abudhabiandy

Hi everyone,

Just pitched up to Abu Dhabi. I have a JAA PPL - is there any way I can hire aircrfat here? if so where? Tried speaking to Horizon at Al Ain but they were pretty unresponsive.....

OMDB-PiLoT

Try calling Umm Al Quwain Aero Club.

Phone : 067681447

Learn to Sky Dive, Tandem, Accelerated Free Fall Course and Flight Training in Umm Al Quwain

BladePilot

Try Fujairah Airport they have a fairly active flying club there (watch out for the mountains though!) +971 9 2055557 (airport direct) ask for the flying school they will either connect you or give you another direct number.

About 3 hours by road from Abu Dhabi.

shiny side up!

John Miller

Depends what you'd like to do.

For a 'club' scene with a busy social side, Al Jazirah is the most appropriate although it is all ultralights. For Spammys, then Umm Al Qaiwain. Hiring an aircraft will follow various 'security' procedures that involve visits to a police station, forms and a wait of a few months. There are a number of other restrictions, in particular visiting other UAE airports. UAE is VERY slowly opening up to light aircraft.

There are a number of Abu Dhabi Al Jazirah members.

If I can help, email: john @ meflyer . com

BladePilot

Fujairah Aviation Academy
Tel: +971 9 2224747
Stephanie Rodrigues is the course administrator.
They may be able to help you but as John Miller has pointed out getting up in the region can be very difficult because of various 'regulations'.
Best of luck.

BarryW

I'm trying to convert my ppl at the moment, it is proving to be very difficult.
Guys at umm al Quwain were initially willing to help out, but apparently the gcaa wont let them instruct as they don't have a chief flying instructor.
They will however take you for a scenic flight, but you get to sit on the right and don't touch anything.

I had similar a similar experience with Horizon, sent emails, left messages but have not had any replies, seems they are too busy with the emirates cadets.

Emirates aviation school will put you on a waiting list for a year.

Fujairah aviation academy seems the best way to go so far, except I haven't managed to get airborne with them yet. They are also not so good at returning phone calls or keeping arrangements. But I think they are by far the best bet. They dont work on fridays or holidays, and Saturdays are a long shot.


To get anywhere near a a/c you need to get a security clearance, for fujairah this involves getting a character certificate, 4 photos 110 dh passport and visa copy and 2 mornings should get you the certificate. Takes about a week.
Supply certificate, copy of logbook, license, 4 photos, passport and visa copy to fujairah aviation academy, you should get the clearance in about 2 weeks. Make sure they physically have the card before you go out.

To validate your license, you need to write the airlaw test and do 5 hours of flights with an instructor.

So far its been a nightmare getting the airlaw material, there is also no study guide, and the cars must be over 1000 pages - so you need to sort out what is needed.
Once you think you are familiar with the airlaw you write a mock, if you pass the school will give you a letter that you take to the gcaa so that you can write the centralized exam.

When and where you can fly is restricted, lots of restricted and prohibited areas. Below 1500' is uncontrolled but you have a squawk code, and are in contact with dxb.

This has been my experience so far, its been rather frustrating so far - good luck and welcome to the U.A.E

jai6638

I wanted to go up flying with a FAA PPL last year and went to the flight school at Dubai Airport Terminal 2 last year.. The guy took my passport photo and details to obtain security clearance. It took a week for me to get that clearance after which I went up flying with him. While he was a nice guy and the Piper aircraft were very well maintained, I wouldn't recommend Dubai for a flight since its way too busy. We spent 15 min doing a VFR hold and another 5-10 min holding short of the runway.

What aircraft does the Fujairah Aviation academy have? Are there other flight schools in the UAE other than the one in Dubai that have Piper Warriors? I've heard there's a flying club in RAK. Is that any good?

BarryW

Fuhairah have c172s and i think da40 and a twinstar

.Aero

Hope this list helps. I would say forget sending emails. That part of the world aren't very 'web savvy' and emails aren't seen as primary means of communication to allot of locals. Give them a call instead if you want direct info.

As you can probably see, General Aviation and Flight Training is certainly a sector that's growing in the UAE. I just hope it keeps getting better!


UMM AL QUWAIN - Learn to Sky Dive, Tandem, Accelerated Free Fall Course and Flight Training in Umm Al Quwain

DUBAI - Experience a New World :: Emirates Flying School

DUBAI - Flight Training Dubai - Dubai Paragliding - Micro Aviation

AL AIN - HFA

FUJAIRAH - :: Fujairah Aviation Academy ::

RAK - Airline Pilot Training Institute, Commercial Pilot Training Dubai

RAK - Jazirah Aviation - Home

RAK - uaeppc home page

Anyone know of anymore to add to the list?

OMDB-PiLoT

In short, General Aviation in U.A.E. isnt easy to get into, but I can guarantee that your patience will pay off, especially flying VFR close to palm islands on a bright sunny day! Trust me!

John Miller

Fujairah operate Cessna 172s, DA 40s and a single DA 42. However, I understand the Diamonds are rarely flown for two months during summer as they struggle with the temperatures.

There are two training establishments at RAK. One is the Indian Aviation Academy and they are very difficult to get any information out of, in fact I wasn't even sure they were still open until I eventually managed to get an email out of them. They don't advertise anywhere and don't seem keen to welcome visitors for some reason - at least that's my experience. IAA have at least one Cessna 152. It's painted pink and is called 'Tania'.

DAE is also based at RAK and they have a couple of Cirrus SR 22s with more on order as well as 12 Eclipse jets. They are geared for airline training.

I consider Al Jazirah to be the best even though they are an ultralight club. Very friendly and growing quickly.

Emirates Training Academy at DXB has been very difficult to speak to - they rarely return calls or answer email messages - also in my experience.

Umm Al Qaiwain has a shortage of instructors. It has great potential though and is friendly. They operate Cessna 172s, a single Skylane and a Seneca II.

jai6638

Out of curiosity, where do GA pilots in the UAE fly? Besides the palm and the Dubai marinas, are there any other spots that are worth visiting? The guy at the Emirates Flying School told me that there wasn't anything else to see besides sand and the desert. Your thoughts?

Cheers

OMDB-PiLoT

The coastline is great from Dubai all the way till Fujairah. Khorfakkan has beautiful view with a lot of mountains around. Other than that, remember its a small country with a lot of sand You can enjoy flying over desert at low level!

OMRK

Indian Aviation Academy in Ras Al Khaimah har 3 C152 as far as I know, but their focus is also on airline training, so might be difficult to do some flying with them.

The ultralights at Jazeerah Al Hamra (OMRJ) is as is beign said an option, biggest drawback in my opinion is the limited operations they are allowed, ULACs are not allowed inside contolled airspace, and is in theory not allowed in UAE at all, but they do have a designated area stretching from Umm AL Quwain along the coast northboud to the Omani boarder where they can operate below 1400 feet at daytime, giving them access to Umm Al Quwain (OMUQ) Jazeera al Hamra (OMRJ) and Saqr field (OMRS).

Not that many places to fly around here with 'normal' aeroplanes, you are normally restricted to stay inside the UAE, so visits to Oman is normally not an option.
Also a lot of restrictive controlled airspace (class C and D), and with both Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah being procedural controll you will at times struggle to be allowed through their airspace above 1500 feet.
Also all airports getting more and more busy, so you are really going to struggle to find anywhere that will accomodate you for IFR training if you have an IR to maintain...

heartlesspilot

Yeah its quite good as ther is minimum traffic and you can get you hours done quickly......if the aircrafts are available and the previous students pass out as on the dates stated.