NZ living

[er1cw]

Hi,

Im planning to join Massey's BaV next year. Would like to get more informations like NZ living conditions, cost as well as Massey enrolment procedure. I also heard that it is very difficult to get enrolled in the BaV course. Is that true ?

Oh, and what is the migration policies in NZ ? How difficult is it to apply for a PR status in NZ ?

Lol.. alot of questions, hope somebody can clear my doubts. :)

Cheers.

[Boy_phantom]

NZ is a quiet place, with lots of good people, lots of outdoor activities. Really good flying to be had (very close to mountains and sea)

Don't know anything about massey. But there are other flying schools in NZ that offer Bav and some in even bigger cities.

As far as immigration....check out this site:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/

NZ website:
http://www.newzealand.com/


Hope this helps

[tinpis]

I believe Mandarin is spoken in Auckland :rolleyes:

[er1cw]

Thanks for the reply, living in a quiet place is not a problem for me :ok: Btw, How's the public transport like ? Do i need a car ? What flying school in NZ do you guys recommend ?

[Super Ord]

Definitely have a good look around, there are many good schools here in NZ, and depending who you talk to, Massey may not be included in that list.

Public transport is fairly good at most major centres.

[Monk 55]

Have a good look around, unless you really want a BaV massey might not be your best option.
There are hundreds of operators all wanting your hard earned money, and all will promise the earth to get it.
Pretty hard getting a job after you have finished and GA operators dont give a s#@t about a BaV.
Personally I would go down Queenstown way, spend all your money learning down there, will cost you more but the expirence you will get will be worth much more that antything massey will ever give you. Plus ther are quite a few GA guys down there that will only hire someone with expirience flying round hills.
Everyone is going to tell you somthing different so just make sure you know what you want at the end of it before you go in. Its not cheap, but flying in NZ is the best in the world....

Good Luck

[Boy_phantom]

Nelson Aviation College:
http://www.nelson-aviation.co.nz/

North Shore Aeroclub:
http://www.nsac.co.nz/

Ardmore flying school:
http://www.ardmore.co.nz/

International Aviation Academy NZ (operated out of CH International airport):
http://www.flighttraining.co.nz/

Christchurch flying school:
http://www.flyingschool.co.nz/


There's a few. Might pay to do a google search, there are heaps of schools!!

[FL360]

Hi,

your going to find NZ a great place to live!
To be honest given some of the variables in aviation, delays, early flights, flights after public transport has finished, id get a car!
Dont worry there cheap in NZ!

As far as training establishments, your certainly going to get alot of experience if you train and fly in Queenstown, however most of the work is VFR not alot of IFR especially at the General Aviaiton level.

Look around, go and talk with lots of different training organisations

Good luck :ok:

[Oktas8]

er1cw,

Hi, and hope you find out what you need to know.

I see you're from Singapore, and with that in mind, I'd like to disagree with some of the other posts. It's not that they are wrong, it's just that what you think about some aspects of NZ life depends on where you come from.

Compared to many big cities, including Singapore, public transport in NZ is really bad. What exists is clean and safe, but there is not much of it! Most Singaporean students I've met buy cars while here. A reliable car, recent model but not new, will cost about $10,000.

As far as I know, Massey is the only place in NZ to do a B.Av. But there are lots of other flying schools that offer Diploma level qualifications, and many are of equal (many people say better) quality.

But what do you want to do? As far as I know, Massey is the only school officially recognised by Singapore Airlines, and they do put more Singaporean nationals through training than most other schools. On the other hand, if you want to live and work in NZ for many years, you should definitely look at other flying schools to see which is best for you. As others have said, a B.Av will not help you at all to get a General Aviation job.

Hope this helps,
O8

[Cloud Cutter]

"Public transport is fairly good at most major centres."

Not quite sure what you're comparing it to. Public transport in NZ is well below par for even a third world country, particularly in Auckland. Sparse population and unusually spread cities don't make it easy to implement a good system. You will need a car....

As stated, look around before committing to Massey. Lots of good schools like Ardmore Flying School in Auckland, Bay Flight International in Tauranga and International Aviation Academy in Christchurch. Not to mention the many good aeroclubs throughout the country. In saying that, you may decide that Massey is the best bet for you.

Good luck, NZ is a great place to fly and live in. :ok:

[er1cw]

Thanks mate for the input, you guys are are very helpful indeed :ok:

Im surprise that Massey are rated so much lower in everyone's list. I checked tru the list and found that International Aviation Academy offers CPL course for 56k compare to 130k in Massey, which is very much a :ok: deal to me.

Getting recognised by SIA is not a priority for me since im not a Singaporean after all. Have to agree that Singapore has a very efficient and clean public transport, public transport from where i came from are much more worse than any other places in the world.

After all, i am really keen to stay and fly in NZ, however, since im not a New Zealander is it difficult for me to get a GA job after getting a NZ CPL ? Oh, btw, i will be completing my Diploma in Aeronautics early next year. Will that help in applying for a PR status after my flying school ?

[Monk 55]

er1
reality is no one will give you a job fresh out of school no matter what little letters you have after your name. 200hrs is just not enough, even if you spend even more money and get an IFR rating.
You will need to either get an instructers rating or do your training with an outfit that will give you a job/let you fly for free.
Not easy to get a start so recomend doing as much research into jobs as you do flying schools.
No regional carrier will take you with under 1000hrs ( at leaste )so there is a big gap, haved to filled by either GA or instructing.
When you ask about training ask also what the job prospects are after you finish i.e will they give you some flying if you do a c cat with them.
Oh and you will need a car
Good luck

[Gravox]

Public Transport is :mad: pathetic!!

