Cadetships for Leaving Cert Students

[FOX1]

Hey!

I'm currently a L.C. student applying for a cadetship this year. I am just wondering if anybody knows how many 17 or 18 year olds actually get selected, on average (I'll only be 17, I'm not 18 until Dec. Also can someone please put in order of importance/significance the following:

L.C Physics
L.C Higher Maths
RDF Service
Referees
Sport
First Aid SJAB
Flight Hours

If anybody would have even a rough idea of which of the above is most important, could you please post a reply. You'll be doing me a favour cheers.

[Ronan]

hey,
1.psychics 2. flight hours 3. r.d.f. 4.higher maths 5.sport
references and first aid aren't even noticed unless you have a terrible service record in the fca and your commanding officer gives you a terrible reference (which he/she won't cos he/she probably won't even know you that well) first aid doesn't matter. get work experience in baldonnel and try and get a summer job in an aerodrome.
if your an l.c student, you`ve an extremely slim chance but its worth going for the experience for later years. i went last year during the lc and got to the final interview, they picked ten, 8 had degrees. with a degree they can get more out of you. that being said if your shit hot it doesnt matter what age you are once over 17, and some people (legends) do manage to get it.

[FOX1]

Thanks for the response Ronan!

Yeah I figured 17 is way too young to get a cadetship. The reason I mentioned First Aid was the fact that it ( hopefully anyway) shows competency in

-Working Well With Others
-High Stress Tolerance
-Leadership

Examples include working under pressure in a while treating someone at Croke Park etc. While I'm also in charge of the duty roster, money and attendance for my division.

Anyway does anybody know how many of the pilots in the don haven't done physics if any. Everyone I've spoken to seems to have done it!

[StevieW]

I would put sport a lot higher in the list. and flight hours way down the bottom.

[Bigwillie]

I wouldn't necessarily agree with you there Stevie. Imagine how an interview board feel when literally every individual who comes in for interview tells you they play sport on a school/club team. It really doesn't indicate anything particularly special about the individual, especially when it is generally a small enough group who do not play some form of sport nowadays. Even if they don't, surely they have some other experience to tell of which shows them capable of being a 'team player'. Im sure it gets a bit monotonous after a while hearing the same old story with each and every candidate who presents themselves for interview eg. I was captain of the Under 12's (6 years ago) and I was vice, vice captain of the U-7's when I used to play soccer! What it takes is for the candidate to demonstrate something a little more out of the ordinary, to distinguish that person from the next one who walks through the door.  
Now, imagine the candidate who comes in the door and tells you he/she is so interested in flying, that at the age of 16 or 17 (for example) he/she bothered their barney to take a couple of flying lessons to see if they enjoyed the experience. If I was on an interview board, I'd immediately take stock of this individual! How did he/she fund this flying, as lessons don't come cheap these days! Then he/she tells you they spent the money they earned working part time to finance the lessons.
Wow, how could you not say fair play....they took the time to experience flight and they spent their own hard earned cash to do it. Need I say anymore?!

[FOX1]

Good point there Bigwillie.

BTW - Does anybody know how many pilots in the Don have not studied physics? It seems to me that nearly all of them have studied it. Is it a sort of unwritten rule/requirement, that a candidate must have studied physics or a similar degree course, to stand a realistic chance in the competition?

[StevieW]

good points there bigwillie. but I could just as easily say the same thing about flight hours.
A half hour flight lesson is 80 quid. Anybody with a part time job can afford to
get a couple of lessons in, and a lot probably do a couple of weeks/months before the interview,
so they can say it during the interview. So the interviewers are hearing the same thing over and
over again on that point as well. I totally agree with you about the 'vice vice captain six years ago'
sort of stuff, but if you genuinely are into sports, especially if you've some sort of current position
of responsibility, it shows that you've a natural sporting ability, not to mention fitness.
IMO it'll stand to you a lot more than flight hours, which anybody can get. Also, flight hours won't
help you pass the fitness test.

Fox1, if you don't have physics, do you study something like tech drawing or engineering or construction studies or technology? Something that shows your technical aptitude?

[FOX1]

Quote

Fox1, if you don't have physics, do you study something like tech drawing or engineering or construction studies or technology? Something that shows your technical aptitude?

I'm doing HL physics for the Leaving Cert. The only thing is I have to do it outside of school hours, as my school, in all its wisdom, did not run a physics class for my year! I had to nag and nag at my principal and explained to him just how important it was for the Air Corps etc. He finally agreed to run it outside of school hours which I was happy enough with.

