reptile

Just a stab in the dark here - but are you employed by 43?

Shrike200

Guy!...Guy!.....(said with appropriate accent)

I suppose you had to have been there.

pineteam

Hi everybody

I am new member on this forum. I am a student in a business school . After reflexion, I am more and more interested to become a airline pilot .

I heard about 43 air school and read some positive comments . It seems to be a great school... But really expensive lol.

I would like to ask you some questions :

-How can we integrate this school? By exams? Because my main problem is that my level in math is low...Will it be a problem?

-What is exactly the price for all the training period and how long is it?

- When the lessons start? In january?

That's all for the moment

You will notice that my english is not so good lol But I will do a training period of 6 months for my last year in my business school in an English country to improve it

Thanks in advance for your answers

pineteam

UP please

Clarence Over

There have been MANY posts on this forum with a wide variety of views on this subject. Read through some of the old posts and decide for yourself.

Air Mauritius is starting their cadet scheme there shortly- maybe you should find out more info from them in this regard and see what comes of it.

GULF69

out of interest....

43 Air School PA is the 2nd busiest flight school IN THE WORLD!!

69

pineteam

Thanks for your answer. I just found one subject and there is no answer for my questions... . Except one about the price 93 000 euros

DawnTreader

Welcome to the forum Greg.
It is expensive. They are the biggest in the country and in Africa. Their approach to training is quite formal. They try to impose more than a shade of discipline. Think of it as a type of boarding school. Whether you would enjoy it there depends on you. If you learn quickly and don't mind a bit of discipline then it is the place for you.
They will ask to see your school results to get an idea of whether you will cope. I wouldn't say the academic level is as high as University, but there is a HUGE amount of information that you have to take in in a SHORT space of time. There are 8 separate commercial exams to write in only 1 week of exams. The school prepares you well for these, and standards are set HIGH in the regular tests so as to ensure you do your best in the finals. The PPL exams are written on computers at the base. If you don't pass these first time you can write again. If you mess up too many times they might ask you to leave. It only gets more difficult...
You do need maths. One of the books you get for the course is called "Maths for Comm" and it refers to a Standard 9 requirement- {from the old SA school system - which ended with Std. 10}. The ASA CX-2 flight computer is standard (but only post PPL level), as is the Casio Fx82 calculator. Chapters in the book are:- Simple Arithmetic; Simple Algebra & Simple Formulae; Cross Multiplication; Percentages; Vectors; Averages; Trig; One in 60 Rule {a rule of thumb based on trig} and finally, Interpolation {working out what the next or missing number should be in a column of figures}. Most of this is either for Flight Planning & Performance or Navigation. Speed is quite important. You don't want to end up 10 Km off course while you try and work out some calculations! If you feel Maths will be a problem, ask the school to send you the Maths notes and do some practise examples before you get there. Get the contact details from their website and send them a letter. Don't leave it too late because there is probably a long waiting list already.
A great asset is having Geography as a school subject!
Last time I looked it was roughly R1000 per hour of flying training (incl. fuel). Also more than R150 a day for accomodation (incl. food). They work on a system where you pay an initial deposit of around R15000 before you arrive. You then pay money in to your account to keep it in credit, and it will get deducted whenever you 'purchase' something - like all the notes, some shirts, exam fees etc. The school will give you an idea of estimated final cost via a an initial quote. Remember they will not know whether you need 3 hours to learn something new or just 2. The weather will also play a factor and keep you at the base a bit longer. Expect to be at 43 for a year at least to get your Comm.
They have several intakes during the year. I don't recall exactly, but the intakes are arranged something like January/April/July/October. This is so they can fill the class - and they expect each person in the class to progress at much the same rate throughout the course. It's about allocating time and resources.
Make sure your English is polished. The exam questions are difficult enough for native English speakers to understand as it is. Maybe they were written by a Greek person??

Jetstream_lover

Gday
You could go to sie Luftwaffen 43 Cadetten Flughschule. Or you could save cash and go somewhere cool like Progress, FEDAIR etc and get the same Licence and have more fun same time.

Auf Wiedersehen

Dont be a party pooper!

Arnie

DawnTreader

German is not on the syllabus or I would recommend you go there for a refresher course

The school is not perfect, it's not Stalag Luft V( ), but is does have a reputation in the aviation world that will help you get employment when you leave.