If you go to Massey, you WILL need a car. The airport and university are on opposite sides of the town, and sometimes you fly and do classes in the same day.

Palmerston North is the 5 largest city in NZ. Uni life is about drinking copious amounts of alcohol and chasing skirt. I can't remember much more than that. I enjoyed my time, but was gald to leave.

It's cold in summer, and even colder in winter, mind you I came from Aussie to do the degree.

[Oktas8]

For someone who looks & sounds foreign, I think it would be very difficult to get a GA job in New Zealand. This is what I was told by Asian classmates while I was training nearly ten years ago. It is also what I've observed while working as an instructor, with students from all over the world. I don't know why, and I've never seen explicit racism at work (it's very illegal), but I don't see many Asian pilots in NZ-registered aircraft. Only two examples come to my mind, and they were both raised in NZ.

I am certainly not suggesting you don't come, or that you train here then go elsewhere. We need intelligent well-motivated people in NZ. Perhaps you can talk to immigration specialists in New Zealand, as they will have better information than I on these kinds of difficulties.

Not too depressing I hope!
O8

[Capt. On Heat]

As others have suggested have a good look around elsewhere ER1. You don't want to get Masseyfied and as pointed out earlier the financial shafting is a good reason to stay away. It's criminal what those buggers charge and the nonsense 'jobs at the end with Garuda' promises year after year. Having said that though, their CFI MC just got a lovely award from CAA! MasseyPro might be able to hook you up with some sim time and a jet job too.

[glekichi]

Oktas 8>

I dont think its a racism issue you are looking at there. Sure, we train people from all over the world; they have student visas.

To give them a job they need a work visa. Not easy to get in an industry where we have a surplus of low hour pilots.

Having said this I know of one of the above schools that has hired a few instructors that had trained after moving here from overseas. Not sure what grounds they got their visas on, but I would guess that it would be on language/cultural skills rather than the merits of their C-cat instructor rating.

[FBOZH]

Not wanting to divert from the subject proper, can I ask about living in Auckland? How expensive is it to rent say a small apartment? Is sharing a common thing there? Is it feasible to find housemates when new to the place?

[Oktas8]

$300 per week will get you a small three bedroom house or a good quality two bedroom semi-detached unit near the GA airfield at Ardmore. Sharing a house, or flatting, is very common among students.

[M14_P]

I'd definately agree with those who suggested having a looksey further south, Queenstown, Wanaka etc. In fact I'd highly recommend it.

[Super Ord]

Southern Wings in Invercargill would also be a good place to consider, right on the doorstep of the mountains and coastal area. And if you can come to grips with the wind that blows down this way, you can fly in anything.

[dream747]

I'm from Singapore and I'm really interested to get a CPL in NZ too. I mean in Singapore there's nothing absoloutely nothing one can do with that CPL. Is there any chance at all to ever secure a very low paid job in NZ as a freshie out of a flying school? If not just how do so many people start building hours? At their own costs?

Quite disappointed IAANZ doesn't offer the diploma in aviation course to overseas students. Their brochure states that it's done in conjunction with NMIT but NMIT on the website says they DO welcome international students for the course.

Also, what are the pre requisites for to get a PR?

I mean I am really willing to scrimp and save today onwards.. I really would like to fly for a career but it seems getting started (a job) seems almost impossible for a local let alone a foreigner like me and it's disheartening.

Cheers and thanks a lot guys happy new year

alvin

[FBOZH]

Well I'll give you one tip. I started flying in tanzania with 250 hours. I was flying a PA28, they also have C206s there. It's easy enough to get a job if you push but be ready to earn near to nothing for the first 500 hours. PM me for more info.

[mach2.5]

hey man, i think we had this conversation a few month ago....every one here have made their points, and they are pretty much telling you the same thing. so think carefully before you put nz$120.000 into the massey account.

i am not NZ born, and until now i hold a work visa to instruct.

its true not many forigne people get work in NZ, there is a reason.They dont want to stay in NZ after the training.

in order to get a work visa, you need to have a job offer 1st. and while you are applying for that work visa, you are not allowed to work. on the other hand, you must continue studying under your student visa, and of course, if you are studying, you wont be able to have your lisence nor a jobb offer that is related to your study...

it gets pretty tricky....and of course, as to other people mentioned, you wont be able to get paid much at all.so if you are on $10 an hour per flight time, your visa will not get approved.

you need to find some where to train, that people can help you with your visa, and to be honest, you need to be the one that they are looking for, otherwise, its just a waste of time if you cant fly or work for sh...t.

[dream747]

Thanks for the advice. Well I'm looking at Massey because it's recognised by my local civil aviation authority and I can do a Singapore license there. But once again it costs a fortune, really.

If I had to do it an Australia, I would not be able to convert it unless I get employed by a local company. And the local companies say - you must have a Singapore license first (except SIA).

That's how it works here.

[Bankstownboy]

Sorry to sorta hijack the thread, but I thought it'd work better than making a new one...

I'll be on holiday in Dunedin come late January and I was just wondering what the GA scene's like around the joint? Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere before but search turned up stuff all for me...