ADVICE(S) FROM NIGERIAN PILOTS ON THIS FORUM
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ADVICE(S) FROM NIGERIAN PILOTS ON THIS FORUM
Hello everyone.I'm a 25 yr old engineer and i intend to apply for Flight training in the U.S with the intention of returning home to get a flying job,but i have a few questions and i would be gratefull if i could get answers from experienced pilots( especially Nigerian pilots) on this forum.My questions are:
-how many hours do i have to log b4 i get a job down here in nigeria?
-how's the aviation job market?is there a high demand for pilots?
-what's the pay of an F.O like?
-i also intend to be an instructor pilot.will it give me an edge in the Nigerian market,or will it be just a waste of money?
Once again,i'll really appreciate it if my questions are answered.Thank you
-how many hours do i have to log b4 i get a job down here in nigeria?
-how's the aviation job market?is there a high demand for pilots?
-what's the pay of an F.O like?
-i also intend to be an instructor pilot.will it give me an edge in the Nigerian market,or will it be just a waste of money?
Once again,i'll really appreciate it if my questions are answered.Thank you
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C_ue
Just a few tips.
Most people get the instructor rating inorder to build hours. In the US, the minimum hours required before you get employed by a regional airliner is up to 1200 hrs (maybe
) same applies in europe, and many parts of the world where you also require plenty hours before getting a job.
In Nigeria, you have few training facilities or none at the moment where you can instruct.
The situation in Nigeria is also kind of different at the moment.There is a developing scarcity of Nigerian pilots in the country at the moment and it might be easier to get a job when you get back with 250 hours.
You also require a minimum of 250hrs before you fly in Nigeria and you need to convert your license to the NCAA one.This should take nothing less than 2 months except if things have changed.
It is also becoming difficult to get the M1 visa by Nigerians and alot of people are now going to SA,dubai and canada. Dubai is quite expensive but i met a nigerian student pilot there. If you are going to Canada where flight training is cheaper, you must be prepared for the harsh winter and far distance from home.I do not know much about SA but understand there are lots of Nigerians that went there for flight training.
Aviation school zaria is about to commence training soon for 7.5m naira or more if you have the cash!
Associated are also waiting for NCAA to commence training at Ibadan and the cessnas are already lined up at their wing in DNMM.
Hey i dont know much but PM me if you require more info.I can also link you with some Nigerians currently training in the US. Maybe if Engine noise sees this post, he should be able to guide you through.
You must also get a TSA clearance before commencing flight training in the US.
I do not have instructor ratings but i intend to get one soon.
Just a few tips.
Most people get the instructor rating inorder to build hours. In the US, the minimum hours required before you get employed by a regional airliner is up to 1200 hrs (maybe
) same applies in europe, and many parts of the world where you also require plenty hours before getting a job.In Nigeria, you have few training facilities or none at the moment where you can instruct.
The situation in Nigeria is also kind of different at the moment.There is a developing scarcity of Nigerian pilots in the country at the moment and it might be easier to get a job when you get back with 250 hours.
You also require a minimum of 250hrs before you fly in Nigeria and you need to convert your license to the NCAA one.This should take nothing less than 2 months except if things have changed.
It is also becoming difficult to get the M1 visa by Nigerians and alot of people are now going to SA,dubai and canada. Dubai is quite expensive but i met a nigerian student pilot there. If you are going to Canada where flight training is cheaper, you must be prepared for the harsh winter and far distance from home.I do not know much about SA but understand there are lots of Nigerians that went there for flight training.
Aviation school zaria is about to commence training soon for 7.5m naira or more if you have the cash!
Associated are also waiting for NCAA to commence training at Ibadan and the cessnas are already lined up at their wing in DNMM.
Hey i dont know much but PM me if you require more info.I can also link you with some Nigerians currently training in the US. Maybe if Engine noise sees this post, he should be able to guide you through.
You must also get a TSA clearance before commencing flight training in the US.
I do not have instructor ratings but i intend to get one soon.
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Nigerian Aviation Scene
My questions are:
-how many hours do i have to log b4 i get a job down here in nigeria?
-how many hours do i have to log b4 i get a job down here in nigeria?
-how's the aviation job market?is there a high demand for pilots?
-what's the pay of an F.O like?
-i also intend to be an instructor pilot.will it give me an edge in the Nigerian market,or will it be just a waste of money?