Ex-inmates have a vested interest in encouraging the school to maintain high standards.

Flying is not a game and the students do not go there to have a ball. Like any other college, students socialise, play sport, swim and enjoy themselves in the pub. They also spend time moaning about facilities, staff attitude etc., but when they look back, it was all part of the '43 experience'. It made them a better pilot.

Shrike200

Thats debatable. I've also heard of rabid 43 haters (heard that from an excellent source, it's still baffling to me though) in the pilot community, but never met any personally. I went there, but you still need to be just as lucky as the next guy to get work - merely having gone to 43 won't get you a job. I don't know how it's viewed now though, perhaps things have changed. As for discipline - well, I'd just come from the military, so for me it bordered on a hippy commune in that regard! It's all relative.

But I had fun. I don't know if I'd do it again though, at the end of the day you can save a lot of money by not going there while still getting great results, as long as you remember that more is placed on your shoulders in terms of actively seeking knowledge and study material, and being disciplined and focused in each flying lesson you take.

pineteam

Thank you very much for all these information DawnTreader .

I will follow your advises

Jetstream_lover

Just to set record straight. I am in no means saying that 43 is good or bad, but implying that there are indeed many pilots in the South African aviation industry who have done very well who have not attended 43!

It is not always the institution that provides the result, more so the individual concerned.

fluffyfan

I have heard this a few times, guys comparing Comm to University, having done both I can assure you a Comm is no where near university level (Engineering or any Maths related field)..........all you need to get a Comm is basic maths and lots of learning....thats it, no magic talent needed.

Why not try Progress flight Academy, Airline Pilots Training Academy (APTRAC)......both in Port Elizabeth, they are both full time live in training institutions and in my opinion will give you what you need at half the price, in fact, I think 43 is overated and overpriced..........shop around, there are also schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town which may interest you, 43 relies on there name alot but unless you are rolling in cash I would not bother with 43. For your information APTRAC is run by a SAA training captain with very nice equipment and standards, if you are interested in an Airline career I would go there.

Shrike200

Yeah, I wanted to comment on this too - there's no way a Comm is even vaguely in the academic league of an Engineering degree for example. Those who complain of sweating for a few CPL/ATP exams should try something serious at University. One test week later and you'll think the CAA exams are a joke.

And Fluffyfan's advice is good - it's tough to justify the (much) larger outlay at 43 when frankly Progress etc do a fine job too.

Tokunbo

Hi pineteam,
If it's of any relevance to what you're asking, CHC/Aero Contractors, which is probably the largest helicopter operator in Africa now send all their Nigerian sponsored ab-initio helicopter students to School 43, so I guess they rate it as a good school. I'm told that they're happy with the standard of the new pilots when they arrive back in Nigeria to go on to their conversions to the SA365 or S76.

Woof etc

I reccommend Partial Differential Equations 101 as a starter.

Shrike200

My nemesis was Engineering maths (204 I think?), and Strength of Materials, also second year. Ugh, cold shivers again! I still consider the subjects to be impossible, and that everybody else bribed the lecturer behind my back to pass!

DawnTreader

I didn't want to get to0 deep in the Uni - Comm comparison in my original reply.

I've also done University and Comm. I can only say it takes quite a different mindset to answer multiple choice questions. In an academic exam you can justify or even prove your answer is correct but with comm it is right or wrong. (In fact you can also be wrong even if you are 100% right.)

Also, I can assure you that at University you DO NOT get such a vast quantity of such diverse information to absorb in such a SHORT time. You also have longer than 7 days to complete 8 exams. The two require a completely different approach & preparation.

wheels up

Seems the topic has changed???

Anyway having done both as well, no comparison. Studied for com in 1 1/2 month of evenings and weekends. ATP in about 3 weeks. Mech Eng took 4 years of hard graft. Com is a lot of material but its mostly memorising facts, not much analysis or interpretation and no deriving new results from understanding of the underlying principles.

Multiple guess is easy. In many cases you can work out the answer by a process of elimination. And you donīt have to write all the exams in a week.

That said it does take a lot of work to pass the com and ATPL exams, and is an achievement to pass them - but its not rocket science. Just perserverance.