The rumours I've heard before, about long hours and not much air time were reconfirmed. For a CF-18 pilot a normal day starts at 7am and finishes at 7pm, that's 12 hour work day. Most of it spent "flying" a desk, taking care of paperwork. If you're lucky you will go flying but the flight will be about 1.2 hours, that's it! For that, I am very proud of our fighter pilots, for their dedication and hard work.
And don't forget, the training doesn't stop once you're operational. There is always something new to learn, like leading formations, first leading 1 aircraft, then 2, then 3, and so on, until you lead a full squadron. So you come home after 12 hour work day, have supper and hit the books. I can see all that being ok for a young pilot who's very committed and truly ambitious but it must be really hard for their spouses, especially for new relationships, kids, etc. The only two bases with CF-18s are Cold Lake (Alberta) and Bagotville (Quebec). Since most pilots prefer the second one (closer to big cities like Montreal or Quebec city) it is not that easy to get that posting. Apparently everyone must go through at least one tour in Cold Lake before going there.
If you are interested in more details about this training phase there was a show on Discovery Channel called Jet Stream. You can get a better idea of what the students have to go through. I don't think it's airing anymore but you can see it on DVD. Here is the link to the information about the show:
http://www.discoverychannel.ca/jetstream
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2 comments:
Hello, I found your blog extremely helpful. I'm currently getting all my paperwork together so I can start my application to the CF. I hope to be a fast jet pilot but from what I hear you need to have 20/20 vision (uncorrected) Do you know if this is true?
This used to be the case (requirement to have a perfect/uncorrected vision) but recently the forces have relaxed their vision standards. They check your eyes during initial sign up and they don't make a distinction as to what aircraft will be flown (since you no one knows this until your selection during Phase II). But you must meet some minimum standards. I would suggest to talk with your local recruiter to get the latest info on that. Good luck!
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