aid flying??

[nick14]

Hi guys and girls,
Just wanting to know wether anyone has done any kind of aid flying to africa or other places like that with companies such as MAF. I have a genuine interest in helping out others sparked off by my geography teacher who lived in kenya and has many stories to tell.
I am currently 17 and hoping to do an fATPL course in Oxford uk. After this i want to be able to fly to places like kenya and others especially Africa. Has anyone done such things any tips or info sources would be most appreciated.

Kindest Regards
Nick

[Jetavia]

I offered my help once and was told they needed an recommendation from my local priest and more or less had to be very religious (i am not) in addition I would have to go through an psychological evaluation .. all that to fly a single engine cessna .. nuts!

[ATP_Al]

I would love to know about this sort of flying myself - if anyone knows anything please say so!

I'm not an expert, but I would of thought that such operators would require some post licence experience, and so wouldn't care if you did a modular or integrated course. In which case you could save yourself some money!

Al

[African Drunk]

A good friend nearly went to MAF. I will ask him to try and post his experience and some info on the realities of aid work. On a personal note these guys are looking for a serious commitment of up to five years. They are a charity with limited resources and should be seen as a vocation not a stepping stone.

[antipodean]

Try Maun in Botswana, its not aid flying but it is somewhere you can go with a fresh CPL and get work. Plenty of info in the African forum.

[Craggenmore]

I agree with African Drunk.

My IR instructor previously worked for the MAF for over 20 years before returning to the UK with family committments.

Its not to be taken lightly at all.

nick14...................

If its your career ambition to fly through Africa for years and years and years to come, I don't think you need to spend £70,000 with Oxford Aviation. Why not carry out your CPL training in South Africa for a fraction of the cost AND where you will be closer to that type of flying action?

However if you change your mind and want to fly for UK Airlines then maybe think Oxford or the like.

[ihatecbs]

you've gotta be into your religion, get a local priest to sign you off etc. although you will not know this until you actually get the application form. Do not suggest you got to oat if you want a career like this, waste of cash. Why not go for airforce, you're young enough and then look to move to fly for the un or icrc?

[siflyguy]

Hey Nick,

I can't tell you much about about what it's like to fly in Africa (or anywhere else!) cause I haven't started flight training yet. But I have a similar dream to fly in Africa with MAF in the future. I going to do my flight training here in Australia (in Melbourne) where MAF have a brilliant flight training centre. They offer a 2 year course (run in conjunction with the Bible College of Victoria) for either flight training or av engineering. Fancy training in Australia?? It's pretty attractive with the current exchange rate! The course - all flight training, accomodation, food etc (for 2 years) - is roughly $AU68K. Check out more info at: http://www.bcv.vic.edu.au/default.asp?id=15&mnu=15

As mentioned in by the other guys, you need recommendation by a pastor as part of the application process.

I think MAF will be a great org to work - they work in heaps of countries and from what I've heard, allow pilots to transfer round the world.

Seeya!
Si

[angelorange]

All this religious mumbo jumbo about MAF and the like is a bit misleading- yes it's true they started out after WW2 as a Christian mission and some of the stuff one has to put up with for basically little or no pay means they put a big emphasis on "calling" - ie: why do you really want to do this stuff - it's very hard work! eg: flying a C206 out of a one way dirt strip with essential supplies or a dying child on board who has suffered gun shot wounds from a tribal event near Somalia is a bit different from EZY into Dortmund!........MAF is the biggest humanitarian flying group but there are others.

Another outfit to consider is AirServ (www.airserv.org) where you can have any faith or none but basically do humanitarian flights in the toughest of places eg: Pakistan right now after earthquake, post tsunami etc.

Flying Mission Botswana has a very good reputation aswell - they are starting to expand with work in Zambia and work alongside others like MAF in S Africa. They also fly twins and are looking at turbines.

[fireitup]

I've been in Sudan working on various contracts for a south african operator and believe that it is some of the most rewarding and unique experiance you can have, weather, short dirt strips, dealing with the locals ect.

There is a huge shortage of experianced crew on B190's / BE20's / C208 ect and all south african operators are looking for crews to fill the gap. 2000TT and at least 500 on type for the a/c that you wish to fly, these are requirements for command positions.

Our company has had many european guys and girls passing through and they have seemed to find the experiance invaluable.

