Flying in South Africa - PPL(A)
 

Hi guys, I recently completed my PPL and I will be travelling to South Africa in June/July 2019.

Ill be staying near Wonderboom Airport and I was hoping to do some sort of bush flying or even just flying around.

Does anyone have experience of any flight schools / companies that rent to low hour PPL holders?

Also, what are the usual pit falls? Do I need my own insurance or is that all provided?

TIA :)

Flight schools won't rent you their aircraft. Google will advise you with regards to companies that do rent out. Asking for insurance advice on a forum is not advised, get into contact with the company and get the info from them.
Good day sir.

Register and post your question on avcom.co.za and i'm sure you'll get lots of advice from the FAWB locals

I've just recently gained an SA PPL, having let my UK PPL expire following a move down here a few years ago. I fly in the Western Cape and the key differences from bumbling around the UK home counties:

1. Weather....you quickly earn respect for the South African weather patterns, particularly around mountains; turbulence is par the course at low level
2. Density Altitude....it does exists! My first take off on in a C172 from a gravel strip in 35C heat at 3,500 AMSL was a thing of wonder! Boy we ate up the runway before the ASI decided to register something. It certainly brushes up your performance calc skills and my whizz wheel now accompanies me on every flight, rather than gathering crumbs at the bottom of my flight bag
3. Radio. Welcome to the land of TIBA (regular identity, position, altitude and intention reports). No clipped English on the radio either and I'm slowly learning how to say some of those wonderful 15 letter place names
4. Navigation. Lots of nothing between places. Brush up on dead reckoning and 1:60's
5. In 15 odd years PPL flying in the UK I maybe made a flight level every now and then. I'm now often up beyond FL060, even on a local run (FL095 highest so far)
6. Oh and of course your compass will do all the things it did in the Northern Hemisphere, but in reverse
7. Flight Plans and SAR.....again, lots of wild open and rugged terrain, so FP's and SAR notice are par the course
8. You can mix it with the big boys....I do touch and goes at CPT just for the fun of being told I am number 2 behind an Emirates 777, report traffic in sight

There probably isn't a better place to fly in the world....just enjoy the differences and of course the views

There's Australia too. And New Zealand.

Are you serious!? Why wouldn't they?

Utter tosh, ignore this" just joined to make that post advice" that`s kind of the whole point of a forum to ask for and receive information and advice..

I did my ppl in SA and took a couple of UK ppl holders down to fly, although it was in 2008 so my info may be out of date. Back then You needed to do a standard club check out as you would anywhere, and you also needed to sit the SA air law exam too, so worth brushing up on that as there are a few subtle differences to the UK. SA was a little more advanced than the UK even back then, and the tests are done online with instant results and if you fail, you can resit it again either later the same day, or the next day. My friends didn`t need their own insurance, it was all covered by the club as you have to join the flying club, and thus become a member so are covered.

There is a guy in the UK called Irv Lee who was/is one of the few qualified SACAA certified instructors based in the UK, so maybe worth trying to get in touch with him to see if he has any more up to date information than what I have.

If you have time and/or get the chance, you could catch a flight down to Port Elizabeth and fly out of there. My old School was the Algoa Flight Centre/Algoa Flying Club based at FAPE/PLZ and they are used to having foreign pilots go over to hire.

you'll need to make sure you PPL is validated in SA and that includes writing Air Law. Whatever aircraft you are thinking to rent it needs to be included on your UK license.
Best you find out about Air Law before you arrive as it can take a little while i believe

To validate your license you will need a student license number to write the law test, this takes time to get.
You can book for an online exam at an approved school or at the SACAA premises, 24 hour notice is required.
Under new regs, if you fail, there is a cool down period that gets longer the more often you fail.
All things take time to process so you need to plan in advance.
Most schools offer hire and fly but you will need to be legal and have a check ride and show you are competent in local airspace.
Most will require insurance for the deductable.
In that area there are plenty of options at Wonderboom, Grand Central and Lanseria.
Flying around the Highveld is world's apart from pottering around the UK and should be treated with respect else the runway or bush strip will smite thee.

Just like to add a few words about Grand Central, it is indeed central, midway between Jo'burg and Pretoria, with SACAA 5 minutes down the road.
Flying is a challenge, the airfield is on the side of a hill with the threshold of 17 being 75 feet below the threshold of 35, which in turn has a threshold notice board "ELEV 5327".
I have also flown in the UK around Cambridge and Duxford, there is a World of difference.
South Africa is a very satisfying challenge.

You should have been there in the days of the little red pillar box control tower. Rwy 35 then, as now, is the runway of choice, as indeed is 03 at Smuts, whereas, of course, you need rocks in your head if you prefer 35 at Rand, given the same wind conditions all round. Back in those days the guys flying the Commanders for Eskom thought themselves rather magnificent. Some of the Rennies chaps were a little full of the joys of spring too. A wheels up landing in a Seneca on a training flight, in spite of repeated warnings from the man in the little red pillar box, put a stop to much of that corporate nonsense, everybody screws up from time to time.
My goodness, I can clearly recall the day the first Tomahawk, that's a PA 112, came to FAGC. Took it up on a flight on account of an open instructor rating. What a horrific machine and totally unsuited to the Reef. Climb ceiling was about 8,500ft and that's on the ground on a hot highveldt day. Spin recoveries were very scary and enacted with great promptitude.
Then........oh well, perhaps one day I'll write a book......I salute the memory of Harold, a really good egg.

If you fly out of FAWB or surrounds the density altitude is most definitely a factor! You will use a lot more runway than you are used to. Watching 'highveld' pilots landing at FAVG was usually rather fun: they would concentrate on short-field landings with the relatively short (sea level!) runway in front of them and find that they stopped just past the numbers!! Not so much runway needed at sea level!

One of my worst landings (by no means the only one!) was at FAGC at night. Judged the round-out by the width of that narrow strip of tar, only to find that the lights were set 'way out' in the grass at 'normal' runway width!! "Gearriveer" was the quiet comment from the pax (with a PPL) sitting behind me!

Tomahawks? They do lovely spins! But those little engines (Tomahawks, C150s, the lot) at those density altitudes just take so long to climb high enough to do a spin!

Hi guys,

Just wanted to say thank you so much for all of the advice. I did manage to get flying so all of your help is really appreciated :)