Bush pilot in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa

Good bye Malév

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:17:30 PST

Waking up this morning and seeing that Malev (the Hungarian Airlines) went down was saddening. A piece (or maybe The Piece) of Hungarian aviation history disappeared.

Ju52 at Budaörs airfield in the 30's

Maszovlet Li-2 (Soviet copy of the DC3) at the beginning of the 50's.
Later MASZOVLET became Magyar Légiforgalmi Társaság (Hungarian Airlines)

A Malév Li-2 at Ferihegyi Airport

Malév Il-18,
with the most beautyful paint scheme that the airline carried

Tu134

A MALÉV TU-154 in the mid 70's at Ferihegyi Airport (now Liszt Ferenc International)

Low passing Boeing 737 in front of the Hungarian parliament
on one of the 20th of August parades

Fokker at Debrecen Airport, 2006

Q400 low pass at Ferihegyi Airport. For Malév's 65th birthday
a couple of airplanes were painted according to the scheme used in the 60's

Good bye Malév!

Last radio call

Low timer pilots handbook to bush flying?

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:59:21 PST

I was wondering if any of you would be interested in an e-book that has all the information about the where's, how's and what's of the job hunt in Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania (and also some other information I have). This e-book would cover everything you need know about the countries, visas, accomodation, types, licenses and procedures. As well as lots of tips and tricks, to help you make the decision of jumping on a plane for that big adventure and save you some headaches once on site.

Although all this information is here on the blog during all these years it got deeper and deeper. This planned book would always be at hand.

Please leave a comment. If there is a need for such a "manual" then I would compile it.

I thought it would sell somewhere between 5 to 10$.

Update on the Gabon job

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:40:16 PST

Got updated by Ruth that the Wildlife Conservation Fund Cessna 182 pilot job (See here) in Gabon has been filled. So do not send any more CV's.
Nice flights and happy landings to the pilot.

Next step

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:25:35 PST

Am back home and this is where I spend my days in preparation for the next challenge.

Happy New Year to all of you and just never give up on your dreams!

Ek bring hulde aan u Swakopmund vlieëniers

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:51:31 PST

Pilot job opportunity in Libreville, Gabon

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:41:38 PST

There is a fabulous pilot job opening suited even for low timers in Gabon. The Wildlife Conservation Society is looking for a pilot. Here comes the job description and contacts where you can send your CV's:

They are looking to recruit a pilot for their Cessna 182 in Gabon.
Job basically is: managing the WCS plane (organising maintainence etc); undertake surviellence flights over the national parks and their boundaries (for example checking out logging road locations; mining; camps; plus coastal for trawler locations); wildlife surveys (whales, turtle nests, elephants in the savannahs etc).

Photo: Andreas Stoeckl, Airliners.net

They'd like a pilot with at least 400 hours; PPL ok; preferable with US FAA licence; experience with forest conditions.
Hopefully interviewing the week of the 28th Nov. Starting ASAP!
UPDATE: the job has been taken, do not send more CV's.

Good luck to you all!

Lettre d'un ami

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:01:07 PST

Just got this mail from my ol' friend who's back in Europe and it really cought the spirit of things and he agreed to publish it, here it is (merci mon ami!)
Hey ma Bru...

I read these are your last days enjoying a lekker coffee at the museum, chilling at the sea side in Swakop paradise!!

It is 5 months since i'm gone now and I still haven't recovered yet...
This wicked Namlife is once in a lifetime and my mind is still wondering if it was true or unreal...

Fly by some elephant, landing on a sand strip and overflying place nobody would ever go...

I'm haunted by the spirit of Africa as the land of the brave, the place where people are alive and stressfree. Tears come up when I think of the great people I have met and the times we had, carefree in a marvelous land...

But well... I'm out. You're going to be out. And I guess, life goes on and on!
See you again amigo, keep it real for me and tell all the new crews how wonderful life is when you've got to live the unbelievable!

Best Aviation Site Award

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:31:57 PDT

Out of nothing I just got an email saying that my site/blog was nominated for the Best Aviation Site Award and I've won. Because "you are continuing to help the "Aviation" community and that your site offers great content and provides a wonderful user experience…" Well, what do you know. So from now on you will see the logo on top of the right column.
Thanks guys!

