Progress Flight Academy, SA

[767bill]

Have had some info from them and am thinking of going there to do CPL/IR, ICAO, I have been told about need to come back to UK for flight tests, but has anyone been there or trained elsewhere in SA? Any info appreciated.

[lookoutbelow]

Went to Progress last year for hour building, twin and night ratings. Excellent standard of training and good aircraft.

Progress is a little isolated but if you can sort transport out (hire car) that isn't a problem.

Progress FA only train for SA licenses so cannot offer JAR CPL or IR training. If your eventual route is JAR Frozen ATPL there is alot to consider when going this route so PM me if you want more info.

Lookoutbelow

[birdlady]

Hi 767Bill

I have just done my PPL and some hour building in Johannesburg. I did my JAA PPL at FTC in Johannesburg and unfortunately they went bankrupt shortly after I completed my test. I considered going to Progress to do my SA CPL but decided against it for various reasons:
South Africa is perfect for hour building and the training is excellent but with getting an ICAO CPL you are seriously limiting yourself and will cost you more money in the long run to convert to a JAA CPL. As I was told by the UK CAA, if you have an ICAO CPL you still have to do the ATP groundschool and all 25 hrs of practicle training so not a good investment. If you want to work in SA for a while to build up your hours you can but instructing is probably your only option as most charter companies expect you to have more than 1000hrs let alone a few hours on a twin/turbine. There are companies out there that will take guys straight out of CPL training but they are mostly guys who went the sponsorship route or are South Africans. It is virtually impossible to get a work permit here (believe me Ive tried EVERYTHING) especially with flying as there are so many pilots out there and so few jobs.
However having said all this, with the multi IR I would look into this. I know Oxford converts an ICAO Multi IR into a JAA Multi IR for roughly 3000 pounds. I would factor this into the cost of the ICAO Multi IR and see if its cheaper.
I know a couple of people who have trained with Progress and have got mixed reports. They all say the training is good, but the accounts department and accomodation have a lot to be desired. One of Progresses big selling points is that they allow students to go solo on there twin so your not logging P2 but P1. These are the hours you need.
All a little long winded but I hope this helps.
Ciao BL

;) ;) ;)

Hi Again

Just something I want to add here. I dont know if youve heard that if you do your hourbuilding outside a JAA approved country - say Austrailia, New Zealand or South Africa - only 50% of your hours count if you do an intergrated course whereas if you do a modular course all your hours count. ??????????:mad: :mad: ??????

[767bill]

Thanks LOB and Birdlady, noted, I shall think further, BL, last comment noted too, thanks.

[BillieBob]

Birdlady - It would really help if you got your facts right before bursting into print. The limitation of experience credit to 50% is nothing at all to do with overseas hour-building. The relevant passage in JAR-FCL 1 reads -

In the case of a PPL(A) entrant, 50% of the aeroplane hours flown by the entrant prior to the course may be credited towards the required flight instruction (JAR-FCL 1.165(a)(1) and Appendix 1 to JAR-FCL 1.165(a)(1), paragraph 13) up to a credit of 40 hours flying experience or 45 hours if an aeroplane night flying qualification has been obtained, of which up to 20 hours may be dual instruction. This credit for the hours flown shall be at the discretion of the FTO and entered into the applicant’s training record.

- and relates to all of the integrated courses.

Since, for example, an integrated ATPL course could contain as little as 140 hours total time and 40 hours of dual instruction in the aeroplane, it is absolutely logical to limit the amount of previous experience that can be credited. It does not matter where you gained your previous experience, the above limitation applies.

[767bill]

OK ,noted, BB
Thanks BL in any event, the integrated course is probably not really an option for me.

[birdlady]

Sorry guys for that misunderstanding I obviously just got the wrong end of the stick.

BL

[south coast]

bill...

i did my training at progress f.a. and they are an excellent school. one definately needs transport to get you off the base now and then as said already, but other than that i highly recommend it.

i have now completed the jaa cpl/ir and finished the atpl exams, without any problems...and i am still working for a south african company flying a beech 1900.

definately options and with the exchange rate still in your favour, well worth considering, you could even buy yourself a king air rating and get a job flying contract outside of the country and get some multi turbine hours.

obviously not quite as simple as that, but dont see too many 200 hour guys being employed in the uk unless they are prepared to buy a 737 rating.

good luck!

[birdlady]

Hi Again!

What South Coast said about the King Air rating is actually an excellent idea. A King Air rating can be acheived relatively cheaply here in Johannesburg. There's a guy here that had his own King Aer and used to do the ratings in conjunction with my school. The course was 50hrs long and the way it was run was you did actual charter work while you were doing the 50hrs to get your type rating. Unfortunately he was killed in Mozambique. However if you are considering doing a King Air rating I would get in touch with my old CFI at Superior Pilot Services and he will be able to put you in touch with another chap that does the rating out of Lanseria. Its not terribly expensive and from what I heard from the UK CAA when you return to England the hours will count but you may still have to do a test. My old CFI is a top bloke and an excellent instructor who knows his stuff and may be able to point you in the right direction. [email protected]
Hope this helps
Birdlady:ok: :ok: :ok:

[767bill]

Thanks, all the information is useful. I'm looking further at S.A. whilst doing some more bean counting.

B