… and having just re-read the questions:

The qualifications offered by the RAF DO translate into civvie street, they offer City and Guilds as well as BTEC Aeronautical engineering the same as any other aerospace college. The problem you have is that they are low level qualifications and only cover RAF Mechs and civie fitters.

For high levels of experience and professional competnce, the CAA ONLY recognise their own Part 147 facilities delivering the part 66 exams. The RAF do not have a requirement for such a licence as their rank system and the experience involved in promotion acts in a similar way.

The experience gained by a 15 year long stint in the RAF is huge, however the CAA are bound to only recognise experince gained within an EASA part 145 company, ie. one that is subject to CAA/EASA audits and quality control. The RAF is not one, and therefore expeience gained on military registered types does not count towards the EASA licence application. There are always exceptions and fitters with considerable time on VC10, Tristar, Sentry, etc MAY be awarded a small reduction in time served to gain the licence. I believe that the licence exams may be gained during a PVR / resettlement procedure, but usually only if the candidate has time served on the more commercial aircraft types….

Aircraft such as the King Airs at Cranwell are Civillian registered aircraft and mantained by civillian groundcrew, but are LEASED to the MOD for training purposes. In the nxt couple of years, both the tanker fleet (Airbus A300) and the Sea King replacement (any offers?) will be civillian registered, owned and maintained. Where combat ops are a possibility, the civillian groundcrew are required to join the RAF reserves, with the benefits of such available to them….

There are downsides to both routes to becoming a professional engineer:

RAF: Minimum service time of 9 years, by which time you would be a Corporal, maximum! The pay is not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, and you WILL be sent to sandy places where there are huge spiders and people with backpacks. You will not get a true choice of aircraft types to work on, and you will most likely move every three to five years.

Part 66: Minimum training time of 5 years including 2-3 years of on the job training as a mechanic (paid). You must be 21 to hold a B1/B2 licence and the course is expensive and difficult. Absolute dedication is required. After all of the training, you will be viewed as pond life with no experience, and getting a job these days is difficult. Keeping one is just as hard. Training levels vary with establishments. Find the ones with a good reputation and a high failure rate.

There are benefits:

RAF: Job security. Excellent training.

Part 66: Better pay than the RAF. Licenced engineers start at around £40k. (Mechanics contract at £15-£20 per hour or salary of £24k – £30k) You decide where you work and what you work on. Its a job – you choose. You’re self employed as a contractor, thus pay less tax…

Either route will take time, an all the while you could volunteer at whatever museum is local to you.

Well that is a very clear and thorough explanation, thanks for that!

I have decided to contact the RAF on the first working day, which will be Monday, and book an appointment for as soon as possible, to speak with somebody.

Thank you all again, so far. I will be looking into volunteering, for definite. I am definitely not against relocating to get a foot in the door, nor am I worried about being underpaid. You take the good with the bad, as with any job.

Thankyou everybody! Good luck to you too, cometguy. JT, why would you have perhaps gone the civilian route, over the RAF? Any particular bad experiences? Or just the “low” pay?