from the bush to the Executive..

[mATT84DC]

hy my friends,
I d like to ask personal experience to that pilots flying in GA, bizjet and so on..
I'm curious to know what was the way that brought you to fly in this sector, since I m young Italian pilot flying in Africa to build my hours with the goal to fly a bizjet one day..
thankyou for sharing your experiences, also advices are appreciate!
Matt

[Propellerpilot]

Just by reading your posts - try working on your English, it may become a pitfall for you one day in an assessment. I had an assessment 3 weeks ago and an experienced Italian Pilot was already sent home after the first interview and did not even get a chance do demonstrate his skills in the simulator like the rest of us - and this was in a country where English is a foreign language.

Collecting hours in Africa is better than nothing (did it myself), but when you come back to the European market, you will have to stand in line and go through the same recruitment procedures like everybody else - don't expect any special treatment.

To answer your question in the other thread: "turboprop time" is not "jet time".

[flyingmasai]

If you want to fly a bizjet, don't spend to much time in Afrika, I flew 4000 hours in east africa single pilot and found it very difficult to fly in a multi crew aircraft. So much that I am going back to flying a CJ single pilot... Good luck!

[mATT84DC]

Propellerpilot: I ll work on it, but here evrybody speak just French..it doesn t help me at all , and of course I don t expect any special treatment, why should I?

flyingmasai: I already fly a multicrew atleast, even if it s just a Let410..I hope it will be more usefull...

[Sir KDM Lowe]

No need to worry about your English my friend. It was good enough for us to understand your question and certainly a lot better than my Italian or French.

I cannot advise you either way, but I'm sure you will get some positive and constructive feedback from future posters. Good luck with your career. If you've got this far, then I'm sure you'll get the break you're looking for soon.

All the very best.

[Grum]

Hello.

There are companies where French and Italian are the principle languages as the majority of employees are from these countries. English will be used on the flight deck (not always) and for company wide emails but one on one communication will often be in your native language. If you achieve level 4 language proficiency then you have no worries.

I work in a company where a few guys used to fly in DRC. That kind of experience will let a prospective bizjet company know that you will not start complaining if you get a charter to some unpopular destination. It will also show that you have had to problem solve downroute with limited support from handling agents and the office.

You do not need to get 1000's of hours down there before you start applying to bizjet operators. 1 or 2000 is enough. Too many hours and no one wants you as a co-pilot because they think you will keep asking for more money or upgrade etc. Maybe try to get enough hours to qualify for an ATPL when you come home.

You are on a multi pilot, multi engine aircraft which is great. Better than most people hour building in Africa. It is still difficult here for people to find work but if you are aiming at bizjet operations as a co-pilot then I would say you're doing just fine.

Good luck

[mATT84DC]

thanks for the tips and encouragement, the point is this: all the jobs vacancies that I can find have as requirement the type or jet experience, so I wonder which companies in the sector executives that you know are usually willing to hire pilots with a minimum of experience but still not rated? or more generally, what should be the way to move from my small turboprop to executive?
All I can do is fly, keep studying and hope ... but sometimes it seems not enough!