One thousand hours

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:34:54 PDT

09.08.2011, a landing at Solitaire strip (FYSO) marked the first big milestone. I got my 1000th hour.

Frank of Delta Air in Maun, Jazz the new guy at Bush Bird
and Shady the gymnastics coach of the Namibian Olympics team
with a nice shishaa

Most of it flying in and out of the bush and over the dunes of the big Namib and the endless plains of the savanna.
A year ago I just started flying here (and well just started flying at all), and the more I flew the more there was to learn.

Himba boys

FLY FOR FUN

Rossing mountain in fog

Swakop river flowing

My man Theo cleaning da plane

Rain and bow over the dunes

Summer over the desert

FLY baby

Something is building

Resting in the shade

Colors of Ugab

My Cuban wingman

Walvis saltworks with the Kuiseb flowing into the Atlantic

Spitzkoppe

Henties Bay reflections

Underwater over the savanna

Green dunes

I still think that this is the best school for a fresh pilot. A couple of hundred hours flown over and into these remote areas will improve not just your flying skills (flying the lovely 210 to her limits safely), but your airmanship as well, and will definitely improve your situational awereness (crowded uncontrolled airspaces can get tricky), and lots more. Not to mention the feeling of belonging to the Brotherhood, where no matter where you come from, no matter what you did before, no matter how old you are (I know, I know I've had a bit too much of The Right Stuff book). The only thing that matters is whether in the air you know your job and if you're willing to have some chatting after hours at one of the cultural institutions like the Skydivers at the airport or the Kückis or else. I got my biggest compliment when local lots-of-thousand-hours pilots said that they are unhappy because they know that I will soon leave Swakopmund. A compliment that one rarely gets from these old aviators.

End of a nice flight

Swakopmund is still the best kept secret in aviation. I mean low time job wise. Flocks of fresh pilots show up every year in Maun, Windhoek, Dar es Salaam, but just very few make it to Swakopmund. It is true that there are not too many companies here, and decisions are mostly taken in Windhoek, or some companies want to hire only locals or SA pilots. But if one makes it here and gets a job then will probably get a lifestyle that no other African bush flying job can offer. Amazing flying from the desert to the savannah and mountainous areas. From this small Africa-for-dummies town, Jewel of the Atlantic Coast.
With complicated weather and thrilling winds.

Skydivers night

Love every moment of flying and living here, and a big thank you goes to the owners of Bush Bird Adventure Flights on running a company with the most flight hours in Swakop and thus making this 1000+ hours possible!

Welcome to wherever you are

Enjoy the pictures as much I enjoyed taking them.

Smooth

Namibian runways and bush strips

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:09:41 PDT

This is not a comprehensive directory, it just has some toughts and pictures about landing in the bush strips in general.

On final at Wolwedans (FYWD - S25° 6'50.95" E15°59'42.83"),
the strip here is about 7 meters wide

When flying into these strips it is wise to make a runway inspection. This should be low enough so that you are able to check for runway condition (grass, bigger stones, holes and whatever else might be).

Landing at the Sossusvlei Lodge
(FYSL - S24°29'23.71" E15°48'55.40")

Some of these airfields also have windsocks, but in case that there is none you will need to make a plan on determining the wind. And least but not last it is a good idea to check for game on or around the landing strip. And keep an eye on them even during the final approach.

Geluk-Kulala (FYGK - S24°40'25.26" E15°47'50.68")

Approach and landing should be at the lowest speed and in the shortest space. Touching down as near the threshold as possible is a good idea (except when the grass is the longest in that area). And if you selected a low approach speed you will be able to spare the brakes even in case of slightly short runways. But always prepare yourself for a go-around (game ain't aware of you coming in).

Sossus Mountain Lodge (FYSL - S24°47'50.34" E15°53'35.46"),
easy to recognize from that little black mountain

Fortunately majority of bush strips in Namibia are quite long, but with summer temperatures of 35+ Celsius and mostly high elevations combined with sometimes close to maximum takeoff weights you can easily have a takeoff run taking seemingly forever.

