Hi

I dont know if there is anyone out there who can answer this but any info would be much appreciated. My son ( who is 15 at moment ) wants to fly. He considered joining the RAF before we decided to emigrate. However he has Coeliac disease ( an allergy to Gluten ) & apparently they wont take him due to being unable to provide appropriate diet in war zones. We wondered if this applied to the Australian Air Force as well. I can imagine it will! A friend has recommended that he fly commercial instead but we have no idea how to go about this when we are in oz. He also fancies being the pilot of flying doctors. Basically i think he will be happy as long as he can fly an aeroplane
( must be crackers as far as i,m concerned )

Therefore if anyone has any info on this & how to go about it when we get there ( hopefully 2010 ) it would be really helpful. It would also give him something to look forward to & plan for as he doesn't really want to go.

Many Thanks

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http://www.rex.com.au/cadetpilot/Default.aspx

http://www.tvsa.com.au/home

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http://www.sydneyflighttraining.com.au

http://www.australianaviationtraining.com

http://www.flying-school.com.au

Hi

Wow, thanks for that. Much appreciated. I hadn't a clue what to look for I had looked on the australian air force site but couldn't think what else to look for. Again many thanks

First your son would work towards his private license, then work on time building towards a commercial license. You need about 200 flying hrs for commercial license of which at least 100 have to be solo or pic (pilot in command).
A commercial license only allows you to charge a fee for transporting goods or passengers, it is NOT a license to fly jumbos and is not an airline transport pilot license. You need about 1200hrs plus to get this license.
If you are planning 2010, a good start for your son would be to join air cadets in the uk as they do gliding and may even do powered flying these days.

The essential point of the OP's question would appear to be the presence of the disease, and whether this would affect licencing.

Reference to the Australian Aviation Medical Examiner's handbook finds:

"2.9.11 Coeliac Disease
Coeliac disease can produce severe symptoms of bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and
anaemia, but mostly symptoms are mild and presentation is now usually in mid-life.
Treatment with a gluten-free diet is usually effective, and should not be an aviation safety
issue. People non-compliant with dietary modifications will continue to be symptomatic
and some patients will exhibit refractory disease; these cases should be considered on
their merits.
Coeliac disease should be thought of as a potential marker for other immunologically
mediated diseases, such as type 1 diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease."

Whether this applies to a commercial licence I didn't investigate, but the address of the .pdf is

http://www.casa.gov.au/manuals/regul...e/080rfull.pdf

Good luck.

(Incidentally, my GP is a licence medical examiner and I could ask him if you need confirmation)

Hi

Thanks for the replys. He is having flying lessons which he loves( when we can afford them ) & i have taken him to air cadets to try it out but he's not too keen on that! I've even tried to talk some of his friends into going as well thinking it would be easier but they weren't impressed with the idea either regarding his coeliac as far as we are aware it will be fine for him to fly commercial as it shouldn,t affect what he eats. Obviosly in the RAF if he is in a war zone they cannot ( at the moment anyway) provide gluten free food. he needs to eat the same as everyone else. I do vagually remember reading somewhere that the Coeliac society are arguing against this. He is very good & will not touch anything he does not think is gluten free. Obviously some things get through as manufacturers tend to change theior recipes without saying so what he can eat 1 day will then make him ill on another day as they have decided to add gluten.
Again many thanks for the info it has been very helpful

Unless i'm mistaken i am sure that the British forces Ration packs have a gluten free option!! May be the logistics of getting them out may be difficult in a warzone??

Try to get him to the Air Cadets if you can, he will have to do some initial training but after a while he can get flying and gliding for free!! He can also apply for flying scholarships and every so often other organisations give away PPL(A) training.

I can't comment on the medical side of things but to be a commercial pilot he will need to get a type 1 medical at the CAA HQ at Gatwick Airport, it is a good morning of being poked and prodded (i did mine a few years ago!!). It may be worth putting a call in to the Medical dept down there for advice?

There is also a book produced by the CAA called LASORS this details every requirement and exclusion for the different licences, it used to be available for free as a download from the CAA.

If he is going to do a PPL(A) then he will need to make sure it is a JAR-PPL as this is recognised worldwide (i think?).

My PPL is out of currency at the minute but i hope to be able to pick it up again when we are settled in Oz, providing it is cheaper than the UK!!

Good luck.

You realise that you will now have to have regular security clearance to operate aircraft from any large or regional airport within Australia, plus display clearance when airside.

http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/asicavid.htm

Costs ASIC:
* Under 18 ASIC – no security check – $102
Note: ASIC will be valid for 6 months after 18th birthday
* Initial ASIC – full security check required $196
* ASIC renewal – $186

Costs AVID
* Under 18 AVID – not eligible to apply
* AVID initial application $181
* AVID renewal $171