed to get through basic; equally, you may end up being put off application completely if the people you see and / or meet are having a particularly bad day, or are a poor example of what the military is like (those unhappy with their current career or prospects).

I would say if you're already interested, then get your application in. Your biggest concern should then be Ground Trade or Commission - the best financial option would be Commission, and you can always apply for Ground Trades if you aren't accepted.

I would also recommend you take a look at the other trades, so that you have a backup plan. The waiting game from application to acceptance to attestation can take months (sometimes over a year, depending on trade requirements).

 

[Warwick Hunt]

Although in my time I arranged ad hoc visits for people (some from the Goat) I would say that the AFCO you visited would be best placed to arrange you a visit. Closet flying base is probably RAF Valley but if you want to see a really busy ops then Brize would be worth the extra effort.

The AFCO would only arrange a visit if the appropriate branch had an official Realistic Job Profile (RJP) set up by the training establishment for potential candidates - ATC and ABM have them and 55(R) Sqn used to run a similar programme for prospective NCA. I'm not sure about Flt Ops Officer though, I have certainly never heard of one. The AFCO will let you know if an RJP exists. OASC will view it favourably if you contacted a flying unit (such as Valley as Vim mentioned) off of your own back and arranged a visit yourself as it shows commitment and motivation. Something to think about?

 

[vim_fuego]

So how about the school at Shawbury then?