Just a question...

[Cave Troll]

I have heard that SACAA is letting certain companies fly medium weight aircraft on commercial licences. I might have the complete wrong end of the stick here so please forgive me if I have. But from what i heard there is two {that I know of} SA companies letting thier captains, with commercial licences, fly medium weight aircraft. Apparently it started with a crowd in Jordan. Not too sure about that though. I have also heard that another company operating in northern africa is doing the same thing. This makes me a bit mad being an ALTP qualified dude. It makes my licence worth nothing. No disrespect to my Comm associates but there are some of them that have not bothered to spend the time and effort to get thier ATP and now they can exersize the same privilages as me. So my question{preferably to some one working at SACAA} is "Is this legal".

Once again if I am wrong I appologise and there is no offence ment for any one in particular.

ct

[freightboss]

This thing has come a long way and is something that has been started by another company.

What it is all about, is the privilege of a pilot with a comm. The regs state that a comm rated pilot is priviged to "act as pilot in command in commercial air transport operations in any aeroplane certified for single pilot operations" Part 61.05.9(1)(c).

The operators involved have made a submission to the CAA that certain medium cat a/c such as the EMB110, B1900D, etc. are certified by the manufacturers for single pilot operations. Voila, they saw the loop hole and took it. Man I wish the bokke could see holes like those.

That my dear friend, is the long and the short of it.

Legal??? - Yes
Wise?????? - In my opinion, yar well, no fine....

[B Sousa]

Seems to be a controversy between Commercial and ATP. I see a lot of the Helo operators in the states who now want guys to get an ATP to do the same job. Personally I dont see much difference in the two licenses other than someone has forked over more money for another written and a long checkride. At least in the Helo crowd.

[chuks]

This is interesting...

In the USA, from what I remember, the basic division between needing a CPL and an ATPL was having the additional skills to command a multi-pilot crew.

Additionally there was a break at 12, 500 pounds (5, 700 kilograms) between light aircraft (below twelve-five) and the rest. That marked the division between needing one or the other license.

Then we started getting aircraft that had grown from some previous design, such as the Beech 1900. I think one could argue that it's basically just a freakishly large King Air in its basic design, and the King Air is just a single-pilot aircraft.

Cessna has a single-pilot model of the Citation with an artificial certified maximum all-up weight of 12, 500 lbs, since there are only minor differences between the SP (Single Pilot) model and the two-crew version which has a significantly higher AUW.

Where I operate now the authorities seem to want to see two crew on even Cessna 441s, Twin Otters, King Airs, etc. And I know in the States they were talking about requiring type-ratings on certain aircraft below twelve-five, such as King Airs.

In Germany I was once told by the authorities that I didn't have the necessary experience (10,500 hours but almost all on aircraft below twelve-five) to get an ATPL. I needed more time in aircraft over twelve-five. So I asked 'What about this Citation type-rating then? Can I fly an SP on a German CPL?'

'Oh, no. For that you need an ATPL.'

So it was a case of needing an ATPL to fly the types to get the time to get an ATPL. As in, flip over doormat to the side that reads 'Go Away!' Meanwhile my German co-pilot (700 hours) got his German ATPL, no probs. I wasn't even allowed to take the tests!

My German wife looked at me as though I was really quite stupid when I tried to moan about this basic injustice. I took the hint and b*ggered off to West Africa first chance I got.

Basically, I think the requirements are whatever the authorities say they are. What are you going to do? Sue them?

[Cave Troll]

It is all well and good saying that we should do what ever the powers at be say we must do but it would help if these guys would firstly make up their minds what they want from us as professional pilots and secondly if they could write the law correctly and clearly.

I am sure that is what they get paid for.

ct