It's very good of lilflyboy262 and The Bobmeister to have taken the time and trouble to pass on such excellent information. As for what should be elevated to the ranks of stickies, that's in the hands of the moderators. I've always been of the opinion that most of my posts should be made into stickies. I wait patiently in vain for such an honour. There is though an easier way to fly in Africa than has been discussed so far. Merchant banking or plastic surgery are excellent career paths which afford one the opportunity to save considerable wealth whilst allowing one sufficient time to be able to study for a professional pilot licence over long weekends of leisure. One is then in the totally enviable position of being able to retire from the first career path in order to take up the secondary or hobby pathway on a full time basis. Depending on the amount of savings squirreled away in the former life, it can be very advantageous from a tax point of view to offer one's services as a pilot completely without charge, at least for the first few years of professional flying. The financial independence which is a product of hard work in a field unrelated to aviation allows one the liberty of being able to afford to fly for free or even to pay to fly for one's jet conversions thus being of great benefit to any prospective employer. This is indisputably the way forward for the professional pilots of the future who would be well educated and excellently trained self starters and motivators, demonstrably self reliant, who volunteer their services because they can afford to do so and are thus in a position to withdraw their expertise from unscrupulous employers whose demands are illogical, illegal, inept or even insane.