Flying for the UN
 

Hi All,

Would be most grateful for any information on the UN flying operations in Africa such as:

What are the various bases ?
How do you apply/Where do you get the information ?
What is the operation like ? etc etc

Thanks,

Oz2

Info on the other thread not all entirely correct. Alot of UN contracts are held by South African companies who will employ you with 700 hours and a Van rating. That is the current UNWFP requirement for a co-pilot.
If you have a 200 or 1900 rating it gets easier.
Good Luck

Easier to get a job maybe, but flying for the UN sure aint easy. The largest bunch of paper pushing ops-incapable folk on the face of the planet....and lets not talk about being licensed to print money!

UNorganised
 

Fully agree on that I.R.Pirate.....Working for the UN is like working in an absolute LOGICfree zone.........:E :E :E

Thanks,

Van rating? - can anyone help with this one?

Cheers

That would be the C208 (Cessna Grand Caravan).

The UN might not be the most proffesional crowd when it comes to aviation but for those looking to build time and learn a lot its a good place to start. Who we kidding, its one of the few places where a relatively low time pilot can still get a job. (If he is prepared to put up with deepest darkest and everything it has to throw at you).

From the above posts you will see that the South African contract companies are responsible for the bulk of Western aircraft plying their trade up North. These are the guys to get hold of, and with enough determination, you should eventually get lucky.

**Quote**

Who we kidding, its one of the few places where a relatively low time pilot can still get a job.

Thats not true, in actual fact, the UN has fairly high requirements, although the operators have not always adhered to these requirements.

Oz2, try the following operators, they all operate UN/Red Cross contracts from time to time. You should be able to get a C208 rating at Lanseria Airport (Johannesburg) or otherwise Fedair in Durban used to do them. Better option is to get the rating on your national license before coming over, as it will make conversion/validation to SA license a lot easier.

www.airserv.org
www.naturelink.co.za
www.norseair.co.za
http://www.kingair.co.za/
www.solenta.com
www.fedair.com
www.safair.co.za
http://www.qwila-air.co.za/
http://www.zimex.com
http://www.transafrik.com
http://www.swiftair.com/actividades....vo=act_charter

Forget the politics and enjoy the experience, it is some of the best flying you will ever do. Good luck

And since some recent times www.denimair.com with F-50's flying, amongst others, for the UN.

Do the UN employ any pilots themselves or is it all done by contractors?

try also www.angolaairsevices.com
[email protected]
they need 1900 p1's $6500 per month

No all UN pilots are contractors via the above companies

yes a great option. considering............:\

Airserv
 

Hey all,

I have 1500hrs and a King Air 200 type rating. I am really interested in UN flying but don't have a ZA license. Any chance of me getting a job with these qualifications? I'm particularly interested in airserv. Would there be any chance of an upgrade with 1000PIC on singles?

Forgot to mention that most of my time is on short gravel strips(and ice for a lot of the year) if that helps.

Apply directly to Airserv since you meet their minimum requirements. They don't as such fly for the UN so much as for NGOs to the best of my knowledge.

Some SA registered and some N registered A/C.

Validation to SA licence is no problem but, you can only fly types you're rated on on your foreign licence and no types can be added to your SA license.

Executive Turbine amongst others, fly King Air 200s. With your time you should be able to find a job.

GB

These are the minimum hours that were specified in an RFP for a UN contract in Afghanistan. The table is from the DPKO Aviation manual. Yes they do seem extreme especially for the hrs on type requirement. The same hours were specified regardless of aircraft type. :ugh:
Pilot in Command
Actual Flight Hours in all types 1500
Actual flight Hours as PIC of type aircraft BID 500
Actual Instrument Flight Hours 75
Actual Night Flight Hours 100
First Pilot/Co-Pilot
Actual Flight Hours in type aircraft bid 100
but this was raised to 300 hrs if the PIC had less than 1700hrs total.
No allowance was given for pilots who were perhaps flying someithiing like Dash 8 or ATR 72 then reverting back to B200.
Yes the UN is indeed one of the most uptight bureaucratic and incompetent organisation I ever worked for. But they do pay good bucks:ok: Unless you are a pilot. Then you are at the mercey of whatever the contracted charter company like AirServ or PacTec pay. I wouldn't have got out of bed for the money they were offering.

And as South Coast said, the UN org I was with never actually checked crew log books to ensue compliance with the hour requirement. But it would not be in the operators interest to allow pilots without the specified hours fly as their (company's) name would be forever on a UN sh1t list.

Upgrades
 

Islander Jock,

How do people accomplish their upgrades if a 500 PIC on type requirement exists. Are there some contracts that have no PIC on type minimums? (this is what my current employer has: all new captains are sent on one contract not requiring multi-PIC). I would otherwise have all the other specified minimums when my skill level was deamed adequate for the left seat.

G'day Arcticbeaches,

As far as I am aware, the minimums I have would apply to all UN contracts however I could be wrong and someone with info to the contrary might like to let us know. The Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) Aviation Manual is the bible wrt air operations for UN.

I know that quite a few of the operators responding to our RFP had problems getting pilots with the minimums on type despite maybe thousands of hours on more complex ME turbo prop aircraft.

Sad fact is the aviation side of UN is largely run by people who were perhaps ground staff at some stage with a third world countr's air force. They will follow what is written to the letter (when it suits). Most have no experience to draw upon to question and say hey this doesn't seem right" or "we need to change this"