On average how long does it usually take for a fresh comm pilot to work his way up the ranks and onto a twin in Maun?

"On average how long does it usually take for a fresh comm pilot to work his way up the ranks and onto a twin in Maun?"

A very longtime seeing as you can now count the number of twins in Maun on about three fingers :ok:. Caravan's have replaced just about all of the Islander's. Most of the companies have no twins anymore. Only a handful of pilot's that go to Maun get any twin time there, most move on to other places for the lure of twin time.

Done a fair bit of research and still dont have the answers im looking for. Wondering if anyone has ever brought their wife and kids along to Maun. Kids are young. The wife has spent a fair bit of time in africa before. We are ready for an adventure. Any advice would be appreciated.

You are a long way from Maun. Best thing is that you visit there. But.....
Why do you not Google Maun and have a look at the thrilling dustbowl. The delta begins north of the town. The town itself is not green and water filled with fountains and broad boulevards full of exotic animals.
On weekends you can go into the next desert and watch your blade of grass grow?
Also maybe these days it is not needed that you take your own food into the hospital? I do not know. It was that way.
Schools - must be some?
Maun is a very long way from any where else. The flying may be adventurous. I do not think that the adventure of living in Maun will be greater than the boredom of doing so.

Do operators typically ever hire straight into the caravan, or is the only path into turbine equipment through seniority? I'll have about 1500 hours when I get there. I'm certainly not against flying anything smaller, but it would be great to get some turbine right off the bat.

Excellent thread guys!

I got a reply from one of the charter companies and they say i would need a C206 rating endorsed in my logbook, as one's permitted to fly just one type of aircraft. I have flown the 152,172,182 and not the 206.
So my question is will the company help me get a C206 endorsement or i'll have to get it myself by flying elsewhere outside Botswana or Maun. To add to the delight there is noway i can get a C206 rating in India, and I've burnt a huge hole in my pocket rather my dad's for my CPL/Multi-IR. Any help would be great. Thank you!

Waiterpilot - The video really swayed me man.

hey there no you dont need a C206 rating to get a job out here, the company will invest in you, but it does help

Cheers

Gavin

Hi NBV4

Yeah you will go straight to C208, min req in maun for most companies is 1000 hours, i know a few guys who came here and went to the caravan, but it also helps to have a rating and 5 hours on a caravan also

Hi Low Burner

Yeah, i know of a few people have young kids out here, there is a good private school, and i see kids going doing activities out here alot, its quite a safe place. though it is africa

Thanks GavinStorky looks like its time to get my ass in gear and buy my ticket over. Ill buy you a cold one if i catch up with ya.

Glad your getting your A into G
its a great place to fly and good people. Also maun is very safe place. Just watch out for the animals on the roads and hope the electricity stays on when needing a cold one ;)

cheers

Gavin

Thought I'd share a quick thought, Maun is quite literally a God forsaken place for all those intending to come...........

Quiz night at the local pub (I do miss 'The Buck'). 40 people spread across various teams. Question comes up, "What are the first three words of The Bible*?" Do you think a single team got the answer right? Nope.

Good times!

*"In the Beginning," stuck like glue now :ok:

maun sounds great
 

i've read all the stuff here and it is amazing, it convinced me that it is the place i'd wanna fly.

but the question is:
I'm a late starter (33 years and presntly only 100+ TT with fCPL), living in Hungary, tipical Eastern European guy, not on the big bux.
what are the minimums of getting a job in Maun? 200? do i need an IFR or NVFR? I'd even fly for food :)

i'll try to contact a few operators there, but would love to hear this from u too.

THX in advance

G'day Fellas,Anyone from Aus done a stint in Maun? Is there much bullsh1t to go through converting licences / work permits etc?Looking for a sea-change, and its either Darwin/Kunners or Maun - I think some time in Africa sounds awesome

Maun is crawling with Kiwis so you should have no difficulty getting in there as long as you bloody soft Wallabies can keep up....:E

Oh God, didn't think of that - Aussies and Kiwis banded together in Africa of all places. I'll bet you could cut the air with a knife come tri-nations time

re. the insurance: I took out a policy with International SOS when I started contract flying back in 2002 - might want to contact them to find out what they have on offer. I seem to remember it wasn't particularly cheap.

INTERNATIONAL SOS 2005 - Members Website

nb. read the fineprint - most insurance policies exclude aircrew. The SOS policy has a clause about needing to inform them if you are engaged in a hazardous activity so make sure that they have that in writing before taking out a policy.

Dont underestimate the importance of a good policy - people have died in the past as a result of having no or inadequate cover ( the Van crash in Vilancoulos springs to mind).

im i am planning on headoing out there end of decemeber or 1st week of january. trouble is theres no Botswana embassy in Pakistan and i cant find anyone representing them :hmm:. maybe im just dumb :\ . iread somewhere on the internet that the British High Commision does represent Botswana but i couldnt find anything on their website

im checking with the travell agents but was wondering wheather it is possible to get the visa at the airport in Maun? or any suggestions welcomed

you turn up at maun airport and your a tourist, they stamp your passport with 30, 60 or 90 days, thats your visa :)

arrival-length of stay in Bots
 

When you arrive at Maun airport with no return ticket for J-burg, How long do you say you'll stay there? What is the max time (legally) you can spend in Maun without a job?

Thank you