south african flight training

[iceman2u2001]

hi..im a new start in the way of flying having only begun my private pilots licence at aldergrove airport in belfast...but i want to take my flyiny experience to commercial level and i was told that south african schools are extremelly cheap and i was wondering if any of u veterans of flying had any advice 4 me..i know the school needs to be be approved by the caa but are there any other prerequisites for getting into one of these schools and getting quality training that can be used back home..thanks for your help..a hopeful wannabe!!!

[Jam Doughnuts]

Have a look at the topic in the forum already, will be of great interest and help.. as for pre-wattists ..... as always with aviation its Money and lots of it...... :D

[celticflyer]

If you want a South African CPL check out 43 Air School in Port Alfred. I trained there for my cpl-ir and was very impressed by there standard's, great bunch of people down there and what a fantastic country to fly in. Nothing but good exeriences to tell you about. Since you require a JAR cpl only 150 hrs of your SA flying will be of use and you will have to start a 55hr IR from scratch .Check out the African section in Forums, there was a while back a posting on converting to a JAR license, just run a search, Wishing you the best of luck and enjoyment in the fantastic world of aviation.

[Chris2]

Jam Doughnut... what you still doing on PPrune... did your DRC tour get extended ? :D :D :D

Celticflyer... when were you at 43 ?

Cheers Dutchie

[celticflyer]

From August 99 to July 00

[Chris2]

Celticflyer... you haven't recently come back from the States by any chance ???

Greetings from deep dark Africa :D

[celticflyer]

Thats Right came back in Early August. Must have trained with you then over there Dutchie?

[Chris2]

Celticflyer...RT !!!

I think we shared many a beer down at the old Brass Ballbag :D :D :D
Might have given you a lift back to the school some nights in the old yellow peril... and what about the braais up at the farm ?

Last time we met I was in Pretoria writing exams.

So when are you coming back down to Africa?

I'm in another exotic African location right now, 37C, no alcohol here so have a beer for me please...

Cheers Dutchie

[celticflyer]

Mr KingAir himself,

Hows life still treating you down in Africa. Your a hard man to keep a track of. I'm still hoping for something to work out hear , If not I might ramble down to those parts very soon.Just got an email from a certain housemate of mine in port alfred today, becoming Chief Pilot of his outfit down there, doing very well for himself. Well Anything I should know about from good old Africa. Bye for now.

CelticFlyer

[bruce.benson]

Celtic,

Do you remember anyone from Progress while at 43rd? I think we had one or two defectors while I was in PE but names elude me these days. You guys always did have better digs but you can't beat the rush from trying to find a grass strip lit by lanterns after a trip to Queenstown! 8-).

Later,

[celticflyer]

Sorry did'nt know any of the progress guys, when were you in PE? Comm or PPL?

Night flying was always interesting around the Eastern Cape, not a lot of ground reference down there. I had it quite handy with the introduction of electronic lighting in PA , altough it only covers part of 10-28, Some of the veterans down there told me stories from the past of seeing lanterns moving away from the R/W while on final approach. Pilots up here in europe have life far too easy.

[wheels up]

Hey Dutchie2 - dat you AS?

[ 06 November 2001: Message edited by: wheels up ]

[bruce.benson]

Celtic,

I was down there from June 99 to June 2000 doing my comm. As for europe being too easy - you're absolutely right ;). We used to have a problem with the lanterns moving. Infact there were electric lights at Progress before I got there but they "walked" as well so it was back to the lanterns. Ahhhh the good old days.

The weather up here makes up for the well lit tar runways. Plus now it's winter I spend most of my time groping around in the dark. Still, should just be glad I've got a job of sorts.

I keep getting CVs from guys who were on sponsored courses but on completion found that they'd been canned! Poor ******s.

Later,

[Chris2]

Hello Woof..... or should that be wheels up ?

Got your message just before this tour, sorry didn't get in touch. How's things, you still at LFC ?

I'm in a sunny part of Africa for a change.

Arriving back from LHR on SAA, 5 minutes before arriving at JNB, captain comes on the PA and says...
"Cabin crew.... SIT.... STAY !!!!!" :D :D

Will email you. Cheers Dutch.

[celticflyer]

Nevergo, Your not living in Ireland by any chance( a wee small isle ),

If so did you convert to an IAA CPL on your return from SA.

Cheers,

CelticFlyer

[bruce.benson]

Hi Celtic,

Not quite ireland - but close - I live on the Isle of Man ( an even smaller isle).

I came back from SA and did a "conversion" to JAA. It was actually a complete requal - I had to do all the ground exams ( plus compulsory groundschool) then do 50- hrs retraining ( also compulsory ) and the flight tests. :eek:

With a JAA ticket I'm OK for the IAA.

What was your method after the Eastern Cape.

TTFN

[shifatur]

hi guys
i am considering going to south africa may 2002 for my ppl. i am from bangladesh and many pilots flying for Biman Bangladesh Airlines have foreign licenses.

if i take my commercial license from south africa, will i have difficulty converting it to JAA licenses????? i mean, since i am not from europe, would it restrict my plan to get hold of JAA ??? :confused:

could n e 1 lemme know????

take care guys

[bruce.benson]

Good Morning Captain!

I'm sure Celtic and Dutchie may well have more to say but I seem to be here first this morning - they are probably working!

SA is a great ( and cheap) place to learn to fly and a PPL done down there ( at the right places) will give you things that aren't possible in Britain or the States. I would whole heartedly recommend the experience for a PPL.

Commercial is more complicated. I was asked just last night if I would go the SA route for commercial and with the world in it's current state I would have to say no. There are very large problems with trying to convert any foreign licence to JAA. As I mentioned in my last post, I had a valid SA CPL/IR Multi but was forced to do all the ground school and flight tests again in Britain. The cost for the requalification was about the same as the whole course in SA.

I would recommend signing up with a European based school who do part of the training in the States/Spain/South Africa. That way you can minimise the cost, get some experience in another country and avoid having to do twice the work while still getting a JAA frozen ATPL at the end of it all.

That's if you want a JAA ticket. I couldn't comment on what you might need to do to convert an SA CPL for any other countries.

Any comments guys?

Good luck - you'll need it ;)

[celticflyer]

On return from SA I managed to gain grandfather rights on the old national Irish system, Still had to pass the 14 ATPL's here , As the hrs required were somewhat less than the JAR requirments, (ME-IR was to flight test standard's only ) I did save a bit . It did overall still cost me an arm and a leg on top of my SA CPL-ME/IR.

Capt if you do not hold a European Passport I would question your decision to work towards a JAR License. I am pretty sure that a SA CPL will be accepted in your country because as far as I know you will not gain any special credits for holding JAR license down there.

[Chris2]

Captain... what Celtic says is very true... if you don't hold an EU passport and you are not planning to fly there then don't bother with a JAA license. A South African license is acceptable everywhere else.

The standards of training in SA are very good and that is recognised in other parts of the world... look how may SA pilots are flying for Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Air Mauritius etc.

Not sure exactly what the latest JAA news is but the conversion requirements depend on your (foreign) qualifications and experience... once you have a few years with an airline it should be no problem to convert.

43 Air School is the best place to go in South Africa. An great learning environment and very professional. Not necessarily the cheapest but you will walk out of there within a year (if you work hard !) with everything you need.

Good luck in whatever you decide.
Cheers Dutchie

[shifatur]

guys, u r great!!!!!

its good to know that ppl r willing to help u whenever u need them.

i thought that it would be favorable for me to convert my south african licenses to jaa so that i dont hafta go for conversions later on when i finally apply for job. now that i know that i really dont need a jaa if i am not working in europe, i think it would be wise not to do through all the hassles.

n e way, though i am from bangladesh, i live in germany and doing my college, majoring in english. i went through many websites of some european flight schools, but honestly, i was demoralized upon seeing the astronomical price just for abinition training. the total college cost is high enough for me to afford flight training in europe. i hope u all know what i am talking about.


:)

therefore, lemme do the whole training from south africa and see what happens.

thanks for the advises. these really takes my spirits as high as 39,000feet!!!!

capt.

[celticflyer]

Take advantage of the Rand, You will get some of the cheapest quality training around while flying in a fantastic country.

I'd have to agree with dutchie( by the way dutchie is S.G paying you some sort of a commision )43 Airschool is the place to go in South Africa. I for one had a fantastic experience with the school.

