Maun 2009/10 season
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For those of you from the USA coming to Maun or who might be out of the loop due to remoteness>>.
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Congress overhauls pilot certification requirements, ups minimum to 1,500 hr.
By Aaron Karp | August 2, 2010
The US Congress attached sweeping aviation safety reform legislation, including a requirement that all Part 121 pilots accumulate at least 1,500 hr. of flight time before operating a commercial flight, to its latest short-term FAA funding extension passed on Friday.
President Barack Obama was expected to sign the measure, which will keep FAA funded through Sept. 30, into law over the weekend. While members of Congress once again failed to reach consensus on a broad FAA reauthorization bill (agency funding has been extended 15 times since its authorization officially expired in 2007), both the House of Representatives and Senate forged wide agreement on revising pilot training and certification standards (ATW, May 1) in response to issues raised by the tragic Colgan Air Q400 crash outside Buffalo in February 2009 that killed 50 (ATW Daily News, May 27).
Of particular significance is that the legislation cleared by Congress will require all Part 121 pilots to hold an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which demands that a pilot be at least 23 years old, pass a test demonstrating knowledge of the aircraft category and class he or she will be operating and have accumulated a minimum of 1,500 flight hr. First officers currently must have only an instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate requiring just 250 hr.
The new safety measures "will boost pilot training programs, combat pilot fatigue and dramatically increase requirements for pilots of passenger airlines to have more flying experience," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee.
In addition to the ATP requirement, the bill mandates FAA "to create a comprehensive pilot record database to be maintained by the FAA for air carriers to track and review pilot work histories," establishes a task force to make recommendations on pilot education and standards and requires FAA to conduct a study on best practices "with regard to pilot pairing, crew resource management techniques and pilot commuting."
According to Rockefeller's office, the bill demands that FAA issue rulemakings "to ensure commercial air carriers provide pilots with: a) stall, upset recognition, and recovery training; and b) remedial training. This provision also requires the FAA to convene a multidisciplinary panel to study and report on methods to improve pilots’ familiarity with stick pusher systems, icing conditions, and microburst and wind shear events."
The legislation leaves it up to FAA to determine how to implement the ATP license requirement, giving the agency 36 months to develop a new standard.
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Apparently there will be a two to three year period for implementation but there will be no grandfather rights. the implication could be that in the US the gap period is to enable those pilots who are presently employed under Part 121 and who do not yet have the fifteen hundred hours, to accumulate the minimum requirements for continuing in their jobs.
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Congress overhauls pilot certification requirements, ups minimum to 1,500 hr.
By Aaron Karp | August 2, 2010
The US Congress attached sweeping aviation safety reform legislation, including a requirement that all Part 121 pilots accumulate at least 1,500 hr. of flight time before operating a commercial flight, to its latest short-term FAA funding extension passed on Friday.
President Barack Obama was expected to sign the measure, which will keep FAA funded through Sept. 30, into law over the weekend. While members of Congress once again failed to reach consensus on a broad FAA reauthorization bill (agency funding has been extended 15 times since its authorization officially expired in 2007), both the House of Representatives and Senate forged wide agreement on revising pilot training and certification standards (ATW, May 1) in response to issues raised by the tragic Colgan Air Q400 crash outside Buffalo in February 2009 that killed 50 (ATW Daily News, May 27).
Of particular significance is that the legislation cleared by Congress will require all Part 121 pilots to hold an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which demands that a pilot be at least 23 years old, pass a test demonstrating knowledge of the aircraft category and class he or she will be operating and have accumulated a minimum of 1,500 flight hr. First officers currently must have only an instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate requiring just 250 hr.
The new safety measures "will boost pilot training programs, combat pilot fatigue and dramatically increase requirements for pilots of passenger airlines to have more flying experience," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee.
In addition to the ATP requirement, the bill mandates FAA "to create a comprehensive pilot record database to be maintained by the FAA for air carriers to track and review pilot work histories," establishes a task force to make recommendations on pilot education and standards and requires FAA to conduct a study on best practices "with regard to pilot pairing, crew resource management techniques and pilot commuting."
According to Rockefeller's office, the bill demands that FAA issue rulemakings "to ensure commercial air carriers provide pilots with: a) stall, upset recognition, and recovery training; and b) remedial training. This provision also requires the FAA to convene a multidisciplinary panel to study and report on methods to improve pilots’ familiarity with stick pusher systems, icing conditions, and microburst and wind shear events."