Anyway for the last 2 years I've had to stay back for 2hours on Monday and Tuesday and now Thursday and Friday to do the subject. I'm just wondering how important it actually is?

[Ronan]

psyhics isn't important.. neither is knowing how to spell it.
well...it is and it isn't.
If you don't have it but you rational why you didn't pick it for the leaving cert (ie:the greater good for me not picking psychics is that i told them i was going for very high points ans i felt i could get closer to that goal by doing subjects that required lots of learning and regurgitating BECAUSE i have a good work ethic and learning lots and lorts of notes suits me the best.. etc etc" if they believe you they should go to to your aptitude test results and see if you are actually competent in the psychics scale of things. but OBVIOUSLY its a good idea.. being a pilot is practically applying psychics everyday. knowing a regional division of italy wont help your ass if your plane is out of control...unless your flying in Italy and want to stay out of the mountainous terrain of the mezzogiorno (land of the midday sun) when extensive fold mountain ranges make the land uncondusive to arable farming... *continues ranting untill runs out of space* '>

[StevieW]

I think the fact that your school doesn't do physics is about as good as an excuse as you can get for not doing it. Aswell as that, if you keep it up it's gonna be pretty impressive to say you did physics after hours cos your school didn't offer it, cos you thought it'd help your chances for the Air Corps. Also, your First Aid thing from earlier would do you no harm. Dunno about the Mezzogiorno Ronan, but ask me anything about the Massif Central!

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
God knows why they are favouring degree candidates? Airlines don't.You do not need a degree of any kind or an LC Honour in Physics to pass the CPL exams, which is what they sit.Their exams are exactly the same as any civvie CPL-holders.All you require to pass the CPL exams is a basic level of maths and the ability to study.I guarantee your brain will dump 99% of the stuff required to pass the CPL exams about five minutes after you leave the exam room and very little of it has a practical application to flying.
BW has a good point about sporting activity.Don't overegg the pudding on that one.Personally, the wider your range of interests and activities, the better.Nor do you need to be a mechanical genius.Anyone with a practical mind can cope with flying.99.99% of flying is about technique and practise
regards
GttC

[FOX1]

Quote

I think the fact that your school doesn't do physics is about as good as an excuse as you can get for not doing it. Aswell as that, if you keep it up it's gonna be pretty impressive to say you did physics after hours cos your school didn't offer it, cos you thought it'd help your chances for the Air Corps. Also, your First Aid thing from earlier would do you no harm

Hopefully anyway!!!

Quote

God knows why they are favouring degree candidates?

I'm sure it's an effort to recruit degree holders so that the Defence Forces won't have to bear the costs if an officer is approved/selected to attend universitiy through the PDF.

Pilots dont attend uni. Therefore no financial reason. 17 aint too young to apply, but you have to bear in mind the fact that if you are up against degree students, many of whom will have had the time to get a few quid together and avail of a few flight hours if they are serious they may get picked over you. One failed attempt isn't so bad, but a few years in a row without getting the good news may appear bad to an interview board, irrespective of your individual merits. Pure knowledge of the roles and current capabilities of the organisation, including the army (and no outdated shit like 'you fly fougas on the border') will stand you well. Notwithstanding that you have the incentive to consult with some of the finest minds that the world can give you on the subject on this board. Ignore bigwillie, he's fat and lazy and props his beer on his belly and wouldn't know sport if it hit him in the face  '> but the whole 'I was prefect of my class, captain of the school darts team and winner of the crufts gold medal is great on an application form but shite in the interview. Try to perform with anecdotes of when you saw air corps aircraft doing something useful and how that inspired you, particularly if it is something well known that the interview board may have been a part of even if you were on the periphery. Don't lie, they will see it a mile off. Personally, I found applied maths more interesting than physics even tho I had to do it outside school and it was easier too! PM me if you need more info.

[dreilly]

Hi all,

I'm planning on applying, but have been hesitant on sending in my application form for one reason.. my age. I'm currently in 6th year but am very young.. Im 16 now, and will turn 17 in April. Still, I see no harm in trying at my age, and the experience of it all will do me good if I progress a bit in the application process.

Best of luck to everyone who applies.  

Daryl

[Aerodave]

Hey...
Anyone have any advice on what sort of physics etc to "brush up on" or study for the interviews..Im a LC student and i take History,geography,french and biology..no physics in school but ive a good interest in science..
Cheers..
Dave..