Current RAF Asthma Guidelines

Different jobs have different rules. Go ask the experts.

Saying 'joining the RAF' or 'joining the Army' is far far too vague. RAF Pilots cannot have had any history of asthma at all, but RAF technicians can get away with having had relatively recent diagnosed asthma, providing they ar then past it by a certain time.

There's no one size fits all rule, stop looking for one.

The absence of the magic word [asthma] is likely to be key.

While the never wheezing through exercise and all-clear by a Doc are good signs, they don't necessarily lend themselves to a direct verdict to how your body will cope at 40,000ft+, breathing 100% Ox and pulling hard G.
Realistically, the only way you'll have of knowing - because noone here is a doctor or high up in the selection centre - is by applying.

The general consensus on here will probably agree with me that your circumstances aren't likely to rule you out, but that is purely guesswork. With fewer and fewer people being recruited, but more and more applicants - especially in aircrew branches - they RAF can be as picky as they want.



By the way, if you react as badly in this thread as you did in the other one your dupe set up, don't expect help in future.

The absence of the magic word [asthma] is likely to be key.

While the never wheezing through exercise and all-clear by a Doc are good signs, they don't necessarily lend themselves to a direct verdict to how your body will cope at 40,000ft+, breathing 100% Ox and pulling hard G.
Realistically, the only way you'll have of knowing - because noone here is a doctor or high up in the selection centre - is by applying.

The general consensus on here will probably agree with me that your circumstances aren't likely to rule you out, but that is purely guesswork. With fewer and fewer people being recruited, but more and more applicants - especially in aircrew branches - they RAF can be as picky as they want.



By the way, if you react as badly in this thread as you did in the other one your dupe set up, don't expect help in future.

Also have the RAF changed the age ranged for pilot? I thought the max age was 23 but the careers site states 25.

Got family in the RAF as pilots and aircrew, and am applying to the British Army myself. Best advice I can give you first of all is to talk to your local careers office. They're all great chaps, really helpful and will give you up to date advice. I would imagine though that joining off the bat into an aircrew role would be difficult. However, if you were to join the RAF, say, as a member of the RAF Regiment, it might be possible transfer into an aircrew role later on after several years of service. I know of several Army Air Corps pilots who have done so with less than 20/20 vision; not sure if it would apply for Asthma.

Well, my army careers office seemed fairly clued up, I merely assumed that the RAF would be reasonably competent. What a mistake that was. I wasn't advocating moving on, I'm was merely saying it might be a possibility.

So did you lie by ticking all the no boxes on the form? That is probably why they didn't have enough information- if you were trying to cover it up instead of being honest.

Integrity? Core values mean anything to you?

I know this is likely to have been asked hundreds of times but i could do with some advice. I would love to have an aircrew role in the RAF

On my medical records it states i have asthma. Only one incident in 2002 (When i was 11) i was diagnosed with it and given inhalers. From what i remember it all cleared up pretty quickly after my check with the GP. I havent had any problems since but i have renewed my inhalers twice in 2006 and 2008 because they were out of date (i didnt even have a checkeup, and it wasnt me who collected them). I have never used them since that one incident in 2002.

I know asthma history is a no no in regards to aircrew roles but is there anyway i could ever join as aircrew?

Because of one incident surly this cant be a definite case i have asthma, especially when i havent had any symptoms since of the age of 11 (im 20 now). If i get my gp and an asthma specialist to give me the all clear, in writing and attach it to my application would they give me a second look in regard to aircrew roles?

Thank you all in advance and any information would be gladly welcomed!

I'm at no authority to give you a decisive answer but saying you have not had any symptoms since age 11, then stating you had an inhaler prescription a couple of years ago is contradictory. I know you may not have had any symptoms since you were 11, but you got a prescription, and seeing as the RAF have no way of seeing whether or not you actually used it, your chances are looking unlikely.

Still go for it though. A lot of people are dissuaded to apply just because of things they read on the internet. You never know, someone up there may like you.