The legislation leaves it up to FAA to determine how to implement the ATP license requirement, giving the agency 36 months to develop a new standard.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently there will be a two to three year period for implementation but there will be no grandfather rights. the implication could be that in the US the gap period is to enable those pilots who are presently employed under Part 121 and who do not yet have the fifteen hundred hours, to accumulate the minimum requirements for continuing in their jobs.
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What's the situation with Seaofane, after watching this NBTVToday - Botswana Bound it looks like a really nice company.
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Maintenance Jobs
I'm looking for information about working in Botswana as a mechanic. Does anyone know how hard it is for an FAA A&P to get approved to work there? Does anyone know of anyone who has done this? Thanks
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I'm looking for information about working in Botswana as a mechanic. Does anyone know how hard it is for an FAA A&P to get approved to work there? Does anyone know of anyone who has done this? Thanks
I think they mainly hire Bots nationals but you could give them a shot.
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No I don't think the legislation in the US will have much impact outside of the USA. What I think it could do is to make US pilots who have what are effectively hour building jobs outside the US stay on longer in those jobs too build up more hours than are needed today. This effect could start to be felt as soon as next season I suppose. I expect Jay Rockefeller is busy now on a bill to place before Congress which will not permit the FAA to recognize hours flown with an operator either not recognized by the FAA or sited outside the USA.
It all stems from this:
Families of Buffalo Plane Crash Victims Wants Rockefeller to Support FAA Bill
It all stems from this:
Families of Buffalo Plane Crash Victims Wants Rockefeller to Support FAA Bill
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Cavorting dude I hope you knocked on wood or something man. I dont want to even hear anyone to start saying stuff like this
Let us never speak of such a thing again.
I expect Jay Rockefeller is busy now on a bill to place before Congress which will not permit the FAA to recognize hours flown with an operator either not recognized by the FAA or sited outside the USA.
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Well the wood pecker stuff is an interesting point. If I put on the SA hat of many colours I suppose that I would have to say that any such restrictive move could be good news for pilots in South Africa and perhaps even in Botswana. Maun has for years used really low time US hour chasing pilots, even going back to the old days of the baby blue Gulfstream owner's fleet. These guys have accumulated their hours in a short space of time, some would say as bush cowboys, and in an aviation environment which seems completely unregulated by the FAA. At the end of this period many of the guys seem to go back to the States and enter regional airlines as low time right hand seaters. If that's a problem at all then it's a problem for the FAA to solve if they don't like the situation. The solution is extremely easy and probably right up JR's pan handle. But I think that it would be no bad thing to have that source of man power cut off, purely you understand please, from a southern African employment point of view. Of course nowadays there seem to be plenty of non US pilots chasing the hours in Botswana so I suppose that any vacuum would tend to be filled by hour chasers from another continent or two. But I think that overall I probably knocked on wood with my fingers crossed.
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Query regarding Visa application (BOTS)
Hello All,
I was going through the visa application form of Botswana (Being an Indian citizen I have to apply for a Visa atleast 30 days prior to the intended date of arrival in Bots) and saw few questions which are a little difficult for me to answer
(1) Type of Visa : Should it be a Visitor Visa? or any other visa?(My purpose of visit is Job Hunting)
(2) Reasons for journey : ????? what should be the appropriate answer to this quetion?
Should I clearly mention that I am planing to travel to Bots for Job Hunting? Will it not reduce my chances of getting a visa? I shall appreciate receiving more information / tips from fellows working in Bots/Nam/Za regarding the visa application.Thanks in advance.Happy Landings to all !!!
I was going through the visa application form of Botswana (Being an Indian citizen I have to apply for a Visa atleast 30 days prior to the intended date of arrival in Bots) and saw few questions which are a little difficult for me to answer
(1) Type of Visa : Should it be a Visitor Visa? or any other visa?(My purpose of visit is Job Hunting)
(2) Reasons for journey : ????? what should be the appropriate answer to this quetion?
Should I clearly mention that I am planing to travel to Bots for Job Hunting? Will it not reduce my chances of getting a visa? I shall appreciate receiving more information / tips from fellows working in Bots/Nam/Za regarding the visa application.Thanks in advance.Happy Landings to all !!!
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@soaring.high - you must declare going there as a tourist as you are not in possesion of a valid workpermit ! If you say that you are there to go job-hunting, you WILL be in trouble.
