Aircrew Selection/ACS (Merged)

[Posthumane]

I've been selected to go to ACS in August here. However, I am somewhat confused. I have not yet gone for an interview. My understanding was that you do not go to ACS until you have done sufficiently well both on your interview AND your CFAT before you are flown to Tranton. Anyways, I'm excited, but a little bit apprehensive about whether or not they have made a mistake by wanting to send me this early in the process.

When I went through it, there were some people in my group for whom the ASC was the last step in the process, and others for whom it was the first step (i.e. they had not had an interview, initial medical screening, etc.) so the order and timelines seem to vary base on availability. People who passed the test for pilot but had not done the initial medical screening did not go to Toronto to do the full pilot medical; they had to go back to do their screening with their home recruiting centre and then come back to Toronto at a later date for the full medical.

 

[JDW]

I went to Trenton in early July and it was explained to me that the aircrew process has recently changed. Since I was still with the old process, I had already gone through all the steps before ASC, but several people in my group had not. Another thing that changed is the Toronto medical: successful pilot candidates are no longer sent directly to Toronto from Trenton, it is done at a separate time. My Toronto medical took place 3 weeks after Trenton. Now I am awaiting to be Merit Listed and hopefully selected for CEOTP.

BTW, be well prepared for ASC! In my group of 15 candidates, only 2 of us passed for pilot.

Good luck!

 

[Deleted member 102242]

Thanks Posthumand and JDW,

That clarifies things a bit for me. I'm doing my best to prepare. Even though I'm skeptical of the 'science' behind them, I've played lumosity games until I got about the 90th percentile for each category of games as well as an average score putting me in the 97th percentile. I'm not sure if the time spent on that did anything, but I am hopeful. Some of my strongest games were the quick and simple speed arithmetic ones, which I've heard is good for the ACS.

Next, I'm going to do SDT calculations all weekend. From all I've read, this seems like the only concrete steps you can take. Do you have any other tips? What did you do to prepare JDW?

Thanks!

 

[JDW]

FA22raptero, I prepared pretty much the same way and I ranked very similarly to you in Luminosity. Not sure how much it helped either, but it can't hurt, right? I also did TONS of speed/distance calcs and basic math as well.

My only other thought on ASC preparation: be well rested and poised. The 2 days of tests are exhausting and most in my group (include me) had no idea if we were doing well or failing. Don't panic. Keep reminding yourself that you are as well prepared as possible.

Best of luck! Let us know how you did.

 

[Deleted member 102242]

Thanks JDW,

It feels good being knowing I'm following some of the steps of a successful candidate.

I'm gonna back away from the lumosity games for a bit and start doing more math. My job is taking me into the far north next week and we'll be working 16+ hour days all next week. I'm back Friday, and am flying Saturday (supposedly, although they still haven't sent me the tickets.... we're almost only a week away and they said it should be by two weeks). It's gonna be tough to be well rested, but I'm gonna bring a lot of z-quil and use the two days at base to rest up super well.

I'll let you know how I did.

 

[Silje]

Heading out to Trenton tomorrow for my ACS

 

[JDW]

Good luck, Silje!

FA22raptero, how did you do at Aircrew Selection?

 

[Silje]

Good luck, Silje!

FA22raptero, how did you do at Aircrew Selection?

Thank you

I passed for my trade. The best one can do is to be well rested, this would be my advice. Best of luck to all! 

 

[EternalPharoah]

Thanks for all the great information peeps!  Last year I was told my eyes weren't good enough to apply for pilot so I got laser surgery and had to wait 6 months before getting re-tested.  Just got all that done and now have my dates for ASC.  Well, the date blocks anyway.  Still waiting on confirmation which block I'll be going into.  Sep 12 - 14, 14 - 16 or 19 - 21.

Two weeks of strong prep work ahead.

 

[Keepsprayin]

You basically went down my route EternalPharaoh!

Said I would update this if I got an offer. I got the call yesterday for October 24th BMOQ! Hope to see some of you there

 

[ssrb653]

Hey Everyone! Let me introduce myself first. I had signed up for this website awhile ago and was reading the blogs even before that. I applied to join the Forces Back in February 2016. I have already taken my CFAT and passed for my occupation Pilot. My interview is coming up on September 15th. However, I was told that this interview is a requirement before they can send my file for security screening to Ottawa. I was just wondering if one could be called for aircrew selection before the security screening from Ottawa comes back? I have a feeling my file is going to drag on because I have not lived in Canada for the past 10 years.
If someone here has had experience with security screening I would appreciate their input.

