African Virgin

[stevegg5]

I am somewhat naive about how and where to find work in Africa, Kenya or Tanzania I hear, but having spent the initial part of my flying career flying a taildragger in and out of small grass strips it really appeals to me.

I'm a Brit and will have an FAA ATP CFI/II with around 1700tt, 50 multi or more and a couple of months and am considering coming out there.

So, what's the best way?
Get there and knock on doors or send lots of resumes and see what comes back.
Any pointers?

[Caribou 2]

Not wishing to **** on your bonfire but remember there are a lot of young locals needing jobs so non-citizenship, licensing and work permits are all going to be hell - but go for it. Try Kenya and Tanzania - south of that is a waste of time, although you might find something in Bots or Namibia..........

[stevegg5]

Thank's.
There must be some where who want's me and my skill's, where does everyone else go ? I can't be the 1st one to get my license in the US and want to move about the world...

[Fr O'Blivien]

Yeah, go for it. Best fun you'll ever have if you make it. I don't know that your US livence will be of any use though, certainly in Kenya you'll need to convert it to a local licence which will be costly and time consuming. Almost all a/c in Kenya are on Kenyan registry.

Take a cheap holiday over there, spend a week on the beach at Mombasa and take the train up to Nairobi for a few days recce and bang on doors at Wilson airport. That will quickly tell you if you want to persevere. You can stay in Nairobi real cheaply and the train costs dam all either.

Go on, do it! It will be the best value £399 you ever spent in aviation!

[stevegg5]

Thanks.
At last someone with something more positive to say.
Any idea what it takes to convert?

[Fr O'Blivien]

You wont know until you get there and find out for yourself.

I hate to say it but the reason most of the non Kenyan pilots out there are Antipodean or RSA/Zim is that they show far more willing than Limeys to go the the place en spec and hang around cheerfully pestering bosses and chief pilots until they either get a job or run our of patience/cash, all options likely to take months rather than weeks or days.

Your kenyan conversion will, as in any other country in the world, involve sitting exams, paying fees, taking tests, paying fees, paying fees, paying fees. I could go on. It will cost, and it will take time. They will not hire you without a licence. With a licence you might, or even might well, get a job. Aint no guarantees, except if you dont try you are certainly guaranteed not to get one!

My suggestion as posted above is take a cheap package holiday out there and for the cost of less than two hours of Seneca time go see those bosses, go talk to those chief pilots and find out (in the Aero Club) from the people who have actually done it just what it will really take to get that licence. Then talk to the KAA and find out if that really is the case. And find out if you really like Nairobi, and if you think you'd really like that much hassle for a not very well paid job that might actually brand you as a "bush pilot" and earn the mistrust of the less well informed chief pilots back home in years to come. (Oh yes some do actually think like that).

There are some qualities that are essential in a bush pilot. The chief pilot in Nairobi will be looking for them. I suggest independance, tenacity, initiative, determination, commitment as a start. Sadly I see far more of these in the Ozmate/Kiwi/Yarpie contingent than I do in most of my own countrymen, and that is why there were so few young Brit flyers living in Nairobi.

However, if you've got the guts, and the patience, and all the rest then you too could do it.

And if you do, you wont regret a single second of it, I promise you.


[edit 'cos "yarpie" deserves a Capital letter too!]

[Herc Jerk]

Amen Father ;) :cool:

see you in church:D

[Fr O'Blivien]

Not likely Herky, my body is my temple and it gets it's infusions of Holy spirit in the pub, bottle labelled Glenfid...

;)

[stevegg5]

I hear that the time and effort in converting is dependant on how much you are willing to pay.
Correct?

[Fr O'Blivien]

Eggy, I would not say the effort will be dependant on how much you pay, but there is often a time factor that can be reduced by resorting to chai. Personally I deplore such techniques and survived without ever paying a bribe, but you do hear of them, and tales of "lost" applications in the licencing office being miraculously "found" are legion. I doubt very much youd buy exemptions or exams though, and you can seriously compromise yourself by seeming to offer chai to an honest official, that's aguaranteed way of slowing or even stopping your application, so best stay clear I reckon.

[stevegg5]

I hear ya.
Oh steve name is mean't to be SteveGG5 the GG 5 meaning Gulfstream G 5. Funny i only noticed it was Egg5 when my mum pointed it out the other day. We look but done see.
Thanks
The man formally known as egg5...

[Herc Jerk]

Eggmate, i think your last sentence should have read- "formerly known as Steve"... :D

Father, a bit of your favourite Holy Water and we can have ourselves a baptism here;)

good to see the faithful are in regular attendance over there in the east...

[stevegg5]

Now it's Eggmate, it's changing daily, not sure if you've got enough holy water if this goes on.
Eggmate sounds like one of those thing you can get on TV here for $19.99.(not available in stores):rolleyes: