European medical allowed in South Africa?

[hardhatter]

Hello,

this may be a stupid question :\ , but here it goes:

I aim to get my PPL in South Africa. I want to stay there for about three to four weeks, which is short.
Therefore, I was hoping to speed things up by getting my medical check done here in the Netherlands, and maybe get my theory tested here as well.
Will the South African CAA accept these, or must I get everything done there?
If I must get everything done there, how much extra time will it take?

Hope you can help! :ok:

[BackPacker]

In principle no and no.

As for the medical: South Africa is not a JAA member state so a JAA medical will most likely not mean anything over there. Likewise, I don't think they would accept a Burkina Faso medical, would you? You would need a South African medical. Common sense however dicates that a large number of the tests and requirements would be the same so you might be able to find an SA medical examiner in the Netherlands. I would give the Aero Medisch Instituut (the medical branch of the KLM, http://www.aeromedischinstituut.nl/) a call to see if they can help.

As for the theory exams: the stuff you need to know for your PPL is to a certain extent country-specific. Things like how the whole legal framework is embedded in law, local regulations and such. I do not know of a single country (even within JAA) that accepts theory exams from other countries as substitute for their own theory exams. Even within the JAA countries the minimum level at which things become transferable between countries is the full PPL. So you will have to sit the SA theory exams, either in SA or (but that's hardly likely) at a Dutch flight school which operates under SA CAA oversight.

Having said all that, I don't know the specifics. Have you asked your question to the South African CAA? They are most likely the ones that can give you precise information. http://www.caa.co.za.

Last thing to consider is that the exams themselves and the medical won't take long. A medical can be sorted in half a day and is probably only required before you go solo. Plus, it's likely to be cheaper in SA anyway. And the exams will take a day in total (if they work anything like the UK CAA exams) but can be done inbetween flying. So if you do all this when in SA, it will probably not significantly increase the time you need to obtain your PPL. If you want to save yourself significant time, the best thing you can do is prepare yourself for the theory exams as best as you can, so you don't waste time in SA studying theory. Make sure you get theory books that are written for the SA PPL, for reasons mentioned earlier.

[172driver]

hardhatter, you don't say which license you are going to get. South African or JAA ? I admit I have no idea if there are any JAA training outfits in SA, but if this is the case then you should be able to do your medical in NL. If you want to do a SA license, then most likely you'd have to do the medical there also.

[Mikehotel152]

I just did a JAR PPL Licence Validation in South Africa in order to build some hours before my CPL.

The SA CAA accepted my UK medical but that was probably because I already have a JAR PPL. I had heard rumours from guys out there that I would need to do an SA medical and take a language test. Not so. In essence, a Validation is simply that - a recognition of a foreign licence, with its associated ratings and medical.

But you're talking about getting an SA PPL from scratch so I would check in advance with their licensing department before making any assumptions on whether a free-standing Medical would be acceptable. Unlike me, you will need to do a language test and apparently these need to be booked well in advance.

Also, I can say that the Air Law exam is done online, but you need help obtaining an SA CAA username and password. I did this through the SA FTO I was using. You will also need the study materials, which are probably not available except in paper form from an FTO or try Wingsnthings flying shop (they have a website).

Try emailing Mrs Neo Tigele at the SA CAA ([email protected] ). She was very helpful to me. Also try the AVCOM website for advice from the pilots out there in SA.

My best advice is that you contact an SA FTO and plan well in advance. Your timescale looks too short in my experience of flying training in SA. It took me a full week to get my validation done.

Good luck. :ok:

[Contacttower]

The SA CAA accepted my UK medical but that was probably because I already have a JAR PPL. I had heard rumours from guys out there that I would need to do an SA medical and take a language test. Not so. In essence, a Validation is simply that - a recognition of a foreign licence, with its associated ratings and medical.



Exactly my experience as well.

If I remember rightly I could do the 'foreign licence validation' with just the air law exam (and a flight test as well). If however I wanted the SA PPL I would need all the SA specific exams and an SA medical...so the question is can you do them in the NL? Like BP said, very unlikely, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

South Africa were thinking of becoming JAA, although I don't know what came of it. Probably by the time they get round to it JAA won't exist and they will need to be EASA compliant instead. :E

[Mikehotel152]

I had a few interesting chats with SA commercial pilots and instructors whilst out there. They didn't mention EASA, though I imagine that will be a huge hurdle, but were worried by the general level of bureaucratic incompetence and corruption in SA. No surprise there!

Apparently the SA CAA has very recently failed an audit (by the JAA?) and has been warned that South African carriers, including SAA, will be banned from European skies - like other African carriers - if things don't improve very quickly. :rolleyes:

I'm sure someone will be along to correct me on the details.

[BackPacker]

hardhatter, you do realise that MH152 and CTs story works the other way 'round as well, do you? If you eventually have that SA PPL and come back to Europe, there are three things you can do with that PPL:

1. Fly an SA-registered aircraft around Europe without any hassle - but I don't know how many of those are around and available for hire.
2. Have your SA license "validated" by the appropriate European authorities and a JAA PPL issued "based on" your SA PPL.. I have no idea how complex this is, whether the European CAAs require e.g. air law or other exams to be done. I only know that in the UK an ICAO license is validated without further problems up to the PPL level but you won't get any further than that without building a house of cards.
3. Throw it in the bin, do all the theory exams and the flight test again to receive a proper JAA PPL.

Either 2 or 3 is required to fly a JAA-reg (PH-, G-, F-, D- etc.).

===================

To add, I browsed a few SA flight school websites to see what they had to say about it, and here's what I found on one:

INFORMATION MAINLY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I obtain a JAR/JAA licence in South Africa?
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is in the process of becoming Joint Airworthiness Regulations (JAR) compliant. The process however is a slow and involved one and for the present moment the SACAA still resorts under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Foreign students who presently acquire a South African licence will therefore have to convert their SA PPL or SA CPL when they return to their country of origin. It is advisable to enquire with your local Civil Aviation Authority as to exactly what the requirements for such a conversion would be, before embarking on a training course in South Africa.

The South African standard of training has always been regarded to be very high and in many countries, merely re-writing the relevant Airlaw exam and passing a flight test is sufficient for the conversion of a South African license.



(http://www.pfs.co.za/faq.html)

For the UK situation with regards to validating a foreign license, check this link: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=137&pagetype=70&gid=170&faqid=208

For the Dutch situation with regards to obtaining a full JAA PPL, check this link (text is in Dutch though):
http://www.ivw.nl/Images/Reducties%20op%20en%20vrijstelling%20van%20vliegopleidingen_ pdf_tcm247-207978.pdf

[Mikehotel152]

Perhaps its Backpacker's press release that forms the basis for the rumours I was hearing in SA about compliance.

Off topic: I would agree about the standard of the pilots out there. Very good. But there are differences between the training and basic laws which you'll have to pick up whichever way around you do it.

[BackPacker]

It would be very interesting if SA would join JAA. SA has a completely different climate compared to Europe and of course the Coriolis effect is the other way around, SA being on the Southern Hemisphere. JAR-FCL training should include all that for SA to become a full member of the JAA. Otherwise they will still need their own syllabus.

Also, do you hold right or left rudder during the take-off roll in SA?:confused:

[172driver]

BackPacker - precession vs. Coriolis...... your choice ;)

[hardhatter]

CAn I have my thread back please? ;):E:D

Guys, everybody thanks for your answers, a lot more things I have to think about unfortunately...:(

But, onwards, on to the PPL and beyond! Hope to meet some body of PPrune in future IRL!

Thanks!
As we say in the Netherlands:"Applausje voor jezelf!" :D