Maun, Botswana. The essential guide.
Join Date: May 2012
Location: uk
Age: 43
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hello all
I am looking for some opinions. Due to EASA now being in place the requirements for ir and meir renewals specify that additional training is required at an Ato prior to sitting the tests with an examiner. If i come out to Maun with just sep rating current, will this disadvantage me in anyway ie do the companies there currently ask for an ir? Thanks
I am looking for some opinions. Due to EASA now being in place the requirements for ir and meir renewals specify that additional training is required at an Ato prior to sitting the tests with an examiner. If i come out to Maun with just sep rating current, will this disadvantage me in anyway ie do the companies there currently ask for an ir? Thanks
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Noida, India
Age: 33
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
@african pirate, yep, companies want IR, even though you don't need it. But in order for expats to get hired they need to appear to have more ratings and experience than the locals.
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New Delhi
Age: 65
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great
Great writing. In addition to giving information it was interesting to read till last. Some times in future I may plan to land there for few weeks.
Hppy landings.
Hppy landings.
Registered User **
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Botswana & Greece
Age: 68
Posts: 940
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
AP: Last one at Bon Arrive buys the beers. Mr & Mrs Exascot also inbound Thursday. Not looking for a job though, only clients for you guys to fly. 
Looking forward to seeing you all again.
Oops, arrive JNB Thursday MUN Friday. Guess the beers are on us
Looking forward to seeing you all again.
Oops, arrive JNB Thursday MUN Friday. Guess the beers are on us
Last edited by Exascot; 5th Oct 2012 at 08:59. Reason: Wrong day
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Currently San Diego
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
First I have to admit to not reading the whole thread.
Second I'm wondering how my chances of getting a job in Maun would be if I came there with roughly 450h and an Instructor licence?
Also, how are the hiring looking for the coming season? Anyone down there who knows?
Second I'm wondering how my chances of getting a job in Maun would be if I came there with roughly 450h and an Instructor licence?
Also, how are the hiring looking for the coming season? Anyone down there who knows?
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Canada
Age: 37
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you had read it, you would understand your chances.
As for Steo, there is a few helicopters in Maun.
Helicopter Horizons and Mack Air operate some. Give them a call and find out.
As for Steo, there is a few helicopters in Maun.
Helicopter Horizons and Mack Air operate some. Give them a call and find out.
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: South Africa
Age: 36
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mack Air no longer uses helicopters unfortunately but Heli horizons is still around. Bad news for the job hunters is it seems that even 300hrs is not enough it looks like 500 is the new minimum.
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: PL
Age: 38
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Redsteel, are there so many 'low timer' wannabes with 500tt for companies to choose from that it's become a real minimum? Or is it the usual hearsay?
And yeah, I do know that I won't know for 100% until I get down there myself. But it does not hurt to ask
And yeah, I do know that I won't know for 100% until I get down there myself. But it does not hurt to ask
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Dublin
Age: 35
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Quick question...
I have a friend with around 700tt looking for work and im thinking of sending him to Maun as my Guinea Pig to see how he gets on... hes a good guy and very likeable so I could see him doing well if opportunities were available so what is the consensus right now?
Im currently flying in Ireland with around the same hours but i will have over 1000 tt by the end of summer 2013 and im just wondering what are the chances of getting on a Caravan with those kind of hours? 600 to 700 PIC on the Airvan and around 200 as an FO on a Caravan... Basically I wouldnt want to go there unless i could get a LHS on a Caravan pretty quickly, or even a RHS on a twin if it was going... i know almost a year from now is a long time but have guys with 1000tt done well in Maun?
Im currently flying in Ireland with around the same hours but i will have over 1000 tt by the end of summer 2013 and im just wondering what are the chances of getting on a Caravan with those kind of hours? 600 to 700 PIC on the Airvan and around 200 as an FO on a Caravan... Basically I wouldnt want to go there unless i could get a LHS on a Caravan pretty quickly, or even a RHS on a twin if it was going... i know almost a year from now is a long time but have guys with 1000tt done well in Maun?
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: South Africa
Age: 36
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Michael - Its becoming a government minimum to get your work and resident permit, 300 is currently the official min but is being moved up to 500, but these things change up and down around here. The problem is that the government has paid for many locals to get their CPL and now even instructors rating but the locals also expect to be given the jobs so dont put in the effort to deserve them. All the government sees is a list of unemployed local pilots that have been paid for by the government, thus make it harder for the expatriats to get jobs.
Monk - You cannot get onto a caravan straight away here regardless of hours, you would be started on the 206 and maybe fast tracked onto the caravan but keep in mind the only company around here that would fast track that is Wilderness, and they recently hired lots of 1000+ hr instructor rated pilots that will be ahead of you. You tend to look at around a year before you sit LH in a Caravan, RH is not logable as you are on it to get to know the area and be the AC loadmaster whilst you have just been hired. Also, there are no more twin operations outside of Flying Missions King Airs used for mercy flights.
Monk - You cannot get onto a caravan straight away here regardless of hours, you would be started on the 206 and maybe fast tracked onto the caravan but keep in mind the only company around here that would fast track that is Wilderness, and they recently hired lots of 1000+ hr instructor rated pilots that will be ahead of you. You tend to look at around a year before you sit LH in a Caravan, RH is not logable as you are on it to get to know the area and be the AC loadmaster whilst you have just been hired. Also, there are no more twin operations outside of Flying Missions King Airs used for mercy flights.
