Kiwi training advice needed..

[divorcingjack]

Hi guys, I've just discovered this site - excellent advice !! Was wondering if you could help me out on another topic
- I am graduating from university this summer and decided to follow my lifetime ambition and do my commercial flight training.
I am considering going to the IFT in Christchurch, New Zealand, as they do a all in professional Licence (230 hours flight time and MEIR), which looks quite good.
Does anyone know anything about it ?? Any advice would be a godsend - am very confused at the minute !!
How well are Kiwi licences regarded worldwide - I don't necessarily want to come back to work in the UK - pretty flexible really ! Cheers.:confused:

[redsnail]

Kiwi licences.
I don't know the school personally. I am sure if you cross post this in Dununda and Godzone someone will be able to help you.
The kiwi licence is recognised in Australia.
It is fairly easily converted/validated in Asia as well.
Unfortunately if you want to fly a G reg aircraft it will cost you a lot to convert.
If you want to work in New Zealand you will probably have to emigrate.

[Artificial Horizon]

IFT in Christchurch are very good, they are an off shoot of the Canturbury Aero Club and have always been very busy every time I have been through Christchurch. Lots of international students at one of NZ's main international airports, so very good experience.

The NZ licence is generally well regarded every else in the world, although you are required to convert it if you want to fly professionally in the UK/Europe or the US. Flying jobs in NZ itself are rare as hens teeth so don't rely on that route. Beautiful place to train and the chance to experience things not generally done in the UK e.g. Low Flying below 500'.

[Anti Skid On]

There are loads of CPL's around NZ earning a pittance. Re. the above - are you resident in NZ, do you have permanent residency or citizenship? If so you can, if you go through an approved NZQA training establishment get a government student loan. Also, Southland Institue of Technology (http://www.sit.ac.nz/diploma-aviation.htm) do a Certificate in Aviation, that gets you the CPL - and you only pay for the hours, as they have a fee free scheme. I also know some of the Simuflite guys from Ardmore and Hamilton. AH is spot on about prospects (see D & G rumours page) - although if you were at 500ft amsl here you'd be underground!

(PS where in Scotland are you from - I'm from Glasgow)

[helipilotnz]

i am at S.I.T as mentioned above doing cpl(h), ppl(a) ,inst rating and c cat rating. we have a new jet to be delivered soon, along with this and the weather and topography i find it challenging and great fun. as mentioned before, jobs seem scarce here, but training is great.

[divorcingjack]

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for all your advice, especially about the lack of jobs ! I'm actually from Northern Ireland,
but am finishing up my degree in St. Andrews just now, so am not a Kiwi resident. I spoke to the school and they said as they are an
approved education establishment I can get a student visa for the duration of the course, so that is cool.
Afterward, I don;t really have any distinct plans - pretty flexible as to where I live - what about jobs in Australia or aisa
- any better prospects there ? Any idea how much a conversion course to FAA or JAA licence would be ?
Thanks again ! Looking forward to getting started !

[redsnail]

Divorcing jack,
Australia has the same problem as every one else. Too many people chasing too few a jobs. In Oz (unlike UK/Europe) your first job is likely to be either instructing or in some remote place flying a C182 or C206/7. There is work around but you'll have to fight fang and claw for it.
Again, the hardest part is emigrating not the licence. With your age etc and a degree it shouldn't be impossible. As with any bureaucracy, knowing what to say on the application form is vital.
Asian airlines usually want at least 1000-2000 hours on either turboprops or jets.
As for the cost of converting a NZ CPL with IR (ATPL subjetcts) to a JAR equivalent? I'd budget at least another 5-10,000 pounds on top of what you would have already spent in NZ.

Sounds dire I know. Never ever believe what the flying schools tell you regarding the job situation.

[Luke SkyToddler]

Just about any school in NZ can sort you out a student visa, we haven't gone down the road of the USA yet (in fact the school where I work is picking up quite a few enquiries from UK/Europe now that the US training option is such a big pain in the @rse.

Training's generally cheap, expect to pay between $120 and $150 NZ per hour for single and about $300 - $350 for twin training (divide by 3 to get the equivalent in pounds).

As Anti Skid points out, you can get a government funded student loan to pay for all your licences & ratings if you're a NZ national, unlikely to apply to you but what it does mean is that every year the schools are banging out another few hundred wannabes with taxpayer funded CPL/IRs, in a country of only 3 million people you can see how the problem arises, I read somewhere that there are 12 unemployed CPL holders for every paid flying position in this country.

(Hence why most of us end up flying for low cost airlines in the UK instead :D )

Theres loads and loads of good schools in NZ, you can't really go wrong unless you train at one of the Ardmore based schools (big overpriced congested-airfield sausage factory nightmare) or Massey School of Aviation (the laughing stock of the NZ industry).

I see you're in St Andrews divorcingjack, strongly suggest you should take a quick drive across the river to Tayside Aviation in Dundee and ask to have a chat to the New Zealand instructor that works there, he's an absolutely a top bloke and will give you loads and loads of sage advice (for the small price of a pint in Laings bar). Or feel free to email me if you want.

[A Very Civil Pilot]

I did my CPL/IR at the International Aviation Academy of New Zealand at Christchurch. Good a/c, good instructors, great place to fly.

As evereybody has said, there are v few jobs availalbe, despite there being a larger GA scene in NZ than the UK.

What I did save, due to lower costs in NZ, I had to spend in the UK to transfer it all to the CAA/JAR system.

It's a great learning experience, but puts you out of the UK scene for a number of years when you really need to be looking around for work.