How to Join Indian Air Force as Flying Officer After 12th Science

How to Join Indian Air Force as Flying Officer After 12th Science – For all aspirants that want to join the air force as a flying officer /flying branch or fighter pilot  and have your own aircraft, after doing class 12 standard in science stream.Firstly you need to have taken maths and physics at this 10 + 2 level at your board exams.

Note that to become a flying officer there is no provision for commerce students in the IAF however there are other posts open which you can check.

The UPSC conducts this entrance exam.It is also called as the NDA – National Defense Academy exam whereby you can get admission into the National Defense academy at Pune and are trained to become a fighter pilot along with colleagues from the Indian Army as well as the Indian Navy.

You can start off by filing up your application online for the written test here.This exam is held twice a year in May and December months.

How to join the IAF after 12th standard through NDA

At the NDA,all three armed services are trained together for the duration of 3 years.Here there are a total of 360 seats that will be filled up after the UPSC exam by successful candidates and out of these 360 seats, there will be 92 reserved for the IAF – Indian Air Force recruits.

After successfully clearing the NDA entrance test,you need to go through the 5 days rounds SSB – Selection services board rounds.Only if you clear these rounds of interviews,mental and physical checks,will you be given admission into the NDA academy at Khadakwasla , Pune.

STEPS to Become A Flight Officer after Class 12 boards.

1.Written test

Firstly as discussed in detail above is to sit for the written examination conducted by UPSC and get a good rank in it.

This entrance test consists of two papers.You will be asked questions on Maths,Physics,Chemistry,Geography,general knowledge etc.

It is a vast paper with a huge syllabus,so make sure you start your preparation at least a year in advance.If you are a student of 12th class science then it will not be so hard,but the main problem is that there is so much competition.Remember this exam is held only twice a year and only 360 pass at a time.This is a small number from the thousands of applicants.

The main reason why so many people join the NDA to get into IAF flight officer training is that it is probably the only way for a 12th standard student to become a fighter pilot as a class 1 Officer.

The marks breakup of the two main papers is shown below:

2.Interview round

As seen from above,this round of interviews will give you an additional 900 points so make sure you score well so that it balances your score and overall you can do well.

These tests and interviews will go on for 6 days.Some of the tests that you will have to go through are :

1.Officers intelligence rating test

2.Picture perception test

If you pass these then you can move forward to the below tests:

3.CPSS and PABT Test

4.Group discussion and interviews

5.Conference

6.Physical and medical tests

What is the CPSS / PAB TEST and why is so important

Flying an armed aircraft is not easy,there are many things that you need to do at any given time and you should be mentally ready and strong enough to handle the pressure when you are travelling at mach speed.

This PABT or Pilot Battery Test is just for that.It is an overall pilot aptitude test for flying officers and even though you scored very well in your UPSC entrance test,you can easily fail this if you are not cut out to be in the cockpit.It is subdivided into 3 tests –

1.INSB – Instrument Battery Test – Written test

2.SMA – Sensory Motor Apparatus Test – Machine test

3.CVT – Control Velocity Test – Machine test

So as you can see the three tests all check different levels of your skill and personality.Some test your ability to react under certain stress conditions and accordingly how your reaction is to it.Other test will check your physical and mental limits and hand – mind coordination when subjected to high G forces and shocks.

Physical and medical tests for becoming a flying officer

The main conditions that you need to fulfill so that you can pass your medical and physical tests are all related to sitting in a cockpit.Imagine you are sitting in one now,the main things you need to take care of are your seating posture – back,spine, Eyesight – Vision.

Also height of the person,of the chest portion,leg length also will make a difference.All these aspects matter because you will  need to reach the controls easily.

As seen before the most important of these is the Pilot aptitude test for if you fail that then you cannot go ahead for other tests.

IAF Ranks hierarchy and pay scale

Even after you finish your 3 years training at the NDA and are a cadet in the Air Force Academy – AMA flying school,Hyderabad, you will receive a stipend of about Rs.21,000 per month.You will rise up in the ranks every 2 years or so.

1.Flying officer – Starting point after completion of flight training at AMA flight school, Hyderabad.

2.Flight Lieutenant

3.Squadron Leader

4.Wing Commander

5.Group Captain

6.Air Commodore

7.Air Vice Marshall

8.Air Marshall

9.Air Chief Marshall

For salary,above the level of Lieutenant,you will get a salary of Rs.25000 per month pus other incentives and perks

CONCLUSION

Just to summarize the important steps needed to join the Indian Air Force and become a flight Officer you need to go through the following:

1.Give the UPSC Exam and get a rank to join the NDA.

2.After getting past this written exam,go through the Selection services board round 1 which consists of machine tests and a written test.This includes the all important PABT test,which is a once in a lifetime aptitude test.

3.SSB round two tests comprises of mental, physical and psychological test with interviews and group discussions.

4.If you pass all the above you can go for the medical test

5.After clearing all the above you will be placed on a merit list of which select 92 candidates will be selected for the final merit list.

6.If your name appears on the final merit list,you can join the NDA for 3 years as a cadet and after that the AMA for flight training.