Or are we? If it turns out the gazette entry isn’t dated until you have done OIC and completed probation.
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Which makes a mockery of the fact you could fail (well, be ‘deferred’…) from OIC.
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There is also no RAFAC rank of ‘Officer Cadet’ - it’s a ‘status’ whilst on OIC.
Here is a (cropped) picture I found online of the AFO and APO rank slides for comparison. IMHO HQAC should either make ‘AFO’ a proper rank pre ATF or ‘APO’ should be ditched and the white tabs only worn at ATF as it discriminates against the prior service given by CIs becoming Officers 
Let’s not forget the people with CI experience stuck as Plt Off while filling a Flt Lt post…
FS passes OSC becomes Fg Off.
I appreciate that he is also doing a Flt Lt post but he filled that after I filled mine…
Wait…are you certain of that?
Why couldn’t someone in the RAF or RAFR be given the rank of Acting Flying Officer, at some point after becoming substantive Plt Off post-IOT/ROIT, and in advance of being made substantive Fg Off??
Whilst they wouldn’t wear white rank-backing (or gorgets) outwith RAFC I fail to see how that exact situation couldn’t occasionally happen.
And even just on that basis alone, the rank of Acting Fg Off RAFAC would be additionally-valid.
I think it’s the old RAF distinction between acting as a pilot officer and holding the actual rank of acting pilot officer.
I can’t understand what you mean by that, unless it’s somehow a reference to the (now-abandoned?) strategic intention of totally-binning the rank of Plt Off, both acting & substantive (this was on the basis that Sub-Lts & 2Lt ranks were also to be canned…then it didn’t happen)
The position would (and does) happen, the rank nomenclature wouldn’t, it would be a small ‘a’ in active.
All that would happen is you’d be wearing Flying Officer tabs while being paid as a Pilot Officer.
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Half a century ago, ex-regular/or reserve officers were granted commissions in the VR(T) in the rank of Fg Off. It may be that some RAFAC SNCOs held commissions the RAF. I know a VRT Wg Cdr who served in the Gulf War as a Sqn Ldr RAFVR.
Certainly shouldn’t have done at the same time.