South African Flying

Pilotwannabe1123

Pilotwannabe1123

New Member
Hello all,

I was thinking that it would be pretty cool flying in South Africa. If any SA Pilots on JC fill me in. What is the process? What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Jerome
 
Pilotwannabe1123 said:
Hello all,

I was thinking that it would be pretty cool flying in South Africa. If any SA Pilots on JC fill me in. What is the process? What do you guys think?
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Can't speak to South Africa specifically. But in general, the biggest thing you need to do is find a US registered aircraft. This is rarely a problem, as there are lots of FAA-only pilots outside the US, and US owners of these aircraft (making it legal to base the planes outside the US). You can operate an aircraft with an N-number with a US FAA certificate in most of the world.

Expect to spend a small fortune for charts. (A set of Jepp VFR charts for Europe will set you back over $500). Still better than the alternative - most countries have their own charts, in their own language, with their own symbols, and different VFR rules. In general, you are almost always better IFR outside the US, since the rules don't change as much.

You can validate an FAA license in South Africa, basically by taking a checkride: http://www.caa.co.za/
 
Down in Africa license conversion in Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi, and Kenya isn't that big of a deal. Apparently its one of those, take the test, pay the fee, and it doesn't matter what your score is (even if you get a passing score, the bribery factor is still there). Botswana seems to be the least corrupt, with some of the most interesting flying according to what I've read online. Also, the DRC has some flying if you've got some twin turbine experience.

Africa is big up there on my list of places I want to fly.

By the way, South Africa in particular will be a difficult place to find work, as there's no real need for pilots there (there are plenty).

The big operators that I can think of off hand are these:

Coastal Aviation
Nyassa Air Taxi
Sefofane Charters
Air Excel Tanzania
Mack Air

Sefofane seems to be the biggest out there.

checkout maunpilot.blogspot.com or something to that effect, or just google "Maun flying"

It'd be like Alaska flying down there, all VFR, occasional crap weather, with the potential for jacked up loads, and bad equipment. If you do go for it, be careful.

From everything I've read, your best bet is to just show up with a single commerical and an instrument rating and start beating down doors. However, the economy down south is more jacked up than it is here right now, so I'd probably hold out for awhile before making any rash decisions.
 
Thanks "drunkenbeagle" and "ppragman" I am thinking more and more about it, as we all know the US aviation situation with the airlines is not getting any better. Flying outside the wire might be my alternative until it gets better at home!:beer:
 
Pilotwannabe1123 said:
Thanks "drunkenbeagle" I am thinking more and more about it, as we all know the US aviation situation with the airlines is not getting any better. Flying outside the wire might be my alternative until it gets better at home!:beer:
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Good luck. Hiring is piss poor out there right now. Next season (Oct-ish) you might be able to get on board.
 
how hard would it be to get a flying gig and move a wife there? We are both really interested in Africa big time and I should have my ASEL comm in a few months.
 
deek said:
how hard would it be to get a flying gig and move a wife there? We are both really interested in Africa big time and I should have my ASEL comm in a few months.
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I dunno, haven't done it, but I've heard of people who do.
 
I find it a bit odd, on the sefofane pilot application info pdf they state that they haven't been able to fill their ranks with enough local citizens so they are able to consider foreign pilots, then the next sentence says that it is "practically impossible for a non-citzen to get a work permit". So which is it?
 
deek said:
I find it a bit odd, on the sefofane pilot application info pdf they state that they haven't been able to fill their ranks with enough local citizens so they are able to consider foreign pilots, then the next sentence says that it is "practically impossible for a non-citzen to get a work permit". So which is it?
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In Botswana its hard to find locals, in South Africa, not so much.
 
deek said:
I find it a bit odd, on the sefofane pilot application info pdf they state that they haven't been able to fill their ranks with enough local citizens so they are able to consider foreign pilots, then the next sentence says that it is "practically impossible for a non-citzen to get a work permit". So which is it?
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Thats because getting a work permit is through the government and if you think the US government is inefficient then African governments are downright disfunctional. I know of a company in Tanzania that hires foreigners for the 208 and some in Zambia. You can also try Mashonaland Flying Club or Pegasus in Zimbabwe for aircraft rentals. They used to rent planes to foriegners at comparitively cheaper rates than in South Africa but with the situation in Zimbabwe right now, i'm not sure how they are doing.
 
I would imagine if a bunch of us went there to work it wouldn't seem so far away from home, be kinda like a family and what not, not a bad gig. Not sure how much it costs to get a ticket to there for the interview.
 
deek said:
I would imagine if a bunch of us went there to work it wouldn't seem so far away from home, be kinda like a family and what not, not a bad gig. Not sure how much it costs to get a ticket to there for the interview.
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Yeah, that would be AWESOME!!! I looked and its about 3,500 RT
 
3,500, holy crap, that's probably a few months salary from there.

Hey pilotwannabe, where do you do your flying at? I'm in Houston now but looking to move to Manassas in the summer. Went to school in Arlington and dying to get out of Texas.
 
deek said:
3,500, holy crap, that's probably a few months salary from there.

Hey pilotwannabe, where do you do your flying at? I'm in Houston now but looking to move to Manassas in the summer. Went to school in Arlington and dying to get out of Texas.
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Sent you a PM
 
touch-n-go said:
Thats because getting a work permit is through the government and if you think the US government is inefficient then African governments are downright disfunctional. I know of a company in Tanzania that hires foreigners for the 208 and some in Zambia. You can also try Mashonaland Flying Club or Pegasus in Zimbabwe for aircraft rentals. They used to rent planes to foriegners at comparitively cheaper rates than in South Africa but with the situation in Zimbabwe right now, i'm not sure how they are doing.
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Happen to know if Tech-Air is still there at Mt. Hampden, or if they disappeared in all the chaos? If so, did another operation buy them out, etc.? My first ever flight was in a Cherokee 140 (VP-YXU) from Mt. Hampden in '72, and Charles Prince himself bought me an ice-cream when we landed :)
 
kapstaad said:
Happen to know if Tech-Air is still there at Mt. Hampden, or if they disappeared in all the chaos? If so, did another operation buy them out, etc.? My first ever flight was in a Cherokee 140 (VP-YXU) from Mt. Hampden in '72, and Charles Prince himself bought me an ice-cream when we landed :)
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The last time I was at Mt. Hampden aka Charles Prince, Tech-Air did not exist. There was an Aerotech which was a maintenance facility. There were also several other flight schools which may have bought out Tech-Air. I know Mashonaland Flying Club as well as Pegasus Flight training had several Cherokee 140's on their touring fleets. The registrations of the planes had obviously changed post 1980 and so your bird could have very well still have been flying with one of the outfits under a different registration when I was there.
 
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