Flying helicopters, I hate wearing my epps. But flying in dark Africa, I'd wear 8 stripes if they made them.
Sometimes it's not a good idea to visit the customs officer and he has more stripes than you. So for Africa I'd say wear your 4 stripes no matter what licence you have.
In SA I'd say go back to the 3 if you're CPL because some ATP guys might give you the evil eye.
