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Maun 2009/10 season

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Maun 2009/10 season

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Old 8th Mar 2010, 13:06
  #161 (permalink)  
 
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Jose,

Early june will be too late if you wish to try and get work from the world cup. First of all you will have to get a job, that could take 2 weeks minimum. After that, you have to do 5 hours flight training, before you can sit your flight test for your CPL. You also have to sit a CPL Law and Type Tech on the aircraft you will be sitting the test in.

Once completing the licence, you will need to apply for your permits and waivers. Again, this process will take a week or so.

In the meantime, you will have to do at least 50 hours flying around the delta with the companies before you are allowed to go online. Sefofane requires that you have 100 hours in the delta, 50 left seat and 50 right seat.

All this process takes at least a month and a half.

Thats totally ignoring the fact that at the moment we CAN NOT get waivers or permits at this stage.
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Old 8th Mar 2010, 22:33
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Thank you Lilflyboy262, I appreciate your answer.


Everything its pretty clear now.
In that case I will do some hour building in Argentina or I will look for another way to increase my experience.

But after all I want to come back with my idea about Botswana and I will try for the next hiring seasson. Don't know when it is better time to go there.

Is it better in October/November or maybe in January to go over there and try to do some jobhunting?

Thanks a lot,
Jose.
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Old 9th Mar 2010, 08:11
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End of December is probably best. Gives you time to get to know everyone in town. Pilots are easy to spot at bars, they are the young noisy ones.
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Old 11th Mar 2010, 07:58
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Should be easy then.

I will prepare everything for December in that case.

Thanks
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Old 20th Mar 2010, 10:33
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It seems like the permit issue has been sorted out with the labour department, but this is Africa and we will never know when they throw the next curve ball.

Some companies is still looking or in the process of hiring, but the hiring season is coming to and end now.

One thing that has come to light is that if you want to improve your chances to get a job, come to Maun with the appropriate ratings in hand. Make sure to have either one or all of these ratings: C172 and C206. This will definitly improve your chances for a job. Some companies have also advertised a min age of 23.
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Old 15th Apr 2010, 13:02
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Maun pilot life

There's this guys video blog who I met in Maun. He was hired by Sefofane in January. Pretty good stuff and will give you a couple of insights. Botswana Bound
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Old 2nd Aug 2010, 11:15
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Thumbs up So, whats the deal!?!

hi guys!

im afraid this reply is a bit of a repeat, but it is August by now and its been almost 5 months since the last post.

my plan is to go to maun this year around december. of course depending some answers to my questions. and again im afraid these questions are a bit of a repeat. maun pilots themseveswill be best at aswering them. i read all of ths thread and the previous one (season 2009-2009). and these questions are related to the current situation.

1) is there curently a market at all for foreign pilots? did they run out of local pilots and are still considering foreigners?

2) due to the slight econonomic pickup, is there a fair chance of being hired? basically about 15 percent is enough for me (as matter of example) and im willing to sit out a couple of months in order to wait and fight for a job. i think we can stay a maximum of 3 months right?

this should b it. i might post more questions. im thinking also of calling or emailing the companies there, but im sure they are bombarded with this calls and emails and probably wont be bothered with giving a proper answer.

hope to get some all round info on the status for foreign pilots in maun or maybe windhoek!!

enjoy!!
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Old 2nd Aug 2010, 23:58
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Originally Posted by nyathi
....if you want to improve your chances to get a job, come to Maun with the appropriate ratings in hand. Make sure to have either one or all of these ratings: C172 and C206. This will definitly improve your chances for a job. Some companies have also advertised a min age of 23.

Currently what is the best way/place in Maun to get that 206 rating (currently holding a FAA CPL), also how much do these ratings end up costing???

Thanks
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Old 3rd Aug 2010, 14:22
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The only company that wants you to get a C206 rating before hiring you is Kavango Air.
The rest will give you a rating on the C206 as you need to do 5 hours for a C of T as part of your licence conversion.
When you see things advertised in the local paper, they already have a pilot lined up and by law, you need to advertise the position for at least 2 weeks before you can hire a foreign pilot.

Obviously a rating before you get here will improve your chances, but in saying that, a guy came here with the ratings, and didn't get hired when another low houred guy did.
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Old 4th Aug 2010, 04:02
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Originally Posted by lilflyboy262
.....you need to advertise the position for at least 2 weeks before you can hire a foreign pilot.
Hmmm, so how is it looking for foreginers this December? Is everyone just going to hold out for locals, or is this more of a formality thing??


Sorry for asking so many questions, this is something I have always wanted to do, I got the means to get there and the ratings/hrs, I am just trying to get as much information as possible before I leave!

