Never heard anything about RM Officer pilots, not saying it can't be done; but really the wrong job to be going in to if you want to fly - even Aircrew as a Bootneck is hard to get in to and a long waiting list.
So it is probably hard to become a pilot in the Marines by the sounds of things. I am not planning to join with the sole reason of eventually becoming a pilot, I just saw on the Navy website and in brochures that this can be a specialisation. I had a feeling it would not be that easy to become a pilot as an RM officer but wanted to find out if anyone knows the kind of realistic chance there is of taking this route.
I am pretty sure there are only something like three RM fastjet pilots but thought that there could be a fair few helicopter pilots.
There are certainly a few serving RM who fly, having got to that stage in the old systems. There used to be one on here, Rotary Booty, who flew helos, he'd know far more about it than I if he's still around. He gave me a heads up as I'm considering Aircrew and later possibly transferring to AAC to fly.
I'd be interested to hear what the official line from the AFCO is, but I imagine it's one of those specialisations which is getting rarer and rarer.
druadan wrote:There are certainly a few serving RM who fly, having got to that stage in the old systems. There used to be one on here, Rotary Booty, who flew helos, he'd know far more about it than I if he's still around. He gave me a heads up as I'm considering Aircrew and later possibly transferring to AAC to fly.
I'd be interested to hear what the official line from the AFCO is, but I imagine it's one of those specialisations which is getting rarer and rarer.
Well my school's liason officer just told me a few weeks ago that his mate had just passed FAT and starting basic soon, hoping to fly Harriers if he could. So it might be getting rarer but there's still a few interested.
Just had speaks with a mate of mine who was a Sgt Pilot in the Corp ref who's allowed to apply for a helo pilots course. He still keeps in touch with his Oppos serving in the RM Pilot fraternity It is still open to SNCO's and WO's although the chances of being accepted is not to good these days due to the demise of the Gazelle.
The only helos still flown by Bootnecks these days are the six Lynx (Army Spec Variants) helos which are now part of 847 NAS (Used to be 3 CdobdeAirSqnRM). In point of fact two of the pilots in the Sqn are RM WO2's.
Artist wrote:Just had speaks with a mate of mine who was a Sgt Pilot in the Corp ref who's allowed to apply for a helo pilots course. He still keeps in touch with his Oppos serving in the RM Pilot fraternity It is still open to SNCO's and WO's although the chances of being accepted is not to good these days due to the demise of the Gazelle.
The only helos still flown by Bootnecks these days are the six Lynx (Army Spec Variants) helos which are now part of 847 NAS (Used to be 3 CdobdeAirSqnRM). In point of fact two of the pilots in the Sqn are RM WO2's.
Artist
Fair play then, I was always under the impression at Culdrose (FAA) that all the pilots were commisioned, perhaps thats just the more common? Or perhaps its because its a marine sqn that there SNCOs?
So are the Sea Kings not flown by bootnecks then I take from that? I know of some FAA guys who went across to fly them but then are they all FAA then not marines?
The Bootneck pilots of the Army variant Lynx helo do their training with the Army Air Corp and wear the Army Pilots wings. I do remember that some Bootneck officers did do the Navy helo pilot course and that is most certainly an Officers only course. They wore Navy pilots wings.
When the Gazelle was in service most of it's pilots were SNCO's/WO's. A normal crew would be one Sgt Pilot plus a door gunner who could be a Mne, a Cpl or a Sgt although officers also flew the Gazelle as well. During the Falklands two Gazelles were shot down during the intial landings both were manned by NCO's three of which died. Another Gazelle was also shot down during the Goose Green Battle the pilot that time was a Capt Nunn RM.
Each service wear different wings and sometimes train to use the same aircraft but for entirely different jobs. The Lynx helo is flown by both the Navy and the Army. But the specifications of the two types of Lynx are worlds apart so I was once told by an Sgt RM pilot.
I had automatically been thinking bootnecks would have done the Navys course but I guess it makes sense they'ld do it with the Army as the jobs carried out are more closely connected.