The apron at Opuwo (FYOP - S18° 3'36.58" E13°51'3.39"),
where airplanes are preferred sunshades

Rostock Ritz (FYRZ - S23°33'35.30" E15°50'26.96"),
it has quite a big trough

And finally on Swakopmund. Earlier it had a runway with paved surface and was nicely alligned (RWY 06/24) with the prevailing winds that are usually 220-240 untill it got completely useless. So now we have a nice gravel runway where some bushes were removed and the surface a was a bit smoothed. And it is almost perpendicular (17/35) to the old one, so in most cases we have quite nice crosswinds.

Swakopmund final 17

Swakopmund final 35

Giraffe vs C172

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:49:27 PDT

What happens when a Cessna 172 hits a giraffe?
I had lots of friends asking me about the incident that was eternalized on this picture that became quite famous on the internet.

The story behind the picture: Tico McNutt a researcher for African Wild Dogs collided with a giraffe at Santawani airstrip in Botswana close to Maun, in the Okavango Delta, in his Cessna 172 with registration V5-ETS. From the position of the flap on the left wing I'd presume it happened on landing. The pilot fortunately sustained minor injuries. The aircraft and the giraffe were not that lucky. The poor giraffe died. And as you can see from the picture that was on Airliners.net (but unfortuntely is not there anymore) the 172 was damaged beyond repair.

But the story does not end here. From the picture some have misread the registration number as V5-EYS (no surprise seeing the creased fuselage). This is true even for FlightAware flight tracking portal. And a James Dean like cursed Porsche story started to unveil. The rumour goes that the registration was reassigned to a PIPER PA28. The plane was owned by a Swakopmund doctor and I saw it a couple of times on the apron. This airplane crash-landed last year here in Namibia on a gravel airstrip at the Urusis farm in the Maltahöhe district just after take-off. Fortunately nobody was hurt in this incident. But there is no cursed registration in the game.

On the 2000 hours rule

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 07 May 2011 15:53:14 PDT

A few weeks ago I stated on PPRuNe, that in Namibia low hours job wise things are back to normal. This was a reply on couple of questions about the new rule that was introduced around the beginning of this year asking for 2000 TT from any foreign pilot wanting to validate or convert their licenses in Namibia. And this is also true on the work visas and permits. Which would have meant that most companies here would have been in trouble as there are not too many people with this amount of hours who would come here to fly the 210's.

Flooded apron at Swakopmund Airfield

I had a chat about this with someone who has more insight on the problem and he said that it is not completely true that things are back to normal despite pilots getting their work visas again.

Green desert North of Sossusvlei Lodge

The new procedure is that any under 2000 hours pilot who is hired by a company needs to send their papers first to the DCA. There a DCA guy needs to sign a paper stating they do propose or do not propose the applicant. Then this paper goes to the Ministry of Works, where it is reviewed and eventually signed by the under secretary - the reason is that apparently there are too many Namibian pilots who are unemployed. If he accepts the decision of the DCA the papers will go back to the DCA signed. And only after this can the papers go to the Home Affairs with the visa applications.

The Lost City of Mermaids

So there is one more step introdued in the system. I do not know exactly how many people got their visas, but I see the newly hired Wings Over Africa pilots flying. The New Zealanders arrived here around December-January, and they all had around 250 hours.

Walvis Bay harbour and lagoon

So when you are planning to come here on a job hunt you might need to take into consideration this new situation. Which might mean longer time to get online once you are hired.

In flight

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:19:33 PDT

A couple of pictures of the gorgeous 210's performing the daily routines over sand and sea in the Namibian skies.

A trip to Windhoek Eros

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:30:28 PST

Magnificent view of the Rossing mountain sticking out of the fog just couple of minutes after departing Swakopmund.

An olive plantation at one of the oasises along the Swakop river

Green humps

Closing in to Windhoek and Eros airport the green is penetrated by the huge rocky mountains

Last minute checks on FLY after being resprayed, at least this is what I tought. But ended up spending a night in Windhoek until the alternator (actually the regulator) got fixed.

