Cadetships 2004

[Ronan]

i would like to say first of all to gideon thanks for the best wishes..it`s`always nice to hear people who genuinely wish you luck. '>
i would also like to come to the defence of alpha..
2 months ago I stumbled across this site by accident never even knowing there was a forum..i had a sketchy idea of the selection process and the air corps in general. now i have a very good knowledge of whats ahead of me and what i have got to do..and a lot of credit goes to alpha for this. he has given me a lot of time in answering all my questions (no matter how silly) and always is helpful in the information he gives. to this i am very thankful. if the guy has a grudge, he has a grudge.. i personally did not see this in his posts and only found out he was discharged 5 mins ago when i read gideons post..
 i want to be a pilot in the Irish Air Corp`s and that`s that..whether it comes to fruition is out of my hands..except when it comes to preparing..and that`s where ye guys (especially Alpha) have helped me.
so thanks a million for all yer help,`cos honestly id be lost without ye!

[alpha foxtrot 07]

gideon.
first of i do not hold any grudges i loved my time in the air corps and feel truelly gratefully for the experience, but
i try to be as honest as possible with the information i give out to the people interested in joining the air corps. i speak honestly about my experience there and try not to sugar coat anything i say. the last thing i want is for someone to join the corps with a false sense of what to expect.
as far as my comments on the level of instruction given, i feel i have some right to comment. i am a professional flight instructor for the biggest flight school in the US. i do sim evaluations for potential airline pilots, teach pre private, instrument, commercial, atp, multi and single. i also teach basic and advanced aerobatics. i have over 1500 hours of dual given and have flown many different types of aircraft. when i say the level of instruction given is below standard i mean it. im not going to go into detail on this board but if i turned in that kind of work on a day to day basis i would be unemployed.
ronan, you are welcome, and thank you for the kind words.

[Joey d]

I second what Ronan said, Ive PMd alpha so many questions at this stage, he's probably blue in the face - but he has always taken time out, to give me answers even to my basic of questions. And from what he has said, I doubt he holds a grudge.

[Gideon]

Fair play Alpha. Apologies for any mis-understandings. It's great to hear you have been the source of helpful advice to other members of the board. It's so refreshing to visit a site such as this, that is not embroiled in a torrent of bitching and begrudgery. The only reason I made my previous posting was that I felt your postings in relation to poor instruction may have been somewhat unjustified and I feared they may taint the views of an enthusiastic person like Ronan with ambitions of joining the Air Corps. Far too many times I have seen 'young guys' being put-off by idiots with their cynical advice and views. It is great to see people using the board as a means of enhancing their knowledge and as a source of advice. It would be a shame to see it go bitchy and begrudging. Anyway, keep up the good work Alpha. Who knows, we might get to meet on the flight deck sometime in the future.  '>

[alpha foxtrot 07]

hopefully it will be an A380.

[Ronan]

I went to baldonnel for my planned visit, so i said id tell ye all about my day..
the visit was absolutely brillant..
i arrived at 2 and waited for about ten mins for a corporal to come out. a  girl about 20 was waiting with me to go for an interview. she seemed pretty switched on. her brother is an instructor at the cadet school and spent the last three weeks in switzerland test driving the pilatus (lucky guy!!)
the corporal came and he was sound out he brought me to the heli`s first and we sat in the dauphin for about 30 mins chatting away answering questions i had. there was absolutely no hurry on him at all and he explained every square inch of the helis and let me mess around with the controls. i couldnt get over how big the dauphin is in real life!!
he went through how a heli and plane are maneuvered and the physics behind it all (which was a big help to me) he went through all the different engines and told me a lot of the  technical questions that might come up. he told me all about how lift is created and athmospeheric pressure..etc. all very helpful.
next we went to the marchettis and fiddeled around with the controls. then the highlight of the day.. i got to go into the cadet school and three young officers only finished the wings course answered the 30 questions and querys i had written down to ask them. they were really sound and put me at ease. we spent about 30 mins talking to them. the things i was mainly worried was the fact that although im 5ft 6" im still fairly scrawny and i thought this would come against me but they said not in the aircorp cos they want you to fly and aren`t really worried when your over that height at the end of the day. also they said that having a degree and being older isn`t a major advantage at all and they sometimes prefer to take people straight from secondary school cos they can be less inquisitive and follow orders better. i was worried about my ability in the field of spacial intelligence but they said just to practise practise practise on aptitude books and il be fine. apart from that they said the golden rule is to be yourself, be open, and be honest, have lots of good examples of the seven concepts (especially technical aptitude) and know the hows and whys of a  working plane and the air corp in general and i`d be fine!!
so im really happy cos i realise its a lot less pressurised than i expected and i know exactly what i`ve to do and what`s ahead of me.
it really was a great experience and it`s a nice place but really poorly signposted for us country folk.
also the girl i was talking to said the height restriction has gone down to 5ft 4"..is this true? it must be cos she passed the physical test.