Last edited by NinerThreeKilo; 4th Aug 2010 at 05:56.
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Old 5th Aug 2010, 06:40
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Unfortunately I can't really say who's hiring who at the moment. I know our company probably wont be hiring as we have just taken on a apprentice pilot, along with the bosses son coming along soon.
Mack Air is meant to be hiring in October, but I dont know if that is still happening. Perhaps will happen later in the year. I know at least 3 guys are leaving there. Everything is pretty hush hush at the moment.
Things are still looking good though! So just turn up, if you don't get a job, at least you have had a good time and met a load of people!
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Old 5th Aug 2010, 07:32
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Understood, well I cant move things up to Oct, so I hope mid-December will still cut the proverbial mustard.

So I take it the visa situation is OK now?

The average pilot that is hired at Mack, or Sefofane, Delta air, or etc. what is the type of guy you have seen them bring on (hrs, background, etc.) what are they looking for in their ideal Cessna driver!
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Old 5th Aug 2010, 15:14
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Basically the requirements for all the companies other than sefo are not to be a meat head. And that you will fit in well with the guys at the company. Thats it. If you have a com licence, you can obviously fly a plane.

Sefo is a little..... different.
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Old 5th Aug 2010, 17:39
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No meatheads....I think I can handle that!

What's the situation with Seaofane, after watching this NBTVToday - Botswana Bound it looks like a really nice company.
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Old 6th Aug 2010, 16:17
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Haha "dirty dave" does that show.
Sefo is a good company in regards to flying hours logged and quality aircraft. Most of the strips they fly to are in good nick with the odd exception, and they do everything by the book, so if you follow it, and something goes wrong, usually your ass is covered.

But they are a little different. When you get here, you just have to meet and talk to their pilots.
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Old 6th Aug 2010, 17:17
  #176 (permalink)  
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'Basically the requirements for all the companies other than sefo are not to be a meat head.'

A meat head is a male who is overenthusiastic about lifting weights and whose thoughts consist of athletics, blondes, and sports cars. Meat heads are unaware of the majority of the English language and often communicate with others by using phrases such as “bro”, “dude”, and “sweet”. The dead giveaway of a meathead is if their attire includes a sleeveless muscle shirt, athletic shorts, and a lanyard for their car keys. If you ever find yourself in a setting with multiple meat heads, be prepared for frequent high fives, chest bumps, and hand pounds.

Does that description serve more or less to describe the pilots who fly for Sefofane? If it does then those poor unfortunates must be extraordinarily frustrated because as I recollect Maun is not well served with either blondes of Maserati garages.
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Old 7th Aug 2010, 05:52
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Job types and requirements

Hey all first post on pprune.org. I have spent some time in east Africa mainly Tanzania and really enjoyed it. I am getting ready to graduate from university and I was just wondering what types of jobs are usually found over in Africa and what people usually require for those types of jobs. Right now just trying to get some info. Thanks
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Old 7th Aug 2010, 08:15
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Good luck with your graduation.
Jobs found in Africa are very much the same as in Europe:
Plumbers, mechanics, builders, doctors, nurses, vets, bakers, butchers, to name a few.
If you are talking about pilot jobs, why don't you read through the numerous threads, that deal with exactly that question of yours. If I am not mistaking, there have been one or two other guys asking pretty much the same.
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Old 7th Aug 2010, 15:18
  #179 (permalink)  
 
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And no, sefos requirements are different to all the other companies.

Happy?
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Old 7th Aug 2010, 16:24
  #180 (permalink)  
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It seems to me from reading their very helpful pilot employment guide that what Sefofane are looking for is commitment and a predictable reliability when it comes to work tenure. I reckon that although the company dislikes the fact, they recognise that pilots use them as a stepping stone to accumulate hours. Perhaps the company would like to be thought of as a career company staffed with dedicated twitchers who would happily spend years in upper Botswana. I've spent some time in Maun. It's a funny old place and I don't suppose the medical side of things is up to much. It never was. But so long as you can afford the house and the air conditioning electric bill and can get off into the bush to do some hunting and fishing it's not a bad place to live. You'd need to get down to Johannesburg pretty regularly otherwise it could be dangerous for the head so one day off in seven is not entirely satisfactory. They seem to expect that you bunk up with a load of other pilots which detracts from any possibility of accompanied postings and that in turn works against long term commitment.
Sounds to me as though if you're a new pilot hunting hours that you have to regard three years at Sefofane as a sort of open prison sentence at the end of which you should be able to walk out with some thing in the order of fifteen hundred hours, ready for the airlines of the world. The problem with that of course could be that the enforced isolation and the peer group competition make keeping up to speed with what's going on in the world of external aviation employment quite difficult.
That's all just a little idle speculation to while away the insomnia which sometimes afflicts me as I yearn for the African bush and the sound of lions outside my tent at two in the morning.
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