Capt might be worth getting across to London Heathrow on Saturday for The 2001 International Careers In Aviation Exhibition.43 Home Page (http://www.43airschool.com)

[shifatur]

hello guys
back again,

I HAVE A VACATION IN MAY 2002 FOR THREE AND A HALF MONTHS. I WANTED TO DO MY PPL ^ NIGHT RATING THEN. IN THIS WAY, I WANT TO DO ALL THE MODULES DURING HOLIDAYS. I CAN'T GO FOR AN INTEGRATED COURSE, SINCE I AM AT UNIVERSITY AND HAVENT GOT THE TIME FOR IT.

N E WAY, I WANTED TO ASK U GUYS WHETHER N E ONE OF U GOT N E IDEA ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN POLICY TOWARDS ISSUING VISAS FOR FLIGHT STUDENTS OR NOT. I WAS REFUSED U.S VISA WHEN I GOT MY I-20 FORM FROM UNI. OF NORTH DAKOTA IN AERONAUTS DEPARTMENT.

I AM JUST LITTLE WORRIED AFTER THE SEPT 11 INCIDENT AND HOPING THAT THEY DO NOT CHANGE THE TOTAL PILOCY FOR FLIGHT STUDENTS..

N E KNOWLEDGE ON THE SUBJECTS, GUYS??

TAKE CARE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING TO U ALL.

CAPT.

[Chris2]

You officially need a study permit to attend any school in SA. However ...

Unofficially you can get away with a tourist permit. Valid for 3 months but if you ask for 6 months they will usually give it to you if you have enough funds to support yourself.

If you are only planning on a few months' training don't bother with a study permit. You are simply on holiday and decide whilst you are there to do some flying !!

Celtic - have a beer for me !!! I don't receive a penny but if I did I should be rich by now - you reading this FS ? :D :D :D

Greetings from darkest Africa - Dutch.

[bruce.benson]

I couldn't let you guys get in all the plugs without some alternative being presented to the Capt.

Although I hold 43rd Air school in high regard as a SA school ( and certainly far bettter training environment than any of the Jo'burg schools ) I would advise having a look at Progress Flight Academy http://www.flightacademy.co.za

I haven't been in touch with them since I finished in mid 2000 so I don't know what improvements they have made. The accommodation (as Dutchie and Celtic are sure to mention if I don't ) was pretty basic but plans were in hand to improve it. However, the reason you are going there is to fly and I can vouch for the excellent standards John English maintains.

Check it out and if you want more info just ask me. I don't think anyone would argue that 43 and Progress are amongst the top schools in the country.

To go back a bit - if you can stay away from the JAA you will be better off financially and you won't age as fast! :) Stick with SA.

UTNT,

[shifatur]

hello pals
thanks for the cool advises. again,i must tell u that u all r great!!!!

n e one heard about this school called Airline Pilot Training Centre?? it's in port elizabeth airport. they seem to offer solid courses. however, i aint gonna make up my mind without your advise.

lemme know. keep flying high.

:cool: :D

captain rich

[wheels up]

Seen the APTRAC facilities at PE - although I cannot vouch for the training there they certainly aren't in the same league as 43rd.

[shifatur]

hello woof
thanks for the advise. i really appreciate it. it makes making decisions much easier.

so...guys....is it 43 or progress..?????

:confused: :confused: :confused:

captain. rich

[Chris2]

Captain

You must make that decision !

The 2 schools are the ones which I narrowed my choice down to as well. They both have an excellent reputation.

But let me say this ... speak to as many people as you can. Try to find some ex-students from both schools and listen to what they have to say. Ask the schools themselves, if they have nothing to hide, they will gladly put you in touch with people.

I did just that when I was in your shoes 3 years ago. It helped me to make my decision which I have never regretted.

Also have a look at old pprune topics. Not sure if the search engine works, otherwise select topics from the last year on this forum, and you will find lots more info.

Having been completely impartial up to this point I will just say have a look at the new 43 Air School website... www.43airschool.com (http://www.43airschool.com) :D :D :D

Cheers and good luck ! Dutchie

[shifatur]

dutchie
thanks a lot for the advise.

yup, i also believe that the 43 air school is the right choice for me. i am waiting for them to send me some hard copy of their brochure. they have already send me their full brochure by email. i kindda like it ....to be honest!!! :D :D

k guys, thanks a lot for all the cool advises. i am gonna be flying high one day, and i keep my fingers crossed.

see u up in the sky soon.

capt. rich