If ur finishing ur training @ the moment and u have an instructing role lined up, go for it. Keeps the hours aswell as good experience building. But having said that, the next 6 months in Nigeria for Pilots look very very rosy, if all goes as speculated, there'll be jobs flying around and it will seriously be a Pilots market. It all depends on what u want to do. If multi-Engine Turbine flying is what you want straight away, then come home now and start converting. If u want do instructing bcos u enjoy it, then by all means do that, Nigeria will always be here. Hope I've helped.
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i totally agree with flying touareg cos the job opportunities are very bright right now.
i dont think an instructors rating will give you any edge at all in nigeria unless of course you want to 'instruct' and the only place to instruct is zaria which has one of the worst salaries in nigerian aviation,so as far as am concerned its a waste of money
now doing a 737 200 0r3 00 type rating at the end of your cpl if you have the cash to spare will definetly land you a job in seconds
american training is cheap(if you can survive visa hassles and tsa)
if cash is not a constraint i suggest you train in the uk,if it is then us or sa are your best bet
salaries? expect somewhere b/w 200-450k mthly depending on the co
i dont think an instructors rating will give you any edge at all in nigeria unless of course you want to 'instruct' and the only place to instruct is zaria which has one of the worst salaries in nigerian aviation,so as far as am concerned its a waste of money
now doing a 737 200 0r3 00 type rating at the end of your cpl if you have the cash to spare will definetly land you a job in seconds
american training is cheap(if you can survive visa hassles and tsa)
if cash is not a constraint i suggest you train in the uk,if it is then us or sa are your best bet
salaries? expect somewhere b/w 200-450k mthly depending on the co
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Dearth of Pilots Worries NCAA
Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, yesterday raised an alarm over the dearth of pilots in the country, saying the situation called for urgent remedial steps to avert a looming national emergency.
Demuren, who spoke at an aviation stakeholders' forum in Lagos, said most of the pilots in the country have aged and would soon leave the stage, expressing regrets that younger pilots to take over are currently not available.
He said most of the pilots currently flying are close to 60 years of age, leaving them with few more years to retire mandatorily as prescribed by Nigerian law.
Demuren, who made a passionate appeal to stakeholders, particularly airline operators, to rise to the occasion by sponsoring pilots on training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, said it costs between N7 and N8 million to train a pilot.
He said NCAT presently finds it difficult to have a class of 36 trainee pilots.
"Let's all invest in NCAT. We have a major problem at hand," he said, pointing out that the current situation poses a grave danger to safety if not addressed, adding that with the fact well established across the world that human factor accounts for about 80 per cent of air mishaps, it was imperative to train pilots now to guarantee safety now and in the future.
Demuren said the dearth of pilots has been made more precarious with the liberalisation of the airspace of countries in Asia where Nigerian airlines had before now sourced pilots from.
According to him, such Asian countries, including China, now have increased aviation activities which had led to the explosive demand for about 200,000 pilots, a situation that now forces them to come to poach pilots from Nigeria.
In his opening remarks at the stakeholders' conference earlier, Demuren noted that recent global trends in weather have become a source of great concern for aviation safety, adding that "the long term forecasts for this rainy season based on the global and regional climate models for this part of the world is indicative of very intense tropical weather systems that portend an icrease in thunderstorm activity and high rainfall index along with their associated hazards".
According to him, despite the rapid technological advances related to weather forecasting and displaying weather, weather hazards such as turbulence, icing, hailstones, excessive water ingestion, water contaminated runways, lightning, micro bursts and windshear; weather continues to be identified as a major causal factor in aviation accidents and incidents worldwide.
Giving specific examples, he stated that at the very early onset of the rainy season this year, record of some weather related aviation incidents in Nigeria abound.
He noted that a light aircraft had to carry out a safety precautionary forced landing on a major road in weather related circumstances in a suburb of Ogun State recently.
Another example, according to him, was that a helicopter which was parked on ground somewhere in the Niger Delta area was struck by lightning resulting in signficant damage to the aircraft.
Demuren also recalled that another airplane was force to abort take off in circumstances suspected to be wind-shear while a high capacity public transport category airplane was reported to have encountered severe turbulence on a flight from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
He noted that these incidents should be considered as harbingers of the sort of unsettling conditions that lie ahead, adding that preventive measures have always been known to be more effective in mitigating the dangers posed by inclement weather conditions.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=49080
Demuren, who spoke at an aviation stakeholders' forum in Lagos, said most of the pilots in the country have aged and would soon leave the stage, expressing regrets that younger pilots to take over are currently not available.
He said most of the pilots currently flying are close to 60 years of age, leaving them with few more years to retire mandatorily as prescribed by Nigerian law.
