European Airline's view on ex Africa pilots?
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For any flight OTHER than an autocommanded tar to tar (miles of it) journey at FL330, I would pick a pilot with bush flying experience above one without. 10000 hours in the right hand seat of airliner means didley squat in my books. Yes, for airline ops, and type of flying you might be considered experienced, but for any other type of flying, your pants and your seat dont meet.
?different skills are required for different work, so it is really stupid to compare contract experience to airline hours, that said...you know who I think is more skilled....
?different skills are required for different work, so it is really stupid to compare contract experience to airline hours, that said...you know who I think is more skilled....
Thread Starter
Well more fantastic posts to give me something to think on. Not sure whether to be pleased or frightened by some of the posts!
The general verdict by those that know seems to be that it is a positive thing. Regarding the limits in career terms, I have reached that with the flying I'm doing now and have been unable to break away from that here, hence the decision to expand my repotioire elsewhere.
I guess at the end of the day when it comes to getting jobs, the difficult bit is getting to the interview to be able to show you are the right person for the job and a couple of thousand hours on twin turbos and a precis of flying in some interesting places on the CV can only help you get noticed!
Thanks for the info; is there a secret pprune handshake for when I bump into any of you out there?
The general verdict by those that know seems to be that it is a positive thing. Regarding the limits in career terms, I have reached that with the flying I'm doing now and have been unable to break away from that here, hence the decision to expand my repotioire elsewhere.
I guess at the end of the day when it comes to getting jobs, the difficult bit is getting to the interview to be able to show you are the right person for the job and a couple of thousand hours on twin turbos and a precis of flying in some interesting places on the CV can only help you get noticed!
Thanks for the info; is there a secret pprune handshake for when I bump into any of you out there?
Last edited by Jump Complete; 29th Aug 2006 at 15:32. Reason: Edited due to a typing stammer
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Contract Pilots even learn the handshakes.
African Handshake : Fold the $50 bill lengthways until it is only about 1cm wide and hold it between the index and the middle finger. As you shake hands with the official push in slightly with your middle finger whilst smiling. Avoid direct eye contact.
On-Contract Handshake : Best avoided altogether, but if this is not possible, best with rubber gloves. If these are not available, cup the hand as you shake so as to provide as little skin-to-skin contact. Unclasp handshake as quickly as possible. Do not use right hand for anything else until you have washed hands asap with antibacterial handwash gel.
African Handshake : Fold the $50 bill lengthways until it is only about 1cm wide and hold it between the index and the middle finger. As you shake hands with the official push in slightly with your middle finger whilst smiling. Avoid direct eye contact.
On-Contract Handshake : Best avoided altogether, but if this is not possible, best with rubber gloves. If these are not available, cup the hand as you shake so as to provide as little skin-to-skin contact. Unclasp handshake as quickly as possible. Do not use right hand for anything else until you have washed hands asap with antibacterial handwash gel.
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From the Time magazine cover story, August 2006 - the Fokker F28-4000's are flown by South African contract pilots from AirQuarius Contracts. 
From the Magazine | Cover
Life in Hell: A Baghdad Diary
By APARISIM GHOSH
SUBSCRIBE TO TIME PRINT E-MAIL MORE BY AUTHOR
• First Person: Staying Sane in the Most Dangerous Place on Earth
• Photo Essay: Journey Into Baghdad
• Talk Back: Life in Baghdad
Posted Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006
A knot begins to form in my stomach exactly at 8 a.m., when I step into the small Fokker F-28 jet that will take me and 50 other passengers from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad. I know what lies ahead: an hour's uneventful flying over unchanging desert, followed by the world's scariest landing--a steep, corkscrewing plunge into what used to be Saddam Hussein International Airport. Then an eight-mile drive into the city along what's known as the Highway of Death. I've made this trip more than 20 times since Royal Jordanian's civilian flights started three years ago, and you'd expect it would get easier. But the knot takes hold in my stomach every time.
I scan the cabin for familiar faces. The 50-odd passengers include the usual suspects--Western "security consultants" in faux fatigues, Iraqi officials in dark suits. And some surprises, like the three women in white Indian saris with blue borders. The nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa's order, are a comforting sight. One of them, Sister Benedetta, kindly gives me a laminated picture of the soon-to-be saint and a genuine relic--a microchip-size piece of Teresa's sari. A lapsed Hindu, I'm nonetheless grateful for any and all gifts that purport to holiness; somewhere in my bags are a tiny sandalwood Ganesha, pages of the New Testament and a string of Islamic prayer beads. In Iraq, you want to have God--anybody's God--within easy reach.
Sister Benedetta smiles politely when I joke that many of our fellow passengers will be calling to their maker when the plane begins its hellish descent. To avoid being shot down by Iraqi insurgents, the pilot must stay at 30,000 ft. until the plane is directly over Baghdad airport, then bank into a spiraling dive, straightening up just yards from the runway. If you're looking out the window, it can feel as if the plane is in a free fall from which it can't possibly pull out. I've learned from experience to ask for an aisle seat.