Well my school's liason officer just told me a few weeks ago that his mate had just passed FAT and starting basic soon, hoping to fly Harriers if he could. So it might be getting rarer but there's still a few interested.
FAT? Wossat then? Still talking about Booty officers?
Cheers Artist, must admit didn't realise it was still possible for SNCOs to fly, like you said it must be extremely rare, I was certainly told if it's what you want to do then transferring to AAC the best option nowadays.
There used to be four squadrons (not that long ago) that made up Commando Helicopter Force at Yeovil, I think one of Gazelles, two Lynx and one training squadron. Mix of Bootneck and Navy bods. Has this been re-named? If I remember rightly it was made up of 846, 847, 848 and 849 NAS.
Well my school's liason officer just told me a few weeks ago that his mate had just passed FAT and starting basic soon, hoping to fly Harriers if he could. So it might be getting rarer but there's still a few interested.
FAT? Wossat then? Still talking about Booty officers?
Cheers Artist, must admit didn't realise it was still possible for SNCOs to fly, like you said it must be extremely rare, I was certainly told if it's what you want to do then transferring to AAC the best option nowadays.
There used to be four squadrons (not that long ago) that made up Commando Helicopter Force at Yeovil, I think one of Gazelles, two Lynx and one training squadron. Mix of Bootneck and Navy bods. Has this been re-named? If I remember rightly it was made up of 846, 847, 848 and 849 NAS.
Flying Aptitude Test.
CHF consists of 845, 846, 847 and 848 NAS and they fly the Lynx and the Sea King. Look here.
Close on the numbers, really should know these things
So from that, those NAS make up CHF which work in support of Bde, but only 847 (Lynx) are flown by Booties, and they're SNCOs. Presumably Bootneck Officers who successfully apply to fly are attached to FAA then?
847 NAS used to be called 3 BAS (Bde Air Sqn), it was based at Coypool just outside Plymouth where Cdologregt was also based at the time. I ran the Logregt Comcen in 1979/80 until I binned my sigs rate in Sept 1980 as I was a Pressed man.
Anyway in them days the Sqn pilots were all RM and AAC blokes with maybe one attached matelot pilot who was Lynx trained, The groundcrews were either AAC or REME whilst the rest of the Sqn were Bootnecks such as Clerks, Drivers, Signallers just like a Cdo units organisation only on a much smaller scale.
They flew three types of Helos; Scout, Lynx and Gazelle. The Scout was binned not long after the Falklands whilst the Gazelle soldiered on until no more than two years ago. The pilots were SNCO's/WO's and Officers from both the Army and the RM. The OC of the Sqn was a RM Major.
The Gunners/Observers were in the main Bootnecks. Mnes, Cpls and Sgts. Some went onto become pilots. The main plus for being aircrew was the Flying Pay you got. It was a lot of dosh that I can tell you!
Asides from these people there were also Bootnecks who served in 848 & 849 NAS's. Back in the mid seventies a request went out for volunteers to serve as Doormen/Winchmen in these Sqn's. One of my Oppos wacked in for it. His name was Dave Love. He did the course and was made an Acting Cpl. Dave died in 1982 when his Seaking was involved in a birdstrike whilst flying off the Hermes with 21 members of the SAS onboard. They were to a man all killed. Dave got a postumous DCM.
A few years before this RM officers did both fixed wing and helo pilot courses with the Navy. My old unit 2 i/c, Major Mark Blundell was one of the last to get his Navy Pilots wings and flew Wessex 5's with the Cdo NAS's before coming back to the Corp.
To the best of my knowledge Bootneck aircrew still fly in all CHF Sqns, and there's certainly a lot of other SQs working at Yeovil with the flyboys - something like the second biggest D3 draft in the Corps.
Interesting info. Certainly in 1990 there were RM NCO chopper pilots.
Serving with the Queen's Regt on ex we were flown by a C/sgt pilot
who was a Royal. A senior who was in 40 Cdo Heavy Weapons became
qualified and subsequently transferred to the RAF finiishing I believe as
a Sqn.Ldr.
