Canadian CPL
Hey Tom,
To convert your CASA CPL to a Canadian CPL you need to take the Canadian CPL written exam and also a flight test. Note that you cannot do either until you have a Canadian Medical. This can take one month to process after you have seen a doctor – I ended up having to twiddle my thumbs in the Yukon during this time. It would have been much more practical to have obtained the Canadian medical in Australia prior to heading over.
The Canadian theory exam is shorter than the Australian CPL written exam, but it is around the same standard…Air law has various differences.
The flight test was easy, although the Canadian CPL instrument standard is higher than in Australia. I only had 10 hours IFR at the time, I had to do another 10 to meet the 20 hours required by Transport Canada for the CPL.
Good luck, but again, I will eat my hat if you get a job in Canada with 200-300 hours! That is being realistic, rather than pessimistic. Evidently some people have found their first job overseas – but North America is a very hard nut to crack. If you want a holiday, sure go over there, convert your license and knock on doors…But if you are looking for your first flying job DON’T go to Canada. Get some hours then head over…
I e-mailed over 100 companies prior to heading there. Only a few got back to me to say ‘no thanks’. Still, like I said, I was very luck to get work there. There are many jobs that come up seasonally in the north of Canada. However the flying is rather demanding due to weather and mountains. With 1000 hours I was right on the minimum for insurance.
As I cannot reapply for a ‘youth working holiday visa’ I would need to be sponsored to return. In order to do that, the Sponsoring Company has to prove to immigration that there are no Canadians available for the position.
Instead of asking in this forum, why don’t you ask on the Canadian PPrune page where the jobs are in their country for fresh CPLs without citizenship?