How to Become an Airline Pilot in South Africa

The Civil Aviation Authority sets airline pilot licensing standards

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sets airline pilot training standards for the country. To become an airline pilot, you must attend a commercial pilot flight training program to obtain a license.

Instructions

1. Determine where to do your training. You can train at any CAA accredited school that offers commercial pilot licensing. These schools are scattered throughout the country. The CAA website has a list of schools that it endorses.

2. Register for a pilot training program at the school of your choosing. Although you can start certain aspects of your training at age 16, you cannot fly solo until you are 17. As solo flying is required in commercial pilot training, you may wish to wait until you are 17 to begin. According to the flight school Loutzavia, maintaining your required flying hours while you are waiting to turn 17 to take your solo flight could become expensive and leave you paying for more flight hours than is required to obtain a license.

3. Complete commercial pilot training. During training, you will first earn a private pilot license (PPL) and then complete a series of other flight training courses, including night flying, solo flying, flight simulator training and flight instrument training. If you want to fly multiple engine planes as a commercial pilot, you will also complete multiple engine training. At each stage in the process, you will be tested and licensed in that area after passing the exam. In total, to achieve a commercial pilot license, you will fly for 200 hours. Of those 200 hours, you must be the pilot in command for 100 of them, and 10 of those hours must be night flying. You also will complete 40 hours of flight instrument training, with no more than 20 of those hours being on a simulator.

4. Obtain a Class I medical certificate. These certificates are granted by DAMEs -- Designated Aviation Medical Examiners -- who are CAA approved. Your flight school will help you find a DAME in your area. Certification guidelines are not published, but your blood pressure, vision, hearing, heart function and lung function all will be tested.

5. Apply for a job. Armed with your commercial aviation license, you can apply for positions with any airline in South Africa. Keep in mind that the airline may have additional regulations or may require additional training. Airline websites are a good place to find job openings.

Tips & Warnings

• Most flight training schools are self-paced, so the amount of time it takes you to earn your license depends on how quickly you pick up the material and how much time you can devote to the course.

References

• Loutzavia: Flight Training FAQs
• Pretoria Flying School: Courses
• CAA

Resources

• CAA: Aviation Training Organizations