FLY's gorgeous new Continental

Nice feature on FLY: speed brakes. Here a paint shop worker is cleaning the surfaces of the brakes.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 07:11:56 PST

Low season and Cpt. Somatiko gone

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:06:02 PST

After the immense flying of the last couple of months (70+ hours in average) December brought the low season. But the nice weather - well, sometimes -, and the family really makes me forget about not flying every day. And grabbing a few hours every two-three days is a good way to stay in shape...
Swakopmund is filling up with people and the little sleepiness that characterizes the town most of the year is gone. Summer is here and the café's are full of tourists. The preparations for Christmas has started as well. Funny if you are used to have cold and snow this season.

In the meantime, my good friend Cpt. Somatiko has left the Bush Birds. Here's his last visit to the airport. Posing with Andreas our hangar boy and FUN. Take care my friend!

And a couple of shots I took the last weeks.

The fogline a couple of miles from the shore

V5-FBJ surfing the waves

V5-MMW enroute to the Diamond Camps

Operation "Desert Storm"

Burning sky: sunset over Swakopmund

V5-MMW: the patchwork plane

V5-FLY: note the GoPro cam on the vertical fin

The FLY with Cpt. Schnitzeli closing in

Movember

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:33:08 PST

November has ended and our big Movember has ended as well. What is this all about? Long live Magnum PI!
www.movember.com puts it this way: The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The guys behind it joked about 80's fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research… never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject – their health.

Tough with Cpt. Schnitzeli

And well, not only my mo grew but the flown hours as well. Logged 74.2 or so...

You would think there's always CAVOK over the desert... Well yeah, except when there's nice thunderstorms. This one rampageing over the Kuiseb Canyon. And we can finally see some water in the river.

Cpt. Cubano at the Long Wall

There's a Bushkaptain flying somewhere over the extraterestrial landscape

Dirty belly

Me over nothing

Rostock Ritz International

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:46:28 PDT

There are some nice strips here. One of them is Rostock Ritz International. Quite a name for a bush strip that is like a rollercoaster.

We had all three airplanes fly there and pick up some guests. I was warned that the runway is quite wavy, but still managed to put the gears down on top of one of the bumps and then had the ground running out from under me.

Had to keep the nose up, and apply a bit of power so I have good flow over the elevator and the nose doesn't fall down.

There are two things you can do if you bump a 210: go around (this is what instructors will tell you), so you don't end up bouncing the runway like a dolphin and eventually hitting too hard with the nosewheel and bend it back... The other trick is to apply some power and have proper flow around the elevator even at low speeds.

Thus you can keep the nose up, and gently touch down. Although this isn't the way you should start in case of a short runway. Floating above it with less and less distance...

Takeoffs are also tricky sometimes. Elevation of these strips are around 2500-3000 feet. With temperatures of 35 degrees. You quickly get density altitudes of 5500 feet or more. But Windhoek beats everything around here I guess.

Captain Somatiko took one of our airplanes to Windhoek Eros (FYWE) for MPI. The elevation of the runway there is 5500 feet. When he was taking off to come back there was 35 degrees and this makes a density altitude of slightly less then 9000 feet. When he applied full power the manifold pressure was 22 inches instead of 28. Nice. Good that he was alone in the airplane and the runway is quite long. But even a powerhouse like the 210 can run out of horses under these conditions.

In the bush no landing and no takoff is a routine. Runways are either short or narrow, sometimes both, winds can be quite strong and temperatures high. And you can always randezvous with some game.

The SossusFly

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:47:57 PDT

Long time no see...
I always have an excuse not updating the blog, and now it is my family.
Finally the girls arrived. Even if their entry into Namibia wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Freakin bureaucrats... But well, they are here and that is what matters. And I've been spending all my free time with them.
Flyin' and family, things couldn't be better.

But here I am again.

