Flying in Nepal
Just thought I would post to give a warning to anyone thinking of flying in Nepal. It is a beautiful country, a lot of wonderful people, challenging and rewarding flying and good money.
Sounds brilliant, doesn't it. Let me give you a bit of a warning though.
-Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is one of the most corrupt and inefficient organisations you will ever come across. They are there to serve the wishes of the airlines, little else. The head of safety (a corrupt sod by the name of Subedi) takes monthly payments from airlines so as to turn a blind eye to things being done wrong.
If something goes wrong while you are in Nepal, it doesn't matter who is at fault, CAAN will blame you, as the foreign pilot, they will try revoke your license and even threaten to have you arrested. Your company will give you no support, you will be left out to dry. Again, CAAN is only there to look after the owners of the airlines.
-Air Traffic Control is a joke. The often forget to inform you of traffic, they call airports VFR normal with 2.5km visibility (they look one direction, see 2.5km, look the other, see the same and call it 5km, no I am no joking) and with a ceiling of 500feet). Again, they are there to serve airlines, not safety. If flying into the fields in the mountains, they won't close the airport if the winds pass the maximum (once I witnessed 17 knots, 10 is max, controller didn't close, instead he lied about the wind, despite me telling him to tell the truth)'until a pilot reports the approach to be very unstable. They will kill more people soon. Yet the pilots will be blamed.
There are 3 operators that will recruit you.
Air Makalu, C208's - The company is ran by a guy called Nima Lama and his lying sidekick BK Shrestha. Nima has a Northface shop, he got things made and labelled in China, pilots call him Northfake. Tells you a lot about him. His chief pilot is a joke called Tenzing Lama, this guy is one of the worst pilots you will come across, teaches pilots to do a 'slip climb' in an emergency (yes that is correct!), has his own short field landing technique (he knows more than Cessna), I can go on and on, but you get the point.
The company have ripped off their last 3 foreign pilots. Go there and you will be screwed over, without a shadow of a doubt.
Air Kasthamandap, PAC750's - used to be the joke of the small operators, overtaken in that regard by Makalu. They have new owners and I hear they are much better, but I wouldn't work there. Based in Nepalganj, a **** hole (other two have pilots based in Surkhet, much nicer), their chief pilot has the nickname of mini-Tenzing (see above), thinks he knows everything, but knows nothing. After over two years as a co-pilot the bloke needed ground school on how to use the GPS.
The company has ripped off foreign pilots in the past, but not to the extent Makalu have, so be careful
GOMA Air, C208's- by far the best of these 3 operators, but starting to lose the plot. Focussing on the operations of the Let410's and neglecting those of the C208's, multi-tasking too much for them? They will pay you more consistently than the others, so far.... If you have some problems with CAAN, don't expect any help from them.
If you really want to fly in Nepal, these guys are the best of the single engine operators, but having seen CAAN first hand and the state of the country right now I would not recommend going anywhere.
Feel free to PM me if you want to know more (or post here)