I’ve basically come here to ask about QAIC.
I have my senior and earliest I can take my Masters is in October (6 months after senior).
I will be 16 by the time it says you should be 16 by however when do you have to have Masters by? Does it have to be by September 23rd? If so, would I be allowed to do my Masters a few weeks before then?
Have you done Air Power?
If you don’t already have it, or your squadron don’t plan to deliver it before the Wing + Region + QAIC selections, you stand very little chance of being selected.
I don’t know what that is. It doesn’t mention anywhere on the requirements that it has to be done.
Speak to your staff about the possibility of doing Master now. You need to have obtained Master before submitting your application.
Alright. It’s been 2 months but I have been preparing for it already.
It is down to the staff for when they feel it’s suitable for you to take your Masters but as far as I can see in the ACTO’s there is no mandatory time required between classification (other than leading is specified as about 18 months after joining but there are exceptions)
What they don’t want happening is for you to blast through all your classifications and be finished with it. It’s not a tick box exercise - the academics are supposed to be there to teach you.
If you don’t know what Air Power is, you stand very little chance of passing selection.
@Turbo, Alright so here’s a novel idea, why dont we suggest and point out what Air Power is so as/when they apply they have a better chance of passing selection. Is that not one of the points of this forum?
I for one didn’t know about the supposed importance of this subject, similarily its not a subject that we teach at ours, as part of our Senior/Master options.
If there is such a large focus on Air Power it should be on the Warning Order.
@izzyexistent, Air Power is one of the Senior/Master classification subjects, there is a set of presentation notes that you may/may not be able to access on the cadet training portal.
It is certainly a bit of a buzz word in the RAF and RAFAC, and you can start simply by googling “what is Air Power” and there are some fairly in depth articles/pdfs about it.
You can take your Master Cadet examinations now if your squadron will let you; you only need to be 15 to complete the qualification.
Air Power is a subject you should choose. There are some self study courses and a structured notebook where you can write notes for the course, prior to taking the online exam on Ultilearn.
Ask someone at your squadron to download the files for you from here, if you can’t access them yourself. Try with your Cadet Portal login first though: Training Hub: Air Power Resources
When I did the course part of selection was a knowledge test/exam which included air power stuff. I don’t think you’d necessarily tank selection if you just got those few questions wrong.
I haven’t read the warning order in enough detail to know whether it’s still included.
I did my classifications back when it was paper based and I took my Master Cadet exams when I was barely 15 
My squadron’s opinion was that if intellectual cadets wanted to push themselves, why not let them.
I just had to wait until I was 16 to receive the BTEC.
I didn’t then leave the ATC immediately after that, I stayed and did Nijmegen, GS etc until I left at 19.
Airpower is one of the new fancy self teach articulate courses, so I would recommend even for those that have passed the exam to re-run through it in their own time to brush up.
But to be fair, it isn’t just air power, you’ll need a good grasp of instruments inside the cockpit and control surfaces/effects of controls too.
Edit to add. Sorry I’m just parroting!
Thing is, when I look at the list of subjects for Senior/Master, Air Power is nowhere to be found. Or is it just an addition to the 8?
The course content is as follows, so it is expected that prospective candidates have a basic grasp of the subjects.
Yes, ive read the warning order… my point was that you seemed to put a large focus on solely on Air Power being the be all and end all of the assessment.
Whereas, the warning order also specifies Aviation Studies, so its not a case of if you don’t know what air power is you’ll fail, you’ll similarily face challenges if you can’t explain lift etc.
It should be there - where are you finding your list?
Hmm. That’s odd. Every website I’ve been on shows there’s 8. Maybe they’re not updated or they are new subjects?
Sadly a lot of squadron websites are not kept up to date, yet are the first the that pops up when you Google a question.
See if this link works by logging in with your cadet portal info.
I am part of our Wing’s selection panel. The interview questions we use are (kindly) submitted to us by the graduates of the previous course(s) and are based on their experiences of what candidates really need to know to successfully pass the course. Hence, the heavy quizzing on all things Air Power.
