Helicopter Flight Schools, South Africa

[Robbiechopper]

Hi All, could anyone recommend reputable/well established helicopter flying schools in South Africa. This is a career change for me going from zero to commercial and 43 Air School in Port Alfred seems to offer a structured syllabus and good support, rather than just plain hour building. Base4 also seem to offer a good package in beautiful Cape town.:)
I'm 34, self sponsored, following my dream job and intend to work in SA after qualifying.
Being a total newbie:8I'd like to get as much into the year as possible however are there any ratings which will help my chances of finding a job after qualifying?
A school in SA has quoted around R600 000 for ppl,cpl,CRM, dangerous goods,IR,NR and mountain flying....Is this enough to have a chance of getting a job for a low hour pilot? Should I consider a turbine conversion or am I wasting money at this stage due to my low hour employability?
Would also like to hear from anyone working currently in SA about the current job market in SA preceding the football world cup? Being an expat, I know Cape Town's roads are not going handle the increased road traffic and choppers will fill the skies! :-)
I'm currently living and working in the UK and someone also recommended I get personal insurance here in the UK before going out to SA..
Cheers and thanks, RC :ok:

[HillerBee]

Talk to John Bassi. First get a PPL/CPL build some hours and become an instructor, all the other ratings are not needed in the beginning. In South Africa it's the same as anywhere else low-hours, no chance. You will have to bite the bullet for a few years. By the way it's not easy to get a work permit in South Africa and pilots especially for unexperienced ones.

However the job market is stressed, there is a shortage for experienced pilots.

[Robbiechopper]

Thanks HillerBee! :DJohn's website is great and gives a great account of his flying career. I was looking for something unique and this may be the ticket! I'm looking forward to chatting to John!:)
Early indications show newly qualified pilots in SA can expect to earn from R8000 -R20 000 p/m.
How does the UK market compare relating to newly qualified pilot salaries? I have a work permit for both SA and UK so I may consider starting out as an instructor in the UK if the starting salary was competitive. (mortgage/rent alone p/m in SA is about R6000!) Do you know the UK average wage for a helicopter instructor? I may find instructing is what I want to do until I retire however realistically how long does it take to build enough hours as a chopper instructor in order to make a move to a commercial position?
Cheers and thanks RC:ok:

[Whirlygig]

I was impressed with NAC at Virginia Airport in Durban but I would recommend visiting a few schools and loking round their operation.

Cheers

Whirls

[HeliRookie]

Hi Robbiechopper,
I've been reading some of your posts and it seems that I find myself in a similar positon almost a year later! Hopefully it's all gone well for you up until now!
I'm currenlty in UK, soon to head to Durban to commence training. Going to choose very soon between Starlite, NAC and JNC- have read a lot of posts on these 3 but did your experince give you any further impressions? Think I'm going to do PPL or at the very least about 60-70hrs minus the exams before legging it to Australia (where I want to work) to do my CPL + exams. Do you think there is any point doing the PPL exams in SA considering they don't contribute to an Aussie CPL? Any advice from all appreciated.