How have i never clocked this before!
In the Royal Flying Corps officers were designated pilot officers at the end of pilot training. As they retained their commissions in their customary ranks (usually second lieutenant or lieutenant), and many of them had been seconded from their ground units, the designation of pilot officer was a position title rather than a rank.
This is what I always remember being taught Yes Wiki again but I canāt find any sources to back either of the storys
FOI? 
Itās a shame whoever added that to the wiki didnāt source it.
Ik
both explanations seem semi plausible
CUOs are a real thing (in so far as any of it is!) in military schools like Duke of Yorkās but only on school premises - they revert to the highest NCO rank off site. I did a camp with them one year and the CUOs rebadged as CWO.
We did briefly flirt with Cadet Midshipman for the head cadet of our CCF if they were RN, but that was when the RN refused to have any cadet ranks above Petty Officer. They now go to WO so that problem went away.
PS there were never cadet officer ranks in the public school OTCs or JTCs, though - cadets definitely wore NCO rank
I think Welbeck had its own rank system. Not proper officer ranks with pips and crowns, but bars and knots like UOTC ranks.
What. In my opinion, our ranks are better
Not really iāve only been in CAP for a little over a year.
A lot of RAF ranks sound like positions
The RAF ranks are weird
Ahā¦now youāve started your journey down the rabbit hole that is the British military ranks, let me introduce you to the Army cavalry rank of Corporal of Horseā¦.
CORPORAL OF HORSE!?!??!?! THAT IS AN AWSOME RANK!!! āCorporal of Horse Jackson, blah blah blahā
How did this chat go from CAP to RAF ranks
Rank comparisons which then went zooming off at a tangent.
Indeed it didā¦
Oh yeah, getting back into the CAP topic, our squadron is finally going back to cadet competition!