[Oli EZ]

Hi Nick,

I've been looking into MAF over the last couple of years while ive been studying at Uni here in the UK, you will need a CPL with minimum of 500hrs TT to join them.. I know they are always in need of pilots and it is also true that they operate pretty much globally. Im sure you can find out more from their website though, or by contacting them directly. The director in the UK is a Mr. Keith Jones and you should be able to get straight through to him.

It is as stated by others, more of a serious long term vocation... usually for someone who has at least already paid back their copious training costs and got some financial security as it is a charitable organisation. The keep is reflected in that. They may well require you to have some av' engineering qualifications too, as you will be operating in pretty dicey environments.. whether its Africa or Mongolia.

If you can afford the training from OAT, Cabair or whoever - great, I could do with some folks like those! That status of training may well keep you in good stead for a better paid career path back in the EU/UK sector.. otherwise as previously pointed out by another member, you can get your CPL and other ratings far cheaper in S.Africa; I had a S.African tutor for part of my training and he was ace, so i think the standard of training there is pretty high lately.

Hope it all goes well for you, MAF is a great cause to work for!

Oli EZ:)

[hingey]

Was actually searching for info on Medecins sans frontieres, but the website was 404. Also included this (http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=article&objectid=13208270-E018-0C72-095CE414EAF918F8&method=full_html) though. Hope it helps. Any further info on MSF would be appreciated.

h

[Andrew JTP]

Hi. Interesting to read some of the replies. I am also hoping to work with MAF one day. I was in London when I made the decision to start pilot training with the aim of working with MAF eventually, and came out to South Africa for the training due to the lower costs. I have just completed my CPL with Single Engine IR and now need to get a job to build the 500 hours required by MAF. If you believe this is God's plan for you then go for it, God is good and He will make a way for you.

[angelorange]

are you still in SA Andrew JTP?

MAF want folk in Jo'burg but only with lots of experience. Highly recommend you vist Maun in Botswana and spend a few weeks there passing cv's around to the safari companies. Mostly C206s - which used to be MAF's main machine till they went over to C208 turbine vans.

Also give Flying Mission a call in Gaborone - they have a base in Maun as well - very similar to MAF but you don't need to raise as much support - they have 8 aircraft incl C421 for medivac work as far afield as Tanzania.

www.flyingmission.botsnet.co.bw

check your PM's for their requirements

[Herbie-TZ]

Info about MAF can be found here:

http://www.maf-uk.org/

Look under recruitment.


grtz, Herbie

[richiya]

This will probably sound like a silly question, but:
Does anyone know how it works once you actually get a job? do you get paid as a full time pilot, or does it include having to get involved with the religious side of the organization aswell?
does anyone know about the work/pay conditions? I basically ask this to know if I could work there without having any savings, and live off my wages as a pilot?
thaks,
richiya

[Herbie-TZ]

Richiya,

There are no silly questions IMHO....

Please have a look at the FAQ's of the MAF-UK website,

http://www.maf-uk.org/

(under recruitment) you will find your answer there...

Herbie

[angelorange]

If you want "normal" pay then go to AirServ - with MAF they pay you a country rate eg: Tanzania and expect you to raise support because they are a registered charity - if your support goes under or over what you are paid it makes no difference to your "salary" whcih includes housing and access to transport like landrover etc. Also they look after your pension etc in UK. With AirServ it is more like normal salaried postion. Flying Mission Services are going that route as well.

[Andrew JTP]

Thanks for the info on Flying Mission angelorange. I only have around 180 hours at the moment so MAF SA is not an option for now, I will be looking for a job soon to build the 500 hours required by MAF UK.

[jimpearce]

and these are airserv's requirements :-(

PILOTS*
Captain of Aircraft US License PIC Turbine PIC ME PIC
Single Engine Recip FAA CPL/IR 1200
Single Engine Turbine FAA CPL/IR 1500 50
Multi Engine Turbine FAA CPL/ME 1800 100 500
First Officer FAA CPL/ME 400

* These are minimum qualifications. Meeting these qualifications does not necessarily indicate sufficient experience for all postings. Average flight time of current crew is much higher.

When applying for a pilot position, please send your resume to [email protected]. For more information on our aircraft, click on the Fleet

[richiya]

Thanks for the replies guys, I´ll look into the web sites. It´s a shame they ask for FAA licences, does anyone think they consider JAA pilots. Only got 550 hours with 200 multi..... sent them a CV anyway (just in case)
richiya