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@PropellerPilot,
.
Thanks for the advise.I doubted declaring that I would be travelling to Bots for Job Huting would reduce my chances of getting a visa and now you have confirmed it.Any further advises?
you must declare going there as a tourist as you are not in possesion of a valid workpermit ! If you say that you are there to go job-hunting, you WILL be in trouble
Thanks for the advise.I doubted declaring that I would be travelling to Bots for Job Huting would reduce my chances of getting a visa and now you have confirmed it.Any further advises?
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There is something in the back of my mind that says that if you do eventually apply for a Botswana work permit, you'll need three years to run on your passport?
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@CavortingCheetah,
Yes sir I do have about 4 years left on my passport. However most of the countries ask that the passport should be valid for atleast 6 months from the Visa Application date.Why does Botswana ask for a 3 year passpost validity? any specific reason?Any ideas about visitor visa success/failure ratio of Botswana?When is the right time to apply for a tourist visa etc?
Yes sir I do have about 4 years left on my passport. However most of the countries ask that the passport should be valid for atleast 6 months from the Visa Application date.Why does Botswana ask for a 3 year passpost validity? any specific reason?Any ideas about visitor visa success/failure ratio of Botswana?When is the right time to apply for a tourist visa etc?
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It was only a thought, a caveat in the back of my mind. I used to have a Botswana work permit. In fact I still have the green ATPL that's probably a tad old by now. Six months was always fine for a tourist visa but somewhere in the back of the mind was the thought that, if you get there and apply for a work permit from down there, the Botswana authorities will want to see a three year validity in your passport. As I remember, but it was a while ago, the intial work permit was for a two year period of validity with an annual extension thereafter.
I cannot see that there is any good time of the year to apply for a tourist visa and I equally cannot see why you would not get one. I don't think for a second that you'd get an open work permit. You'd need a company to organise that for you I'm sure and they would have to show Home Affairs or whomever that there was no local who could do the job they had offered you.
I cannot see that there is any good time of the year to apply for a tourist visa and I equally cannot see why you would not get one. I don't think for a second that you'd get an open work permit. You'd need a company to organise that for you I'm sure and they would have to show Home Affairs or whomever that there was no local who could do the job they had offered you.
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@CavortingCheetah,
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation regarding work permit rules of Botswana.Good to hear that there is no perticular time to apply for a Tourist Visa and equaly glad to hear that I stand a good chance of getting a tourist visa (Without the authorities doubting that I am going there for job searching!!!).I understand that I can not get an open work permit.I also know that no operator will be waiting for my arrival with a job placed on a golden plate waiting to be served to me!!But I think its worth taking a chance.If I dont travel to Botswana and neighbouring countries chance of me getting a job there are 0%.If I travel to Bots atleast % of me getting a job there would go up a lil.I think thats worth a chance!!
I was a little hesitant in asking this question since it might force to alter my plans a great deal but since all of you guy are quite helpful I can ask the question and hope for the best answer.I havent flown since Nov'08
(Because of Financial and other reason) does it mean that I am automaticaly disqualified from the recruitment process?If the answer is Yes(Which I sincerely hope isnt) what is/are the alternative/s?
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation regarding work permit rules of Botswana.Good to hear that there is no perticular time to apply for a Tourist Visa and equaly glad to hear that I stand a good chance of getting a tourist visa (Without the authorities doubting that I am going there for job searching!!!).I understand that I can not get an open work permit.I also know that no operator will be waiting for my arrival with a job placed on a golden plate waiting to be served to me!!But I think its worth taking a chance.If I dont travel to Botswana and neighbouring countries chance of me getting a job there are 0%.If I travel to Bots atleast % of me getting a job there would go up a lil.I think thats worth a chance!!
I was a little hesitant in asking this question since it might force to alter my plans a great deal but since all of you guy are quite helpful I can ask the question and hope for the best answer.I havent flown since Nov'08
(Because of Financial and other reason) does it mean that I am automaticaly disqualified from the recruitment process?If the answer is Yes(Which I sincerely hope isnt) what is/are the alternative/s?
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Just let me cover myself here because I have had some strange PMs in the past and I neither want any in the future nor do I relish a misunderstanding.
I have not stated anything in connection with work permits, visas etc and so forth. I have expressed my opinions, my thoughts and my reservations. These are not diktats. No one from any position of authority has said that you will not have trouble doing one thing or that you won't get another. These pages are advice pages not government information sources.