The only thing worse than the view from the window is being seated next to someone who hasn't taken the flight before. During one especially difficult landing in 2004, a retired American cop wouldn't stop screaming "Oh, God! Oh, God!" I finally had to slap him on the face--on instructions from the flight attendant. Another time the man in the window seat was a muscular, heavily tattooed Polynesian ex-commando who spent an hour telling me of his life as a mercenary in a succession of South Pacific island nations--stories that often ended with his punching, stabbing or shooting somebody. When the Fokker began its steep descent, he began whimpering to Jesus and grabbing my forearm so tight, I felt my palm go cold from lack of circulation
On this occasion, to my relief, the guy next to me is a fellow journalist and veteran of the nightmare landings. Even so, as we begin the descent, I move my hand away from the armrest. Looking over my shoulder, I see a familiar expression on the faces of my co-passengers: a mixture of fear and resignation. Sister Benedetta is staring up at the ceiling, her lips moving in prayer. I reach into my shirt pocket and surreptitiously rub my fingers over that laminated picture. When the Fokker's wheels hit the tarmac, 50 people sigh in unison, 50 stomachs unclench. But the relief is temporary; most of us still have to negotiate the Highway of Death.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...223363,00.html
From the Magazine | Cover
Life in Hell: A Baghdad Diary
By APARISIM GHOSH
SUBSCRIBE TO TIME PRINT E-MAIL MORE BY AUTHOR
• First Person: Staying Sane in the Most Dangerous Place on Earth
• Photo Essay: Journey Into Baghdad
• Talk Back: Life in Baghdad
Posted Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006
A knot begins to form in my stomach exactly at 8 a.m., when I step into the small Fokker F-28 jet that will take me and 50 other passengers from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad. I know what lies ahead: an hour's uneventful flying over unchanging desert, followed by the world's scariest landing--a steep, corkscrewing plunge into what used to be Saddam Hussein International Airport. Then an eight-mile drive into the city along what's known as the Highway of Death. I've made this trip more than 20 times since Royal Jordanian's civilian flights started three years ago, and you'd expect it would get easier. But the knot takes hold in my stomach every time.
I scan the cabin for familiar faces. The 50-odd passengers include the usual suspects--Western "security consultants" in faux fatigues, Iraqi officials in dark suits. And some surprises, like the three women in white Indian saris with blue borders. The nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa's order, are a comforting sight. One of them, Sister Benedetta, kindly gives me a laminated picture of the soon-to-be saint and a genuine relic--a microchip-size piece of Teresa's sari. A lapsed Hindu, I'm nonetheless grateful for any and all gifts that purport to holiness; somewhere in my bags are a tiny sandalwood Ganesha, pages of the New Testament and a string of Islamic prayer beads. In Iraq, you want to have God--anybody's God--within easy reach.
Sister Benedetta smiles politely when I joke that many of our fellow passengers will be calling to their maker when the plane begins its hellish descent. To avoid being shot down by Iraqi insurgents, the pilot must stay at 30,000 ft. until the plane is directly over Baghdad airport, then bank into a spiraling dive, straightening up just yards from the runway. If you're looking out the window, it can feel as if the plane is in a free fall from which it can't possibly pull out. I've learned from experience to ask for an aisle seat.
The only thing worse than the view from the window is being seated next to someone who hasn't taken the flight before. During one especially difficult landing in 2004, a retired American cop wouldn't stop screaming "Oh, God! Oh, God!" I finally had to slap him on the face--on instructions from the flight attendant. Another time the man in the window seat was a muscular, heavily tattooed Polynesian ex-commando who spent an hour telling me of his life as a mercenary in a succession of South Pacific island nations--stories that often ended with his punching, stabbing or shooting somebody. When the Fokker began its steep descent, he began whimpering to Jesus and grabbing my forearm so tight, I felt my palm go cold from lack of circulation
On this occasion, to my relief, the guy next to me is a fellow journalist and veteran of the nightmare landings. Even so, as we begin the descent, I move my hand away from the armrest. Looking over my shoulder, I see a familiar expression on the faces of my co-passengers: a mixture of fear and resignation. Sister Benedetta is staring up at the ceiling, her lips moving in prayer. I reach into my shirt pocket and surreptitiously rub my fingers over that laminated picture. When the Fokker's wheels hit the tarmac, 50 people sigh in unison, 50 stomachs unclench. But the relief is temporary; most of us still have to negotiate the Highway of Death.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...223363,00.html
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Ignorance is bliss... Time needs to sell magazines so they make it sound like a suicide run!
AfricanSkies,
In your honest opinion, what sort of threat do you feel there is in operating in and out of SDA?
KESHO
AfricanSkies,
In your honest opinion, what sort of threat do you feel there is in operating in and out of SDA?
KESHO
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Kesho I would say the main threat is from possible collision with other aircraft, both civil and military, both manned and unmanned.
Then there is the threat of insurgent action which may be less than alluded to by Time Magazine but nevertheless cannot be ignored. Aircraft have been fired upon (and, indeed, several brought down) on numerous occasions in/out of Baghdad, by both SAM and ground fire over the last 3 years. Aircraft on the apron and taxiing aircraft have been mortared on numerous occasions.
Weather is no doubt a factor as the airport does not have any civilian IFR approach aids. Temperatures in the high 40's and regular dust storms do not help matters. Finally, Baghdad is fairly isolated as far as viable alternates go for short range aircraft. It also does not have repair facilities, so theres always the chance of a fault stranding the aircraft there.
How do you feel about threats operating in/out of Baghdad, Kesho? It sounds as if you think the threats are highly exaggerated? One thing is for sure - it's a far cry from Dubai or Joburg.
Then there is the threat of insurgent action which may be less than alluded to by Time Magazine but nevertheless cannot be ignored. Aircraft have been fired upon (and, indeed, several brought down) on numerous occasions in/out of Baghdad, by both SAM and ground fire over the last 3 years. Aircraft on the apron and taxiing aircraft have been mortared on numerous occasions.
Weather is no doubt a factor as the airport does not have any civilian IFR approach aids. Temperatures in the high 40's and regular dust storms do not help matters. Finally, Baghdad is fairly isolated as far as viable alternates go for short range aircraft. It also does not have repair facilities, so theres always the chance of a fault stranding the aircraft there.
How do you feel about threats operating in/out of Baghdad, Kesho? It sounds as if you think the threats are highly exaggerated? One thing is for sure - it's a far cry from Dubai or Joburg.