Demuren, who made a passionate appeal to stakeholders, particularly airline operators, to rise to the occasion by sponsoring pilots on training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, said it costs between N7 and N8 million to train a pilot.
He said NCAT presently finds it difficult to have a class of 36 trainee pilots.
"Let's all invest in NCAT. We have a major problem at hand," he said, pointing out that the current situation poses a grave danger to safety if not addressed, adding that with the fact well established across the world that human factor accounts for about 80 per cent of air mishaps, it was imperative to train pilots now to guarantee safety now and in the future.
Demuren said the dearth of pilots has been made more precarious with the liberalisation of the airspace of countries in Asia where Nigerian airlines had before now sourced pilots from.
According to him, such Asian countries, including China, now have increased aviation activities which had led to the explosive demand for about 200,000 pilots, a situation that now forces them to come to poach pilots from Nigeria.
In his opening remarks at the stakeholders' conference earlier, Demuren noted that recent global trends in weather have become a source of great concern for aviation safety, adding that "the long term forecasts for this rainy season based on the global and regional climate models for this part of the world is indicative of very intense tropical weather systems that portend an icrease in thunderstorm activity and high rainfall index along with their associated hazards".
According to him, despite the rapid technological advances related to weather forecasting and displaying weather, weather hazards such as turbulence, icing, hailstones, excessive water ingestion, water contaminated runways, lightning, micro bursts and windshear; weather continues to be identified as a major causal factor in aviation accidents and incidents worldwide.
Giving specific examples, he stated that at the very early onset of the rainy season this year, record of some weather related aviation incidents in Nigeria abound.
He noted that a light aircraft had to carry out a safety precautionary forced landing on a major road in weather related circumstances in a suburb of Ogun State recently.
Another example, according to him, was that a helicopter which was parked on ground somewhere in the Niger Delta area was struck by lightning resulting in signficant damage to the aircraft.
Demuren also recalled that another airplane was force to abort take off in circumstances suspected to be wind-shear while a high capacity public transport category airplane was reported to have encountered severe turbulence on a flight from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
He noted that these incidents should be considered as harbingers of the sort of unsettling conditions that lie ahead, adding that preventive measures have always been known to be more effective in mitigating the dangers posed by inclement weather conditions.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=49080
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It's the old story. The operators will need to look at training up and coming crews to replace those nearing retirement if they don't want to get caught short. Unfortunately it requires a financial outlay and most aren't prepared to do this. It's a tricky situaton but with a bit of foresight and planning, the problems can be averted.
Good luck to all the hopefuls.
Good luck to all the hopefuls.
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Wow! what happening to the aviation industry in nigeria!?
Well a friend of mine whose company is wanting to go into this industry. well mainly chopper transport to offshore installations; rigs,platforms,FPSO etc ie, the oil and gas sector.
Now that pilots are on the exodus from nigeria, and knowing the predicaments of pilots in nigeria, i think this is a welcome idea. dont you?
well any tips that can help like
1) companies in need of air transport services
2) Adequate pay for pilots and other staff
3) kind of contract/ contract fee range oil companies do accept.
4) Minimum choppers required for a company with a low to medium flight schedule ( Not like the shells, exxonmobil, chevrons, agip etc)
4) any other info to help
Also, how good is the Bell412EP? is it as good we are been told anyone with that experience?
ciao
Well a friend of mine whose company is wanting to go into this industry. well mainly chopper transport to offshore installations; rigs,platforms,FPSO etc ie, the oil and gas sector.
Now that pilots are on the exodus from nigeria, and knowing the predicaments of pilots in nigeria, i think this is a welcome idea. dont you?
well any tips that can help like
1) companies in need of air transport services
2) Adequate pay for pilots and other staff
3) kind of contract/ contract fee range oil companies do accept.
4) Minimum choppers required for a company with a low to medium flight schedule ( Not like the shells, exxonmobil, chevrons, agip etc)
4) any other info to help
Also, how good is the Bell412EP? is it as good we are been told anyone with that experience?
ciao
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flight1203,
What is happening to aviation industry in Nigeria is that it expanding a lot. Your friend need to do more research of his own before he even think to try to operate there. Both Bristow and ACN are training new pilots in Sud Africa now for helicopter.
Nobody is going to help give you geniune informations on what is adequate pay for pilots, you have to ask friends in Bristow and ACN. And definitely nobody will tell you what contract rates are. If you friend cannot work out what he plans to charge, he will never succeed.
You ask how good is Bell 412EP and if it is good as you have been told. If you don't say what you have been told then how can we answer that question? It depend of what you want to use it for.
