Commercial pilot training - Port Alfred etc.

kkelly77

Hello all,

I am considering a career change to becoming a commerical pilot. I have come across such training centres as the ones in Port Alfred, S. Africa and Jerez, Spain.

I was wondering if anyone on the forum has had previous experience in these training centres or knows of anyway currently training there.

I am trying to find out as much info as possible as there is a substantial financial outlay (€95,000) to become a qualified commercial pilot.

All comments/advice greatly welcomed,
Keith.

jmayo

kkelly77 wrote: »

Hello all,

I am considering a career change to becoming a commerical pilot. I have come across such training centres as the ones in Port Alfred, S. Africa and Jerez, Spain.

I was wondering if anyone on the forum has had previous experience in these training centres or knows of anyway currently training there.

I am trying to find out as much info as possible as there is a substantial financial outlay (€95,000) to become a qualified commercial pilot.

All comments/advice greatly welcomed,
Keith.

First off Keith have you done any flying as a pilot or as trainee ?
If not then take a few flying lessons and see if you actually like being in the air.
Even if you have a ppl check if you can pass a full medical for a commerical pilots license before you make any decisons about it as a career.

Then check www.pprune.org, www.flyer.co.uk, etc and trawl the web for any information you can find on prospective flight training establishments.

Then you need to decide if you want to go for training for non JAA (JAA/JAR is basically European) licenses e.g FAA licenses in the USA and then make the transition back to JAA for European based work.
It can be cheaper to get non JAA licenses because training is cheaper in countires such as South Africa, Australia, USA or Canada.
Where it becomes troublesome is you will have to convert those licenses to JAA if you want to pursue your career in Europe. This can involve resitting exams and flight tests or additional training perhaps.

Very important never make large payments up front for any training.
Try and pay as you go. Pay for course work up front or in installments.
Try and pay for hour building/flight time as you are doing it.
This may not be possible with the big flight training organisations but they are more secure finanically.
There are countless lists of people that have been burnt when FTOs are shut down or suddenly go bust.

I know Jerez is one of the more established schools and has advantages of offering JAA licenses and still very flyable conditions.
Don't have any information on Port Alfred.

Hope these suggestions help, there is no one stop shop for all information but you do need to do your homework as it is a huge investment in time, effort and money.
Good luck.

FlutterinBantam

I know a guy who went to Port Alfred apparently thru Sigmar Aviation.

The y have a connection of sorts with Cityjet.

He apparently experienced no problems but other than that I cannot elaborate,other than it seems to be a well run operation.

View Profile

Like jmayo said, take a few lessons at your local airfield and get a feel for flying a light aircraft.

If you like it then go ahead and get a Class 1 Medical done in the Mater private.

If you pass this then take the aptitude tests required by most good flight schools and by airline cadetships.

Then you have to look at the cost. I hope to start at Jerez next year, its gone up to €102,000. Thats the minimum you will pay. Any repeat exams extra flight time you need will cost extra. Flight time on a twin is very expensive btw.
If you successfully complete the course you will then have an fATPL with 250 odd hours flight time.

Now the difficult part of getting a job with an airline. If they do take you on then you may have to spend €20,000 more on a type-rating.

You need to be sure its the career path for you cos its a huge commitment.

Again try pprune like jmayo said however theres a lot of bad information on this site so take everything with a pinch of salt.

In relation to the schools, Jerez is excellent. One of the best in Europe. Oxford and Cabair in the UK are also very good.

Ive heard mixed reports about Sigmar. I know Cityjet have some dealings with them but IMO in this day and age learning to fly jets by practising on grass runways is daft.

Anyway goodluck and godspeed!

Oilrig

Just curious, what are they charging per block hour on a twin with instruction?

View Profile

Im probably way off but I think its around the €500 mark.