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Dublin
Age: 35
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks Redsteel
Cheers for the reply Redsteel, yeah I kinda expected that... I would rather get on a 206 than RHS in a Caravan for too long anyway. Which brings me to my next question, is Maun only for single guys? I ask because I would go there independently initially (maybe with a pilot buddy) but if I was to stay for a few years I would want my partner to come and we are expecting a kid soon!
Its amazing how complicated things get all of a sudden!!
Its amazing how complicated things get all of a sudden!!
Hey guys,
Just out of interest sake, what do guys earn there in Maun on average when flying a 206 for example? Not sure how it works, but if they get basic + hourly then what are the average amount of hours flown per month?
Thanks in advance.
Just out of interest sake, what do guys earn there in Maun on average when flying a 206 for example? Not sure how it works, but if they get basic + hourly then what are the average amount of hours flown per month?
Thanks in advance.
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Dublin
Age: 35
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
darkroom
wwwhoooa guys, careful... we've got a bad-ass here... make sure you read every sentence of this keyboard warrior's thread before you ask any questions!!
And after aquick skim no i cant find a detailed answer to my question as it is a 25 page thread spanning multiple years and like all things in aviation I would imagine info older than a few months is useless...
Anyway from what I gather there are no real possibilities of moving onto a twin, which makes it unattractive to me, but It is great to know that there is a place that offers guys the first step.
And after aquick skim no i cant find a detailed answer to my question as it is a 25 page thread spanning multiple years and like all things in aviation I would imagine info older than a few months is useless...
Anyway from what I gather there are no real possibilities of moving onto a twin, which makes it unattractive to me, but It is great to know that there is a place that offers guys the first step.
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Canada
Age: 37
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Flyingtool, well instead of being.....well a tool....how about holding fire for a bit and realise that darkroomsource is speaking the truth.
If the person took the time to read the very first thread in this post. You know, the one I spent 3 hours writing one night to help my fellow pilots, they would see that I have answered how much the pay is, how many hours you would fly, and how long you usually spend in a C206 before moving on to the van.
The topic of bringing ones partner was also discussed in depth a little bit later in the thread.
cgwhitemonk11, the info is still valid. A little may have changed, but for the most part it is up to date. But by the sounds of it, you are too good for the job since its not multi.
Just stay in Europe chasing the dream of the big steel and not living a great lifestyle. Something that you will need with a kid on the way.
If the person took the time to read the very first thread in this post. You know, the one I spent 3 hours writing one night to help my fellow pilots, they would see that I have answered how much the pay is, how many hours you would fly, and how long you usually spend in a C206 before moving on to the van.
The topic of bringing ones partner was also discussed in depth a little bit later in the thread.
cgwhitemonk11, the info is still valid. A little may have changed, but for the most part it is up to date. But by the sounds of it, you are too good for the job since its not multi.
Just stay in Europe chasing the dream of the big steel and not living a great lifestyle. Something that you will need with a kid on the way.
Está servira para distraerle.
That excellent post was entered in November 2010. You don't need much mental agility to surmise that salaries might, worst case, have stayed the same while the cost of living has gone up 15%. Something similar, even if incorrect, would reflect at least an educated estimation.
The finishing school that Maun became was not designed for pilots to make money. It's been a sort of production line, hasn't it. Put a wurzel on the conveyor belt and out pops a pilot?
There've been one or two exceptions to that rule of course and Post #1 is an excellent example which doesn't merit asinine comments from those who will not research their endeavours sufficiently to merit consideration as anything other than the starting commodity on the aforementioned circular beltway.
The finishing school that Maun became was not designed for pilots to make money. It's been a sort of production line, hasn't it. Put a wurzel on the conveyor belt and out pops a pilot?
There've been one or two exceptions to that rule of course and Post #1 is an excellent example which doesn't merit asinine comments from those who will not research their endeavours sufficiently to merit consideration as anything other than the starting commodity on the aforementioned circular beltway.
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tamworth, UK / Nairobi, Kenya
Posts: 614
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks...
This is a life-changing experience, to go to Botswana (or Namibia) in search of a flying job. Whether you land that first job or not, it will change the way you view the world and yourself.
Any kind of commitment like this requires significant research (for most of us), so to take hours, days, weeks, even months to read everything available is a reasonable expectation.
Not only did I read through everything available in places like this thread, but I started regularly reading the online and printed newspapers from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, etc.
Africa is a different place than most of us know, the people are different, the life is different.
If you're serious, you'll take the time to read and familiarize yourself with the information available. Then, questions like "what is the pay?", "what is it like to live there?", "what do I need to bring?", will all be answered, as will questions like "what are my chances if I have X and Y?"
Although recently there have been some changes in visa requirements, the basics have not changed, and almost any question you can think of has already been answered, repeatedly.
Start at the beginning, read the whole thing, it might take a few weeks, but when you're done you'll know whether or not you're coming.
This is a life-changing experience, to go to Botswana (or Namibia) in search of a flying job. Whether you land that first job or not, it will change the way you view the world and yourself.
Any kind of commitment like this requires significant research (for most of us), so to take hours, days, weeks, even months to read everything available is a reasonable expectation.
Not only did I read through everything available in places like this thread, but I started regularly reading the online and printed newspapers from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, etc.
Africa is a different place than most of us know, the people are different, the life is different.
If you're serious, you'll take the time to read and familiarize yourself with the information available. Then, questions like "what is the pay?", "what is it like to live there?", "what do I need to bring?", will all be answered, as will questions like "what are my chances if I have X and Y?"
Although recently there have been some changes in visa requirements, the basics have not changed, and almost any question you can think of has already been answered, repeatedly.
Start at the beginning, read the whole thing, it might take a few weeks, but when you're done you'll know whether or not you're coming.