The values of an S.A licence?

[jimmyj]

Hi, I am a 21 yr old recent uni grad and I am thinking of doing a full ATPL course at Progress Flight Academy in S.A. . .. .Anyone have any news on Progress? . .Could you also give me an idea as to where I could get jobs after graduating as an Englishman with an S.A licence? i.e; would I be limited to South African airlines or could I convert to an FAA licence and work in the U.S? . .. .Cheers guys.

[Chris2]

Hello Yorkshire lad. .. .I also replied to your post in the wannebees section. My situation is (was) similar to yours in that I have a UK passport and I did my training in South Africa.. .. .Your options are limited because you will not qualify for a work permit in South Africa. There are plenty of unemployed South African pilots looking for work. This also means it is difficult to become an instructor and build hours that way (a lot of guys start their career doing instruction).. .. .One option is to try and find work in Botswana or Namibia for one of the tourist/charter companies there. Also good starting-ground for young pilots and a fantastic experience. Referring to the other post you will find a lot of guys from 43 Air School in those places.. .. .Then you can try and get in with the companies that fly for the relief organisations such as UN and Red Cross. A lot of South African companies involved in this type of work. You will need a South African license to fly the ZS-registered aircraft but what passport you have is irrelevant. I was lucky and got a good start to my career doing this.. .. .I would say the South African training/license is on a par with the best in the world. The fact that you find SA pilots all over the world proves that. I have flown in several African countries and presently I'm flying into Afghanistan; we hear SA voices on the radio everywhere we go!. .. .Your other option is to convert your fresh SA license to a JAA one... a costly and frustrating exercise! I now have nearly 1500 hours (on turbine aircraft) with a frozen ATP and yet it counts for almost nothing back in the UK!. .. .Anyway I hope this is of some use to you. If you need any more info please let me know and I will do my best.. .. .Once again good luck in whatever you decide.. .. .Cheers. .Cloggie. . . . <small>[ 10 March 2002, 13:19: Message edited by: Cloggie ]</small>

[B Sousa]

Cloggie gave you good info. As to the US FAA license, unless your coming to the states with work permit, your wasting time and money. If you visit the states though you can get a free Private license, based on a current foriegn license. It has been covered in threads last week.. .Your young, just keep plugging away and good things will come in time. It did for most of us....

[OPS 7]

Yorkshire_lad if I was you (and I'm not <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> ) I would train for a CAA/JAR atpl frozen, then I would send my cv all over Europe and if after a while you don't find anything head up for Africa and get the experience that will enable you to come back in Europe. I don't know if it is difficult to convert from a JAR to a SA license but anyway it should be easier than in the other way around ... then you wouldn't have any problem to come back to Europe when you find a position.. .Good luck with this difficult decision <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

[jimmyj]

Thanks for all your info, especially you cloggie. I am looking at the s.a. licence but my main concern is how valuable it would be to me. although training over there is a lot cheaper than here it is still a lot of money.

[B Sousa]

Money is nothing in South Africa.........er ....wait.....no, no....Money is worth nothing..... .Sad Stuff for such a great group of folks.... .Seriously though you can live well on the Pound as long as you dont talk much when buying things. As soon as they pick up your accent the price changes.........Ha Ha......Love that place. Have someone from SA get you some rates at a school and a place to stay, you will save a lot of coins...

[Gooneybird]

Sorry to hijack your thread Yorkshire_Lad, but does anyone have any contact numbers for the U.N. and Red Cross or whoever they go through.. .I'm over in S.A. now finishing off my commercial ( conversion from a Canadian CPL ).. .Cheers.. .Yorkshire-Lad, if you have no dependents in the U.K. and are in not going to be in any hurry to return to the U.K. after finishing then Africa get's my vote. Also there are U.K. instructors working here who did get work permits ( No idea how mind )

[Capt. Spud]

Coming from the other side: . .. .Would an FAA license convert to a SA CAA license, easily?

[Caribou 2]

ICRC AIR OPS GENEVA. .00 41 227 346001 . .. .UN . .00 1 212 963 0321. .. .OR GO TO:. .. .<a href="http://www.rossair.co.za" target="_blank">www.rossair.co.za</a>. .. .<a href="http://www.skyrelief.co.zw" target="_blank">www.skyrelief.co.zw</a>

[Caribou 2]

Spud - your problem will be work permits (much more hassle than the license.

[Caribou 2]

GooneyBird - are you ex-RCAF ?

[south coast]

yorkshire lad....i have seen you on here for quite some time now asking the same old questions with regards to the whole sa thing.....before investing in the training why dont you take a 2 week trip to sa and find out first hand what the story is......etc,etc....go on, stop talking about it all and take the plunge, do the training....i did it at progress and am now working on contract in the drc.....

[Gooneybird]

Caribou 2, no I just did most of my training in Canada. I notice from your profile your in the DRC. I keep hearing that the work situation there is good, but then I here alot of things; any truth to the rumour?:cool: