ICON Aircraft’s Post

SAF Position report by Guy Leitch For many South African private pilots, flying is becoming too expensive for fun flying. The recreational flying industry has been steadily eroded by increases in the cost of living and Rand devaluation. And then there is my old favourite – the ‘buggeration’ factor – which is the difficulty of trying to get things done by obdurate CAA officials. Flying has a large proportion of dollar-based costs, specifically: fuel, maintenance and aircraft prices. It’s now only the very rich who can afford to burn holes in the sky with 210s or Barons. I cannot believe that I managed to hire and fly a Baron when I was a 30 year old middle manager. The reduction in private flying would have been catastrophic for the GA industry if it hadn’t been for the massive surge in demand for flying training from Africa and the Middle East. Part of the reason is that instructors and accommodation costs in South Africa have become cheap. There’s an old adage; ‘If you pay peanuts you get monkeys’. The problem of paying instructors peanuts continues to undermine flight instruction. Where are the professional flight instructors, such as Jim Davis, who made it their life’s mission to train pilots? They have almost all been made redundant by 200-hour comm pilots who are prepared to accept the proverbial peanuts for the sake of hour building. And so we continue to see fatal accidents by instructors who did not know better. The latest tragedy is that of a C172 reportedly doing stall turns at Joburg’s Baragwanath airfield. It stalled and spun in, killing the Tanzanian instructor and student. I had almost 1000 hours before I learned the dangers of stall turns. While vertical, the plane can easily flick onto its back into an inverted flat spin. The only way to stop 200 hour instructors doing this, is to have a rigorous system in place that monitors the flight and the instructors’ actions. The gliding community has affordable software that does this. Another solution is to put the fear of death into instructors and students. The SAAF did this with a particularly gory slideshow that showed the unsanitised remains of pilots who had reduced themselves to bits of raw meat. Commenting on the Baragwanath accident, Jim Davis asked, “Where did they learn to do that? What sort of example had their instructor set? And how does he sleep at night? And who had to tell their mummies and daddies, who had possibly hocked their life savings, that their pride and joy was now strawberry jam? And will the CAA even invite the CFI in for tea and biscuits?” If South African flying training is to continue to be world-class, it will have to improve its internal controls. https://lnkd.in/dvZxDSH3

Here’s a general breakdown of the typical flight hours needed at various stages of a pilot’s career. Keep in mind that these hours can vary depending on the country's aviation authority, airline requirements, and the type of aircraft flown: Student Pilot: 0–40 hours of flight training required before being able to solo and start working toward a private pilot license (PPL). Amateur Pilot: Typically refers to someone who flies for fun but hasn’t progressed to commercial or professional levels. After obtaining a PPL, an amateur pilot may have around 40–200 hours of flight experience. Private Pilot: Requires at least 40-70 hours of flight time to obtain a private pilot license (PPL), including both solo and dual instruction flights. First Officer (Co-Pilot): To be hired as a First Officer at an airline, pilots usually need a Commercial Pilot License (CPL), with around 1,500–3,000 hours of flight time, depending on the airline. Senior First Officer: Typically requires 3,000–5,000 hours of flight experience. Senior First Officers are more experienced co-pilots and may be on track for promotion to Captain. Captain: Most airlines require around 5,000–7,000 hours of total flight time to become a Captain. This includes time spent as a First Officer. Flight Captain: Similar to a Captain, but with more experience and seniority. Usually requires 7,000+ hours of flight time. Commercial Captain: Captains flying for commercial airlines generally need 5,000–10,000 hours of flight time, depending on the airline’s requirements and the complexity of the aircraft. Flight Instructor: To become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), a pilot typically needs a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and around 250 hours of flight time. Additional instructor ratings (e.g., CFII for instrument instruction) may require more flight hours. These timeframes can vary depending on training paths, aircraft types, and specific airline or regulatory authority requirements. The progression from a student pilot to an experienced captain or flight instructor involves a commitment to continual learning and flying experience.

AGGRAVATED SPIN TRAINING Modern flight training teaches pilots to avoid, recognise and recover from aerodynamic spins at the incipient stage, before the spin becomes fully developed. Indeed, spinning was removed from the PPL syllabus in the early 1980s as it was viewed as more harmful than good given the large number of training accidents. Aerobatic pilots still learn how to enter and recover from full spins, being both more likely (less unlikely) to spin and also being a specific competition figure once past the lower levels. Flying Instructors who deliver on-aircraft UPRT are also required to demonstrate their ability to recover from all types of spins, on the basis that a delegate may make inadvertent control inputs to put the aircraft into a fully developed spin. Indeed, the UPRT FI requirements in FCL.915(e) require that UPRT FIs must be capable of recovering from ALL types of aggravated spins - a requirement which is often largely ignored. Whilst it might be suggested that a sufficiently experienced and skilled FI should be capable of arresting the spin at the incipient stage, there is no doubt that being comfortable across all of the spin regimes is highly desirable. Ultimate High has a number of Unlimited rated pilots on the FI team who can teach these skills, but for this season's Spin Training Camp the Aerobatics Legend that is Tom Cassells was invited to Goodwood to spend a day talking, sharing and teaching all things spinning in the T67M260. It was an excellent day with one of the best Aerobatics instructors in the world. And it was great to see an experienced team of instructors with a voracious appetite to learn, improve and become safer pilots. However good you are, however experienced, however capable - there is always room to learn. Always. Thanks Tom - it was a great day, and the UH team took a lot home from today's session. #uprt #upsetpreventionrecoverytraining #flightsafety #flightsafetyschool #flightsafetyacademy #spintraining #spintrainingschool #ultimatehighgoodwood #skyboardaerobatics

How to Choose the Right ATP-CTP Program for You! Type rating courses play a crucial role in shaping the careers of budding aviators. To become a proficient pilot, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of these specialized training programs. In this blog post, the experts at Alliance Aviation will introduce the world of type rating courses, exploring the significance, benefits, and key features that make them an integral part of pilot training. ✈ 👨✈️ 👩✈️

Very interesting article from Pilots Who Ask Why about #EBT To #teach, to share & grants the necessary skills & knowledge and their proper employment is also an #art, on this case, the #ArtOfInstruction✨ #CoreCompetencies🩷✈️

How to Become a Multi-Engine Flight Instructor?

Are you interested in becoming an airline pilot? Read our guide on the cost of obtaining an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL): bit.ly/ATPLcost

Are you interested in becoming an airline pilot? Read our guide on the cost of obtaining an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL): bit.ly/ATPLcost

AFTA graduate and former flight instructor Andrew Mallon is back with his latest update on his journey to the VistaJet flight deck! In his latest blog Andrew discusses his experience of Line Training. Read more by clicking the link below!

Exploring The Different Career Paths Available To Pilots With ATP-CTP Training If you’re interested in becoming a pilot or are considering enrolling in a pilot training course like the Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP), you may be wondering about the different career paths that are available to you. The good news is that there are many options for pilots with ATP-CTP accreditations, and the demand for skilled pilots is growing. ✈ 👨✈️ 👩✈️