 

[EternalPharoah]

ssrb653, I don't know anything about the security situation but I did meet a few people at ASC testing that hadn't had their medicals done yet.  That surprised me because the Forces are paying for people to fly in to do ASC for Pilots while they're clearly wearing glasses and most likely would not pass the vision requirements.  Talking to them, even they were slightly surprised they got the call for ASC before their medical or interview.

I wanted to mention that because it doesn't look like ASC has anything to do with how your file is progressing at the recruiting center / Ottawa.  Hope that helps.

 

[Deleted member 102242]

Good luck, Silje!

FA22raptero, how did you do at Aircrew Selection?

JDW,

I was convinced, CONVINCED, that I'd failed, but I actually passed and with a decent score.

I was extatic. Thanks for asking

For anyone going, the best advice I can give is:

1. Be really, really well rested. I used zzzquil (I came from the West Coast). Go for a run or something and get your brain going in the AM. The C-130's on base look amazing at dawn. [nobody wants to do the test on 3 hours of sleep]

2. The only thing that you will ever walk away from and go "wow I should have prepared better for that" is mental math. Get really, really fast at not just Speed Distance Time, but all sorts of math problem solving. Speed and accuracy.

3. I spend a lot of my time operating a skid steer and other joystick based heavy equipment (hoes, loaders etc.) at my job. These machines often bounce around as you move, but you also have to be really precise with your controls to get the job done well. I honestly felt that for the joystick portions of the test, that this was very very helpful. I think practicing something like this wouldn't be bad.

Good luck everyone!

 

[blackice]

~  Congratulations to everyone that passed ACS! I wrote my CFAT at the end of July 2016 - assuming I've got quite the wait ahead of me so I've been going through these forums to prepare as much as possible before the next steps.

FA22Raptero: would you say a book such as "RAF Officer Aircrew Selection Centre OASC: How to become an RAF Officer" would be helpful to have a look at ? Throughout my research it seems like the new ACS (CFAST) is based on its British counterpart.

RE: Mental math, is it just basic BEDMAS, or are there derivatives, square roots, etc. involved.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

 

[Dire Markhour]

RE: Mental math, is it just basic BEDMAS, or are there derivatives, square roots, etc. involved.

the book won't hurt its always good to have a variety of problems to solve, plus the instrument/ spatial puzzles you will likely only find there

basic BEDMAS

use: http://www.speeddistancetime.info/

have a speed math app to practice on the go (I used math workout)

key is speed not complexity

 

[Good2Golf]

Don't be afraid to 'move on' to the next question if/when the situation arises, so as to keep momentum.  Life includes a couple if wrong answers now and then.  Remember, some of the metrics include performing under stress, and sometimes "that's close enough!" and moving on is a valid COA.

Cheers
G2G

 

[blackice]

Don't be afraid to 'move on' to the next question if/when the situation arises, so as to keep momentum.

Used that same strategy during the CFAT

have a speed math app to practice on the go (I used math workout)

key is speed not complexity

I will have a look at Math Workout, have been using "Mental Math" -

Thank you both! 

 

[ssrb653]

Hello All
Thanks for your reply Eternal Pharaoh. Apparently they asked me to give them dates for ACS and I have picked three dates in November. Hopefully I find out my date soon. I will be practicing a lot of mental math till then. As for multiplications I am thinking about memorizing multiplication tables from 1-20. Hoping that should be enough. Also practicing speed distance and fuel from the website mentioned earlier. I am really pumped for this but at the same time really anxious if I will pass. I will just go in with a positive attitude and hope for the best.

Mental math workouts till November for me!

 

[bscriber]

I was out for my morning run on the south side of CFB Trenton and watched the latest batch of ACS candidates enter for training.  Good luck everyone who is testing today/tomorrow

 

[Titicboom]

Greetings,

I have read all the posts and just have one lingering question.

For someone who is just applying for AEC, do they do the whole battery of tests on both days or just a sub section of the tests.
For instance do they have to know how to do the Fuel/distance/time calculations and the like?

Thanks to all the people that have shared experiences.

Cheers.