Ludford

I'm a British national thinking about learning to fly in South Africa after learning how expensive things are in Britain to learn.

I've been quoted around £20,000 - 25,000 ($30,000 - $37,000) from South African schools for a CPL+IR+ME which seems to me like a very good deal! I've been quoted £100,000 ($150,000) to go to Oxford Aviation Academy in Britain.

I do have a few questions for people with experience of the industry though.

1. Is a Frozen ATPL just additional ground school after a CPL+IR+ME?

2. Does it matter where you obtain your licence from? Are employers going to turn their nose up at South African licences?

3. A lot of jobs I've seen need licences from the country they are based in, is it easy to get a licence for that country if you have a licence from another country?

4. How do you go about getting your first job? Obviously I have no delusions of flying some big airliner straight after this, I'd just like to fly some small prop planes professionally single engine or multi. I don't mind where I fly in the world. But a lot of jobs are wanting 2000 hours minimum on the SPECIFIC plane you will be flying. And I'll have like 300? 350? On a Beachcraft Baron?

Do you think I could find a job in developing countries in Africa, Asia or Latin America? I don't mind low pay I just want to fly

Thanks for any replies.

rev4life03

Ludford

I was told that not caring about your wage and just wanting to fly was a positive thing in a pilot.

kingsnake2

I would always say that doing what you love is very important.

You should make prudent financial decisions, but learning to fly professionally can be a prudent decision if you do your research and plan well.

The first question is where do you want to fly for a career? If you want to be based out of Britain you will have to look into your flight regulatory agencies requirements for transferring licenses.

Da40Pilot

Please remember the saying that goes something like this:

"You get what you pay for".

Even though I do agree with you that EU flight training prices are a rape in the butt, I would suggest you get your training in the United States. You can find some great flight schools where you can get all of those ratings for $35k-$40k and where most instructors will truly show interest in you. I can think of quite a few in the mid-west such as Arizona or Texas where training is cheap due to lower fuel prices in those areas of the country.

Once you're done with all of that, you'll have all your FAA licenses which are ICAO, meaning they are accepted in many other countries. Now, if you actually want to make a good living out of flying, I know EU pays pretty well, mostly because they'll put you on a 737 at 250 hours lol.

But, after you're done with your licenses, you can stay in the US for a bit longer and attend a place such as Pan Am Academy in Florida and get JAA conversion and Frozen ATPL there, which means you'll go back home with all the licenses and ratings you need to apply for a job.

Good luck

680crewchief

You were told that by management?

It is important you enjoy what you do, but at some point the bills have to get paid. Good luck.

Ludford

I think the South African licences are similar. I just read this.

"The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) meets International Civil Aviation standards and is audited by ICAO."

full of luv

Checkout the web boards at pprune.org for better eu and foreign pilot discussion. This board is more us centric and filled with rumors and griping.

HercDriver130

you better care about your wage or you wont last long... or you will forever live a life of poverty...

Ludford

I'm sure there is a guide linked on this very forum that states something like "Become a pilot only if you love to fly, not for a big salary".

On the subject of "getting what you pay for", isn't the largest cost in learning hour building? Which is affected directly by fuel cost. So when you're paying more you're just paying to line some governments pockets with tax money, not for better quality training.