East abeam WBV

And as my Hungarian readers asked me to write and post some pictures on the routes I fly this post is going to be dedicated to the SossusFly scenic that we use to fly quite often. A roundtrip that you cannot be tired of. An amazing scenic flight over world's highest dunes in the Namib Sossusvlei area, the Kuiseb Canyon and the Diamond Area as well as some shipwrecks along the Atlantic coast. And here are a couple of pictures as well.

Kuiseb river, a natural border between the sand and the stone desert

The SossusFly is a 600 and something kilometres long flight. Usually two hours and a couple of minutes.
It first takes you over the stone desert to the South, past Walvis Bay towards the Kuiseb River dry river, which we usually meet at the Swartbankberg.

Swartbankberg

The Kuiseb is a border between the sand and the stone desert. Passing the Gobabeb Desert Research Station and some topnaar bushman villages we get to the canyon of the Kuiseb river. A really wild and fantastic formation.

Topnaar bushman setlement along the Kuiseb

After flying for a while on both sides of the canyon we get to the Zebra pan, where we can spot some animals (zebras, ostriches, oryx...) we take a Southerly heading and enter the wast sand desert, the Big Namib towards the Sossusvlei area.

Tsondabvlei

Passing the Tsondab dry river and vlei there are petrified dunes, proof of the prehistoric age of this desert. The changing dune world warns us that we're soon at the Sossusvlei area, flying towards the Tsauchab dry river valley.

Dune 45

The valley is the so called Dune Corridor. With the worlds highest dunes on both sides. These dunes can reach up to 400 meters. And because of having winds from different directions the dunes here are more sided. The star dunes. Most famous of them being the Dune 45. Over this dune we turn West and follow the valley, passing quite a few vlei's (clay pans). Here's an other very famous vlei, the Deadvlei, with quite a few dead and soaked acacia trees. Right after passing the Deadvlei we are at the end of the valley, where the Tsauchab river dissapears under the sand dunes. This is the actual Sossusvlei.

Again we have a longer trip over the almost endless sand. Depending on the temperatures the desert is playing a colourful palette. From greyish magnetite to reddish iron oxide. And we are approaching the coast and the Diamond Areas. There are three more camps here, abandoned. Skeletons from the past.

Diamond camp No. 2

Leaving the camps we fly to the coast to pass by the famous Edward Bohlen shipwreck. A one hundred meter long cargo ship that ran to ground in 1909. Also proof of how quickly the desert claims the ocean. The shipwreck today is couple of hundred meters from the coast. As the sand moves into the Atlantic 30 centimeters a year.
Along the coast there are lots of seal colonies and a the beautiful contrast of the desert dissapearing right in the ocean is breathtaking.
Speeding North along the coast we pass the Shaunee shipwreck. And the Langwand (Long Wall), where the sand falls steeply into the water.

Langewand with a fog stripe

Sandwich harbour is our next destination. A huge bird sanctuary with enormous flocks of flamingos, cormorans, pelicans.

Salt works at Walvis Bay

And we are back at the Kuiseb river. More exactly the Delta of the Kuiseb river. With the Walvis Bay salt pans on the Northern side.

Walvis Bay harbour and V5-FLY

In a couple of minutes we are West abeam Swakopmund. A quick glance on the Jetty, the Lighthouse, gears down... and we are on right base 17.

A Pleasure Flights 210 on my tail

On Namibian stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:40:53 PDT

As I promised here's what awaits you if you get hired by a Namibian company.
First of all you will need to validate your license. This is not a great deal. You will need to take two exams. A Namibian Air Law and a Radiotelephony. For Air Law there is a small leaflet, you read it once and you will easily pass the test. Mainly ICAO stuff.

Geluk (FYGK) pick up day

The Radiotelephony is dependant on where you do it. If you have the possibility to chose go for the exam with Pierre, a pilot and ATC in Walvis Bay. He has a written exam on TIBA and other freqvencies as well as radio failure procedures. Then he will brief you on the Namibian airspace specifications. One of them being the "talk-talk-talk". There is no radar yet for the airspace here. So no transponder codes are given to airplanes. So you need to make your reports regularly. And as you start flying you will see how important the "talk-talk-talk" rule is. Flying on a busy Sossusvlei scenic day with ten other planes around you is quite fun...

Over the big Namib

If you are done with that the DCA will sooner or later issue you a Student Pilot License, so you can start doing your C210 type rating. Which for some might sound crazy, but that's how it is these places. Type rating for every airplane you fly (be it a 152...). But this will mean just a couple of hours flying on type with an instructor.

Walvis Bay harbor

For your license validation you will also need to have a license verification. This means that the namibian DCA sends a request to your home DCA asking them if your license is genuine or you just bought it on the flea market. If you have any contacts to your DCA let the Namibians know about it as in the majority of cases their database is outdated and they are sending requests to non existing addresses. Also you may try to ask for a verification yourself.
In the meantime your company will send a couple of papers to the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting a work visa or work permit.

Little airplane in the canyon

During this procedure - depending on company - you start your line training. You will be put in the right seat anytime there is a free one. I managed to do around 40 hours right hand.
One day your work visa arrives and if you are lucky enough your license validation will also be there. And you start flying left hand seat with one of the company's senior pilots. Then one day you get signed off and start flying on your own.
There might seem to be lots of waiting, lots of fighting, but the rewards are high! You are finally flying...

Pics and pax

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:42:27 PDT

Having crappy internet and being focused to get online prevented me from updating this blog regularly, but now that I'm online I will start being more regularly here. For a start here's a couple of "commercial flying" pictures (some made by me, some by Tobi).

On the beach

Entering Kuiseb canyon

Tsondabvlei

One of my first passenger groups

My next entry will be on Namibian license validation and work visa process. Till then flying low...

Online

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:41:58 PDT

The fleet: FLY FOR FUN

Had a pretty long road to here but finally made it. Papers sorted out. Did lots of hours right hand seat and after getting my license validation I had quite a few left hand seat flights (let's say PICUS) when finally the company and my colleagues decided that the time has come for me to go online.

Backtracking my first bush strip: Namib Naukluft Lodge

I was lucky enough to have all my papers done and sorted by the company. I only had to sign them and the rest was taken care of. Well, except the mandatory radiotelephony and air law exam. But those are really just a formality here in Namibia. Check them quickly and forget about them.

Am landing RWY17: great shadow (photo by Kike)

The next step is much harder. Flying. You'd think we have fantastic allover sunny days here in Swakopmund... Well, nope. This is the Skeleton Coast. Fog comes and goes unpredictable. You take off on a bright afternoon, when you can see the Brazilian coast on the other side of the Atlantic, for a standard Sossus (will have my next entry on this one) and when you come back two hours later visibility is just above a mile with a 500 feet base (oh, not AGL!). SVFR... Swakopmund VFR.

A view towards Sossusvlei and Tschauhab river valley (Dune Corridor)

This could be the end of the world

Great flying

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:24:44 PDT

With all the paperwork done and tests passed I'm just waiting for the Namibian DCA to issue my validation and then go online as soon as possible and as soon as Andy gives me the go.
The season is picking up, there are more and more flights so the pilots get to fly more and more.
Bush Birds are busy. And fortunately there is lots of "line training" flights for me as well.

One of the nicest trips we do is flying to Opuwo for a Himba excursion. I did it two times last week. A visit to a Himba village is really great experience. On both flights we had to take off from Arandis, a nearby town, where the fog does not reach in the morning. The flights is over fantastically varying terrain. From the stone desert surrounding Swakopmund area to the savanna. There are huge prehistorical remnants of volcanoes, flat topped mountains, craters and canyons on the way.

Table mountains

Opuwo is the gate to Himba "country". The trips are organised by the Opuvo Country Lodge, a luxurious resort on the hilltop above the town. Looking northwest on the valley where the Himba villages are. I'll let you the pictures show you the tale a bit and in the future I will focus again on the flying side of things.

The Brandberg

Opuwo County Lodge

Opuwo Airport apron and a couple of local souvenir sellers

The famous Himba hairstyle and kids in front of a traditional hut

Flying in Botswana and Namibia

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:20:54 PDT

As I promised this entry will be a quick answer on the questions I get. So here we go:

Do I have to go back to my country waiting for their call, or I need to stay over there for days, weeks, months... waiting to get hired?