Also to operate in Nigeria, you first have to get permission to import your helicopter and get an AOC. Do you have any base there? Have your friend looked to se where he can get a base? Fuel is very difficult in Nigeria. Have your friend made all his arrangement for fuel? Many airfields have none.
If your friend really is serious he need to do plenty of research and also need to have a lot of monies to start in that country.
What is happening to aviation industry in Nigeria is that it expanding a lot. Your friend need to do more research of his own before he even think to try to operate there. Both Bristow and ACN are training new pilots in Sud Africa now for helicopter.
Nobody is going to help give you geniune informations on what is adequate pay for pilots, you have to ask friends in Bristow and ACN. And definitely nobody will tell you what contract rates are. If you friend cannot work out what he plans to charge, he will never succeed.
You ask how good is Bell 412EP and if it is good as you have been told. If you don't say what you have been told then how can we answer that question? It depend of what you want to use it for.
Also to operate in Nigeria, you first have to get permission to import your helicopter and get an AOC. Do you have any base there? Have your friend looked to se where he can get a base? Fuel is very difficult in Nigeria. Have your friend made all his arrangement for fuel? Many airfields have none.
If your friend really is serious he need to do plenty of research and also need to have a lot of monies to start in that country.
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Nigerian companies...
Hey guys!
Im from SAfrica and I obtained my CPL and Multi turbine IR all from 43 Air School. Ive also got the King Air B200 and Beachcraft 1900 on my licence. What I dont have is a job as a co-pilot.
Can anyone please give me the name of 1 or 2 charter operators in Nigeria that I can contact? It would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
Im from SAfrica and I obtained my CPL and Multi turbine IR all from 43 Air School. Ive also got the King Air B200 and Beachcraft 1900 on my licence. What I dont have is a job as a co-pilot.
Can anyone please give me the name of 1 or 2 charter operators in Nigeria that I can contact? It would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
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you will be a beautiful bride for overland airways nigeria with your 1900 rating but the pay is crap,and you beechcraft would be useful to an operator called wings avaiation whos pay ia a little better
Thread Starter
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I thank everyone 4 their replies;i've really learnt quite a lot.but if i may ask on more question.What's it like on the home front?What i really mean is that,will the job of a pilot have an adverse effect on one's family?
I ask this question `cos people i've spoken to have said that most pilots tend to have unstable families as they're not around most of the time.So please,i'll like to know your opinion on this matter.
Also,4 how many hours does a pilot work in a day?
I ask this question `cos people i've spoken to have said that most pilots tend to have unstable families as they're not around most of the time.So please,i'll like to know your opinion on this matter.
Also,4 how many hours does a pilot work in a day?
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C Ue,
Tell me which job in Nigeria does nt take you away from your family except maybe teaching where you spend less than 7 hours a day. If you are working in a bank, expect more hours than flying and by the time you are home you are too tired to face your family.If you live in a lagos por PH, the amount of time you will spend in traffic in almost the same you will spend been away from your family if you fly!
Agreed it takes you away for some time but i spend enough time with my family.
Tell me which job in Nigeria does nt take you away from your family except maybe teaching where you spend less than 7 hours a day. If you are working in a bank, expect more hours than flying and by the time you are home you are too tired to face your family.If you live in a lagos por PH, the amount of time you will spend in traffic in almost the same you will spend been away from your family if you fly!
Agreed it takes you away for some time but i spend enough time with my family.
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Originally Posted by Springbok 495
Ive also got the King Air B200 and Beachcraft 1900 on my licence.
Also looking for a Beachcraft job - rated on cayaks and paddleskis and working on the surfboard rating at the moment.
Oh, you mean BEECHCRAFT??
Nigerian In Law
Centurion,
I am assuming (as you didn't specifiy) that you haven't decided whether to go fixed or rotary ? I think at the moment if you go rotary and turn up in Nigeria with 250 hours any of the operators currently in the oil and gas business would bite your arm off. They are very short and nobody appears to be coming to fill the gaps, especially as you would already be trained.
Good luck whichever way you go.
Cheers,
NEO
I am assuming (as you didn't specifiy) that you haven't decided whether to go fixed or rotary ? I think at the moment if you go rotary and turn up in Nigeria with 250 hours any of the operators currently in the oil and gas business would bite your arm off. They are very short and nobody appears to be coming to fill the gaps, especially as you would already be trained.
Good luck whichever way you go.
Cheers,
NEO
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Originally Posted by SortieIII
Check your own spelling, puppy.
KAYAK, or CAYAK:
Eskimo word for a fishing BOAT in common use from GREENLAND to ALASKA.