   '>

[Joey d]

Its true, if you check up the military.ie website, you'll see the updated height!

[Ronan]

excellent...as you were saying in your pm joey. about putting my trip down in the application form under
"defence force`s establishments visited" i will. but what about for the army application.. will i mention all the barracks i`ve been to over my term with the RDF or is it strictly for visits in your own civvie time? any thoughts guys.

[Ronan]

im going for the army aswell as the air corp next year.. will it be viewed that im not fully commited to one in particular or  that im just enthuastic and trying for both. do they like to see this?  and can you be offered both and have to choose..if lucky enough to get far in them?

[alpha foxtrot 07]

going for both is fine, i did. if your lucky enough to get offered both go with the corps. it also goes a long way to showing your interest in been in the military and not just flying airplanes.

[Ronan]

hello there..
in school a friend of mine was suspended today for something very trivial (giving a wedgie..very childish!)
anyways the principal is putting it on his permanent record and because of this he (the guy) said he wont get accepted into the cadets (he`s going for it this year) is this true, or is it if you get suspended three times or more? if your suspended and it is mentioned by your principal in his reference..will they care?
my interest is because i was suspended a while back for something trivial also!! (putting my foor through a prefab wall!)
the principal just gave me two days as i had a clean sheet up to then and im pretty confident he won`t mention next year if the ring up and ask about me.
but do they even get a reference from the school or just from past employers?
any thoughts anybody?? '>

[Joey d]

putting my foor through a prefab wall   '>

Ususually on a CV, you list referees, and by doing this you're giving your prospective employer permission to contact them and enquire about you.

On the application form for the cadets, it doesnt mention references, just to say where you were previously employed and the schools you attended.

My point being, you havent given  permission on the application form to contact your school to enquire about you?!

Edit: Are you sure that guy isnt applying as a recruit? When applying as a recruit, you have to give two reference: "Two (2) references, one of which must be from either of the following:

A serving member of the PDF of Sergeant rank or higher.  
A serving member of the Garda Siochana.  
A Priest or member of the Clergy.  
A Principal or Teacher of a school which the applicant is currently attending or has previously attended."

[StevieW]

Hello all,

There hasn't been much activity on this topic for a while, so I was just wondering if anyone here is still in the cadetship competition this year?

[Ronan]

ya i was wondering the same.. most of the regular users on this thread..joey d, etc. are going for it next year like me.
looks like your flying the flag for us at airpics this year stevie!!

also i heard through the grape vine that some of the stuff the cadets are made do in the curragh is ridiculous..such as go into a field and pick up leaves for the day in the middle of autumn!! any truth on this.. any funny anecdotes from the guys who ahve been through it..Alpha? '>

[alpha foxtrot 07]

oh yea, i have spent many night picking up leaves in the middle of autumn, or picking all the stones of the square, or cleaning gutters and drains, polishing brass. if i ever smell brasso again it will be too soon. you know the pine neddles were the worst, you can't use a rack you got to use your hands, and when its wet those things like to stick to the ground.