Botswana: Well, don't expect an interview like you would anywhere else. Companies don't really do interviews. Except Sefo a formal one. They will just hire you from one day to the other. So yes, you need to stay there. When they need people is usually for yesterday, so they will not call you from wherever. They will pick the next available guy on site. Companies there also like to see if you can stick to the place. Maun is a really "boring" little town (no offense guys). There's not much to do. So companies will hire you only after one or two months, so they know you're not going to run home after a week. But what I can tell you is that from all those guys I was with in Maun this everybody got hired who sticked for 3 months.
Namibia: the same applies here. The only company that will hire you through phone and skype is the one I work for. But then I was hired because I spent a month here got to know the pilots, made lots of friends. And when they had a vacancy they told the boss they want to fly with me. Any other company works as in case of Maun.

In case I need to wait over there, how much money I need to carry with me?
Botswana: in Maun the cheapest place to stay is Audi Camp (it is worth checking their site for What to expect and What to bring). Is around 2 euros a night (but you need to bring your tent, matress, sleeping bag). You need to tell you are a pilot. Beer is 1 euro a bottle. Transportation from Audi camp to the airport is 50 cents. You might calculate with this. I'd say 500+ euros a month. Other place to stay is the Old Bridge Backpackers, around 5-6 Euros a night. It is a very nice place just on the shores of Thamalakane river. With great bar and lots of visiting pigeon sized bats after sunset. Namibia: is a bit more expensive. Cheapest accomodation in Swakopmund is Villa Wiese, pilot rate is 85 Namibian dollars (if you can get it), 8.5 euro per night, in a dorm, but with breakfast and wireless internet included. In Windhoek dorms, like the The Cardboard Box or Chameleon Backpackers are 100 namibian dollars per night(10 euro).

What can you tell me about malaria? Is it a real problem?

It is not an issue. I don't know anybody in Maun infected by malaria. In Namibia it is the same. So forget about it. Worst case you will have to deal it after you got infected (usually you get Coartem), as you cannot fly on anti-malaria drugs. But I suggest you bring lots of insect repellents to Maun as there are swarms of biting bugs in the night.

Let's assume I'll be hired. May I go back to Europe for a few days to renew my CAA licences whenever I need?

You will have your leave. As far as I know is at least 20 days, but some companies will give you a month leave. Although there are seasons, mainly the high season, when you will not be able to leave.

Do I have to spend lots of money for any kind of conversion, medical,and all the crazy paper works, once get hired?

Majority of companies are willing to bond, so I did not spend money on these here. Some of my friends liked to pay for themselves. The paperwork is mainly sorted out by the company, or they are helping you in sorting it out.

What documents do I need to carry with me?

All your pilot papers (license, logbook, any certificates you got from your flight training organization), an accident and incident report from you DCA, birth certificate (with english or having an english translation), police clearence from your countries police, a bunch of passport photos (let's say 10). But, I was never asked for any of them here in Namibia. The DCA wasn't even curious enough to ask for my logbook. In Botswana you might need all, of these papers.

As I understand I have to camp there in Audi Camp what type of clothes and tent do I need to carry?

You do not need to stay at Audi camp, but that is where the majority of guys are staying and as i mentioned above it is really cheap. Any tent will do if it is water tight. Lots of rain there in December, January, February. And there will be very-very hot. You will need an inflatable matress as well. Clothes for a hot summer. It is really hot even in the nights.

Do the companies do any interview? If any what type of questions do they ask? (I mean only related to flying or do they take psychometric test and all also).

Do not really think of these as interviews. Majority of companies do just a formal interview, not even aviation related. They will mainly be interested in your personality. It is only Sefofane who has some kind of a test before hiring, but even if you just write crap they will hire you if they like you (I know of a guy hired this way).
As I mentioned nothing too special, if there is any at all. Sefofane has interviews in Maun, they have a written technical and a psychometric (I posted this a couple of times here, but Sefofane has a good document on their recruitment procedure, download the PDF here). On the interview they will only ask questions that you had on the written exam.In Namibia most companies have interviews but nothing special. Mainly interested in your personality. The trickiest part is the psychometrics that some companies have here. Couple of guys failed them this year.

