Although SAFTA advises potential students that a PPL takes between 75 to 90 days, we have had many students complete the PPL in less than 60 days, and students who have even completed the flying portion in less than 30 days.
The South African PPL theory is based on the JAR syllabus and therefore requires substantial lectures to be able to pass the exams. SAFTA has full-time lecturers and offers our students a proper grounding as the majority of our students continue on with CPL training. We also have our own PPL online testing centre so that students can test as and when they are ready to do so. It is very much up to the student's ability and dedication as to how long it will take to obtain a PPL.
SAFTA maintains a surplus availability of aircraft and instructors so that students are able to fly when they need to.
Additionally, many of the schools mentioned in this post are severely affected by the volatile and unpredictable South African coastal weather. We have had over ten students from some of the schools mentioned in this thread join SAFTA in just the last three months due to the coastal weather having affected their training progress so badly and we have many more students who have enquired about joining SAFTA from other coastal schools.
SAFTA's advanced training and aircraft maintenance operation is located at Rand Airport in Germiston and on the 1st of March 2009 we will be expanding our operations by moving our ab-initio training to Heidelberg which is just 25 minutes drive from Rand Airport and Johannesburg. Our new facility there can accommodate 140 students and we will be the only operator at the airfield. The town of Heidelberg is extremely safe and is located in a country setting.
Additionally, SAFTA only operates type certified aircraft and one of the schools mentioned in this thread operates non type certified aircraft and that is why they are able to train pilots for the prices they advertise. Future employers will not be very impressed with students who train in aircraft some consider to be microlights.
Also, be very aware that coastal flight schools have no way of predicting how long a PPL will take as they are at the mercy of the South African coastal weather which is known for being severe and long-lasting. There is a reason that the first explorers to discover Cape Town nicknamed it "The Cape of Storms".
SAFTA does not make optimistic claims about training times but instead advertises realistic and obtainable training periods. MAYBE THIS IS WHY WE HAVE NEVER HAD A STUDENT LEAVE US TO JOIN ANOTHER FLIGHT SCHOOL, YET SO MANY OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE JOINED US FROM OTHER SCHOOLS!!
Last edited by safta; 27th January 2009 at 06:35.