NZ Licences

[sarboy w****r]

Hey there,

I'm an reasonably experienced military (UK) pilot, intending to emigrate to NZ for personal reasons in mid 07. Emigration requirements are not an issue, as I'm an Australian citizen. However, I know very little about NZ licence requirements, job prospects etc.

I have tried searching (PPrune and Google) for info, but apart from the NZ CAA site am coming up with a load of dross. Is there someone (possibily ex-military who has made the transition to civvy flying) who can point me in the direction of some decent info on the companies who provide most of the jobs/training etc? Is it worthwhile doing a JAR licence and transferring to the NZ system, or just going for NZ licence outright?

What are the prospects/salaries, particularly in off-shore or SAR/medevac roles?

Any information, either public or PM, will be gratefully received.

Thanks,

SBW

[haughtney1]

Sarboy...your best course of action is to send an email to the NZ CAA..explaining things.
They tend to be pretty good at explaining requirements per se...and will generally reply the next day.

the website is www.caa.co.nz. or something similar.

Hope this helps



cheers H:ok:

[MOR]

Actually I would have to disagree with you there haughtney... go direct to ASL as they are tasked with doing assessments. They are far easier to deal with than the CAA.

You can find them at www.aviation.co.nz

Here is a snippet from one of the documents on their site:

Commercial Pilot Licence (Helicopter)
For NZDF Pilots
(a) Pilots in current military flying practice seeking the issue of a CPL (H), must produce their
pilot logbooks for assessment. These must contain evidence that the applicant has
accumulated the minimum flight experience laid down for the CPL (H).
Armed Services Recognition Requirements: Flight Crew
Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand Page 5 of 11
15 Oct 02
(b) After assessment, pilots who qualify for CPL (H) equivalence, will receive the following
CPL written examination credits;

 CPL Flight Navigation

 CPL Meteorology

 CPL General Aircraft Technical Knowledge - Helicopter

 CPL Principles of Flight and Aircraft Performance - Helicopter

 CPL Human Factors
(c) All pilots are required to pass the CPL Air Law written examination.
(d) Pilots who are in current military flying practice on helicopters in the NZDF at the time of
the ASL logbook assessment, are not required to pass a CPL (H) issue flight test.
Note:
Service pilots seeking the issue of both a CPL (A) and a CPL (H) are only exempt the CPL
issue flight test appropriate to the category of aircraft in which they are currently engaged in
flying with the NZDF. To clarify, if a pilot is currently flying aeroplanes, he or she is exempt
the CPL (A) issue flight test but is required to pass a CPL (H) issue flight test and vice versa.
For Pilots from Foreign Armed Forces
Pilots from foreign armed forces who are in current military flying practice and who seek the issue
of a NZ CPL (H) are required to pass an issue flight test and gain passes in the following written
examinations;

 CPL Air Law

 CPL Meteorology

[Sqwark2000]

Sarboy,

Not a member of the fling-wing fraternaty myself, but some of the SAR/Medi Flight companies in NZ that I know of are

Northland Emerg. Services Trust (N.E.S.T) Whangarei - 2 x S76
Westpac Helicopter Trust in Auckland - 1 x BK-117
Taupo Helicopter Services based in Taupo, Hamilton & possibly Rotorua - 1 x Bell 212, Multiple x AS350
Skycare based in Hastings operating Lowe Corp Rescue in Hastings - 1 x AS350 & Lion Foundation Rescue in Gisborne - 1 x AS350
Phillips Rescue Trust (?) in Palmerston North - 1 x AS350
Lifeflight Trust in Wellington 1 x BK117
Westpac Rescue in Christchurch - 1 x BK117
Lion Foundation Rescue in Dunedin - 1 x BK117

Other big Heli companies in NZ are Helipro based in Wellington and Palmerston North doing all sorts from Heavy Lift, fire fighting, training & charter using Bell UH-1, BK117, AS350, H269

I have worked indirectly for Skycare in Hastings on their fixed wing ambulance and found them to be very good to deal with and they seemed to train their guys well and operated good equipment. Rotary Chief Pilot maybe still Steve Tollenar.

Helicopter Services in Taupo I seem to remember have a AS350 helicopter sim of some sort that was in the Aviation News a while back so for training they could be a go.

NZ has the highest number of Rescue Helicopters per head of capita in the world so there are a few out here. The Govt. went through a review to see if they could reduce they number of operators they used for emergency works, but a public outcry saw an end to that.

Hope this helps.

S2K

[27/09]

S2K

You forgot HNZ (Helicopters New Zealand) based in Nelson. As well as providing the offshore services to the Maui gas platforms also operate overseas and in Antartica. Not sure what types but I think Squirrels, and 212 and 214?

[sarboy w****r]

Thanks very much for the info guys. One or two further questions if you'll bear with me...

Am I right in thinking that minimum licence requirements are CPL(H) for most of those, as they're operated single pilot, or do most operators have an ATPL(H) (with/without an IR)?

Also, in terms of doing the NZ licence exams, are there any educational providers that people can recommend? Am looking to start studying through distance learning sometime before the end of the year. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to be seen to pass comment in public. We have one or two companies in the UK that most people tend to use, and was wondering if it was the same in NZ.

Finally, is there a maximum time in which the 7 ATPL exams need to be completed? What in your experience is the normal time taken to study/complete the exams?

Thanks for your patience,

SBW

[Speeds high]

The friendly people at Ardmore Helicopters know everything about everything to do with those scary little machines. Im sure they can help. :O

[Sqwark2000]

SAR,

Am I right in thinking that minimum licence requirements are CPL(H) for most of those, as they're operated single pilot, or do most operators have an ATPL(H) (with/without an IR)?

Not sure myself but would be surprised if AS350 type operators had an ATPL requirement, as it is required to be done in a big twin turbine IFR machine and not many of those hovering around.
Most would require an IR, I know NEST in Whangarei, Westpac in Auckland and the Waikato Bell 212 reguarly fly IFR if transfering patients etc..


in terms of doing the NZ licence exams, are there any educational providers

There is not 1 provider of dedicated ATPL study in NZ. Some full-time CPL/MEIR courses offer subjects as part of the course but in terms of going to Company XXXX who provides dedicated, current & consistant ATPL courses there are none.

There used to be a reputable correspondance company called PPSC (prof. pilots study centre) run by airline guys but that has stopped. Their notes are still around with past students and they seem to be the most popular notes to get hold of.

It's very common for ATPL students to self-study the subjects in their own time, except for a few course attendees with the likes of Massey University and EIT's (Hawkes Bay) 3 year intern course. Most full time courses in NZ only go as far as CPL/MEIR & maybe Instructor rating

There are a few guys in Auckland that specialise in certain subjects & they run private on-demand courses as & when they are available.


is there a maximum time in which the 7 ATPL exams need to be completed? What in your experience is the normal time taken to study/complete the exams?

Not at the moment. The only time constraint is Law which is valid for 5 years unless an ATPL is issued and then it's lifetime. There is a proposal to introduce time limits on all subjects for all licences. The initial idea was like 2 years to complete and gain and PPL from sitting first theory subject, 3 yrs for a CPL and 5 years for an ATPL. If you don't have the appropriate licence issued before the max. time period then they all expire :eek: But it's still a proposal at the moment.

I myself, once in a study routine, and whilst working full time allowed 4-6 weeks per subject to be comfortable

Again not sure about your first question but would think a few of the Rescue guys (particuarly the smaller operators) are operating on CPL's only.

Cheers


S2K