I do believe besides the physical and psychological standards, pilot candidates in the RSAF do have paper qualifications....at least Diploma from a local Polytechnic as a bare minimum or "A"level cert as they are expected to complete a undergraduate programme. The natural process to become a qualified pilot takes time. Race plays little part - or so we would think. If a young man wants to be a pilot it starts with BMT then....
Its Air Grading - as the name suggests, is more like a selection process than a training programme.
Air Grading will be done in Tamworth, Australia. The RSAF leases the CT4B from the RAAF at Tamworth and operates a small training school with about 10 permanent staff. It is basically a course for the RSAF to select trainees with potential to undergo the full pilot training course. Aggressiveness, mental agility, sharp reflexes, and resilience. These are some of the traits required to succeed as a military pilot. And these are exactly the qualities that the RSAF’s Qualified Flying Instructor (QFIs) look out for when assessing whether a trainee possesses the potential or not.
In general, the job of the QFIs is to test the trainees to the limit. It is a tough and demanding course. Trainees learn about aircraft systems and the theory of flying on the ground, before putting those knowledge to use in the air. It is a daunting task because they have to remember what they had learnt and put those theory into practice under a high stress environment when operating the aircraft. During Air Grading, RSAF trainees are put through 15 sorties to determine the aptitude of the trainee. Usually, more than 50% of the trainees drop out at this stage and many before the completion of the 15 sorties. Typically it will take 1 month to complete the 15 sorties.
OCS
After completing and passing Air Grading, the trainees will be sent to Officer Cadet School where they undergo the Common Leadership Module (CLM) and after that the Air Force Service Term (AFST). This training phase is entirely residential, and you learn crappy things like jungle warfare, etc. OCS Phase typically lasting 9 weeks,
Ground School & Basic Wing Course (BWC)
After OCS, the trainees return to ground school for Basic Wing Course (BWC). After 3 months in ground school where they learn basic aviation topics like aerodynamics, meteorology, airframe/engine, instruments, navigation, they are sent to Pearce Air Force Base, Perth, Australia, for the BWC. BWC lasts about 9–12 months. At BWC, trainees are trained to fly in state of the art PC-21 turboprop trainer. These planes are operated and owned by the RSAF, and the instructors are also RSAF pilots who are based there as permanent staff. At the end of the BWC, trainees are streamed to Fighters, Rotary or Transport depending on aptitude.
Fixed Wing
Fighter Pilot Trainees
Fighter trainees are generally sent to France where the RSAF’s 150 Squadron is located at. 150 Squadron operates the M346 jet trainer. This is where trainees are taught the basics of being a fighter pilot. Instead of being streamed to 150 Squadron, fighter trainees are also occasionally streamed to NFTC, Canada or SUPT, United States of America, for training. This is usually based on training slot availability. Fighter training generally takes 9 months to 1 year to complete.
Transport
Transport trainees are also trained in Singapore.
Training is partially outsourced to ST Aerospace. Transport training generally takes 6 months.
Rotary Wing Pilot Trainees (Helicopter)
Rotary trainees are trained in Singapore where they fly the EC-120.
The EC-120 is operated by the RSAF and maintained by ST Aerospace in a private-government partnership. Generally, takes 6 months.
Graduation
After completion of the Fighter, Rotary or transport training, the trainees finally achieve their wings.
From BMT to getting their wings, Fighter pilots take about 2 years to 2.5 years, while Rotary and Transport trainees take about 1.75 years to 2 years.
It is after getting their wings that all RSAF pilots are obliged to complete a 10-year training bond with the RSAF.
Operational Training
It is after getting their wings do RSAF pilots get streamed to their individual aircraft type to learn how to operate their respective aircraft type.
From here, training to be operationally ready takes about 1 year. From being operationally ready to operational wingman another 1 year.
From being an operational wingman to an operational flight lead another 1 year.
So all in all, it takes RSAF 5–6 years to train someone to become an operational flight lead.