And what do the companies look in a person apart from flying to hire them?

They like you to fit in their team. Party with the guys, stuff like that. Just give yourself and it will work out. Maun is a pretty isolated place on earth, so they want to see that you will be able and willing to stay there for a year or so. This is more important that your flying skills. You'll anyway do 50 hours right and 50 hours left seat flying, so I might say, they will kindda teach you to fly again! The same applies for the majority of companies here in Namibia as well, except maybe the amount of training hours vary.

There is a lot's more info on these in my first entries from 2008 as well.

My opinion is to not think too long, decide and then give it a go! I spent 2 months in Maun and never got a job there as the hiring season was over, I've been a month in Swakopmund and the hirings did not start. But made friends and after I went home to Hungary I got the call and ended up flying in Namibia.

Tropic of Capricorn

noreply@blogger.com (Paszka Csanad) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:05:00 PDT

It is a long time since I've posted here, but my excuse is that I was busy flying the routes from right seat (had more then 30 hours this month) and taking some instruction in the 210, and then taking the practical exam.

Witwater apron, but the runway doesn't look much better

The training flights were with Ingrid, a new intructor at Bataleur's Flight school. She's pretty relaxed and will not put you under pressure. But then she has a pretty decent past flying everything from small to big.
The exam was flown with Jacques, a local DCA examiner. Just some aerial work: turns left-right, stalls in different configuration, powerless landings and a couple of full load takoffs and landings. So I had my first passangers: the ramp guys at Swakopmund airfield.

Swakopmund

The funny thing in it is that I do this with a Namibian Student Pilot License.
And now the company training is still on. Till I do not get my validation papers I can only fly right hand seats. But am flying the routes and practice the radio work. I enjoy these with my training captain Somatiko.
Coming from Europe I'm used to full radar coverage, so once given a squawk we just fly around like flies, and don't really report except if we're asked by the ATIS. Here it is different, there is no radar coverage, so you must continuously transmit your position and your intentions. Wich is not a bad thing considering you have twenty airplanes flying the same route, with some of them coming up ahead. Own separation. And it works very good.
Except maybe if you are a newbie and doing your practice patterns at Swakopmund airfield in the afternoon and suddenly you have ten airplanes coming back from a Sossusvlei scenic and every pilot has other intentions. I was doing some full load checkflights when this happened. I was on left pattern RWY 17. And then some guys coming home were starting to use RWY 35. It was an interesting experience that would never happen back home.

FNG's at Kücki's: Nik of the skydivers. Stephan and Kike for Scenic

Lot's of new guys arrived as well. Most importantly my job hunting friend with whom I arrived here in March, Kike, went online with Scenic.

Sunday sports

Things really picked up paperwork wise as well. In the meantime my work visa arrived. So at the moment the only thing I need is a License Verification sent to the Namibian DCA by the Hungarian DCA. Bush Bird is fully booked for the next month, so I hope I will be online by then.
Although Swakopmund is not even one degree away from the Tropic of Capricorn which marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon (here this is in December), it is pretty cold nowadays. Morning fogs, mist is very common. Mainly couple of miles inland and along the shore. This is due the cold Benguela Current. This creates the desert conditions at the shores of Namibia, and the persistent fogs that we now in Swakopmund at the Skeleton Coast and Namib Desert. Which led to lots of ships running aground. Like the Eduard Bohlen close to Conception Bay, one of the biggest now on the shores of Namibia. The ship was a 2,272 gross ton cargo ship with a length of around 100 meters.
Some days it doesn't even clear up during the day. Meaning that when coming back from a flight sometimes we need to use the railway approach RWY 35. But will write you about this later.

The Eduard Bohlen ran aground off the coast of Namibia's Skeleton Coast in 1909, in a thick fog.

My next post will be very soon, as I've got a couple of messages with common questions, and instead of answering them separately will post the FAQ's with the answers here.