If you have not flown since November 2008 then I presume that all your licences are dead in the water. It would be my thought that trying to get a flying job without at least a current medical and licence, even a VFR one, would be difficult. I don't remember doing a lot of IMC flying in Botswana except on rare occasions when Maun can become quite misty in the morning so I don't know if operators require a current IR. It seems from reading through other advice on these pages that many operators do not expect to see a type rating for a 206/208 on a licence. Besides all that, you perhaps have to ask yourself how you could acquire a Botswana validation on a defunct and presumably Indian licence.
Good luck anyway.
I have not stated anything in connection with work permits, visas etc and so forth. I have expressed my opinions, my thoughts and my reservations. These are not diktats. No one from any position of authority has said that you will not have trouble doing one thing or that you won't get another. These pages are advice pages not government information sources.
If you have not flown since November 2008 then I presume that all your licences are dead in the water. It would be my thought that trying to get a flying job without at least a current medical and licence, even a VFR one, would be difficult. I don't remember doing a lot of IMC flying in Botswana except on rare occasions when Maun can become quite misty in the morning so I don't know if operators require a current IR. It seems from reading through other advice on these pages that many operators do not expect to see a type rating for a 206/208 on a licence. Besides all that, you perhaps have to ask yourself how you could acquire a Botswana validation on a defunct and presumably Indian licence.
Good luck anyway.
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@CavortingCheetah,
Thank you very much for the post.I completely understand that this site/thread/post is for the sheer knowledge of the people and the thread starter or the person posting his views can not be held responsible for anything.Obviously this is not an official web site of any sort.People use it as a means of sharing knowledge/views/ideas/rumors amongst one another and most of the times they do get what they want!!! Information provided by you in this thread is good enough for me so I shall not be bugging you be sending PMs and I feel sorry if you have had any bad experiencecs in the past with PMs and irrelevant questions/demands.
Secondly I am an Indian citizen but I hold an FAA CPL along with IR and ME.As far as my knowledge goes the FAA certificates/licences do not have any certain life span.They are good to go as long as your medical certificate is valid.however certain limitations are imposed if you have not flown for certain time.If a CPL holder desires to carry pessangers by Day & by Night (VFR)he needs to do 3 touch & goes by day and 3 touch & goes by nights to a full stop.So for sure I do know that my licence is not an expired one.I do not have any idea about the requirements of Botswana Civil Aviation Authority to get the FAA licence converted to the Bots one.I do agree with you that recent flight experience is always needed and comes in handy but wanted to know if I could be a part of recruitment process with my current status or not?Thanks for the advises/inputs.Keep them coming.
Regards
S.H
Thank you very much for the post.I completely understand that this site/thread/post is for the sheer knowledge of the people and the thread starter or the person posting his views can not be held responsible for anything.Obviously this is not an official web site of any sort.People use it as a means of sharing knowledge/views/ideas/rumors amongst one another and most of the times they do get what they want!!! Information provided by you in this thread is good enough for me so I shall not be bugging you be sending PMs and I feel sorry if you have had any bad experiencecs in the past with PMs and irrelevant questions/demands.
Secondly I am an Indian citizen but I hold an FAA CPL along with IR and ME.As far as my knowledge goes the FAA certificates/licences do not have any certain life span.They are good to go as long as your medical certificate is valid.however certain limitations are imposed if you have not flown for certain time.If a CPL holder desires to carry pessangers by Day & by Night (VFR)he needs to do 3 touch & goes by day and 3 touch & goes by nights to a full stop.So for sure I do know that my licence is not an expired one.I do not have any idea about the requirements of Botswana Civil Aviation Authority to get the FAA licence converted to the Bots one.I do agree with you that recent flight experience is always needed and comes in handy but wanted to know if I could be a part of recruitment process with my current status or not?Thanks for the advises/inputs.Keep them coming.
Regards
S.H
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I think that is correct about the FAA licence. I have little idea what DCA/Botswana require for validation. It used to be am air law paper and a flight test and then a full proper Botswana licence. I'll hazard a guess that such is not the case any more. But I would hazard a further guess that any Botswana operator will know exactly how to do it for you if they want you to fly for them. It might be an idea to get a US/FAA medical. There are some AMEs in South Africa who can do that. Probably best to access that on the FAA website? Thank you for the absolvement. I really have no further input. Some of the other guys reading this might have but I wonder, they are after all, your competition in a way. Best of luck.