need entry level advice
 

To any fellow Canadians currently flying in the bush in Africa, and anyone else who'd care to chime in:
looking for ideas on which operators in Africa to bug as an entry level (300 hour commercially rated) pilot looking for that first job. I'm at that decision stage, have a job offer to instruct here in Canada at the local flying club where I did my training, or to explore the bush for some real adventure. Have just come back from backpacking in SA, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda and loved it. Gets in the blood. Flew on Moremi Air out of Maun into the delta on 206's and loved that even more. ANY info much appreciated. Cheers

Which operator? All of them.
Go backpacking again but , this time with your cv in hand. They are very unlikely to hire you without you actually being there but you stand a good chance if you're there in person. In the current market though I'd be tempted to stay in Canada and build more time myself.

Hi

If you want to try Tanzania, pack up the back pack and come on out, most companies are recruiting, you can expect about 800 to 1000 hours a year on a 206 entry level job, companies prefer to see you face to face before offering a job.

Try Dar es Salaam or Arusha for jobs, lots of small plane operators.

Best

Crash

Maun
 

Maun is short of pilots this season, spoke a mate out there yesterday. This was the prime time to be in Africa to get a job in those types of operations but later in the year can be just as good if not better. Its good odds if you go now but if you cant, try August/September in the busy period as Pilots tend to leave after the busy season too.

I can confirm Maun is aching for pilots - theres loads of jobs going there at the moment.
When were you there? You were on holiday? Did you mention to Moremi that you were a pilot and looking?

Does anyone know anything about Sefofane? I'm kinda in the same boat. I'm sitting at around 380 hours and should have around 700 by the end of this drop season in Canada. Africa is something that has been on my mind for quite some time.

Thanks

They run a pretty good bush operation. Bases in Maun, Namibia and Zambia I believe. Entry level work so usually looking for crew. You have to go there in person but it's worth firing your cv off ahead of your arrival.

Good. There used to be ques of hopefuls there being generally taken for granted. I'm happy for the pilots and hope this teaches a salutary lesson in manners to the operators.

Thank You.

Can you have a say in where you fly? ie. Botswana or Namibia. I'd be looking at going for a couple years and would be more than happy flying a 206 in Maun.

The company will arrange your work visa as appropriate.

I don't work for them but, no people who do and therefore passed an opinion which is that they're a good operation. If you do a search for Maun you'll get a lot of information there. There are several companies in Maun, Namimbia, Zambia,Tanzania and Malawi to a much lesser extent. A couple of years is a good target for you and them so yeah, give Sefos a try.

Shirt off your back
 

Sefofane's policy on Bonding for the 206 is extortionate but if you plan to stay for 2 years then it should work out ok as they pay better and you can save up, just watch out for them pushing you onto the C208 with a Mountain of a Bond compared to the 206 Molehill.
They are a good outfit but do have strange ethics concerning contracts and certainly if you leave dont expect a cheery handshake even if you have fulfilled your obligations.

Lol. Double post. I blame slow internet but could be slow brain :}

Not to mention ridiculous. How much is the bond dude?

YYJ Flyer:

I live in Sidney, and have been active in African Aviation for about 20 years. I'm actually on my way back to YYJ now from Africa - will arrive Sunday. Send me an instant message (private message) with your phone number and we can get together for a coffee.

Michael

I would like to know please, how many people do BHN sponsor for ab-initio training yearly and wats the pay like?:)Thanks

Hey thanks for all the info guys. Big help. With regards to Sefofane (and Botswana in general) again and the 206 bond... How much is it and is the way they bond you a little different than some operators here in Canada?
Do all the operators bond as well?
It's just a little difficult to comprehend a 206 bond. I can understand a 208 bond for maybe a year, but not so much for a 206.

Thanks.

Hi

Most operators will ask you for some form of bond for any type as they will have to sponsor you for the license conversion, type rating as this is usually needed for every type flown commercially and for route training. The only exception to this would be if you had already got the local license and time on the type you will fly.

Not really a problem as the bond is not huge if you get an offer too good to refuse, but as many westerners have come out, done training which has cost the company money and then promptly disappeared the employers are getting a bit more carefull about bonding people.

Best

Crash

Well I would suppose that the way to keep pilots is to give them incentives to stay rather than not to leave however:

Since many low hour pilots have limited funds they need to know how much the bond is so they can plan for it. So what is Sefofane's bond? How much, if anything do the other companies charge?

Sefofane
 

The last time I spoke to someone from Sefofane they where bonding guys 40-50 thousand Pula witch comes to more or less $10 000 not to sure on the exchange rate thats for 2 years or 18 months and then the bonds not pro rata!

Cheers

W w w
 

That seems like a lot of money for me seeing that Kq bonds their cadets for just above double that and they train you from scratch till you can fly a jet.
Whats the general figure they pay by the way?
And its hasn't escaped my notice that the value of the pula has been going down in the last few years too

Thanks for the info guys! 40-50 Pula works out to around $7800 CDN/USD. I can definitely understand why they do it with the sponsorship and license conversion, but I guess it'll take some getting used too especially since in Canada most places don't bond you for almost any Turbo Prop let alone a 206.

Thanks again.

P.S. Does anyone have any insight in to what Sefofane and other operators pay and what type of housing is available when in Botswana and Namibia?

I disagree. In fact with that bond I feel they should be boycotted. There's lots of places that won't bond you even if you do have to pay your own rating. Go to Tanzania for example.

Sefofane need to be starved of pilots if that's their attitude. Of course it'll never happen but hey:ugh: