subject: The Challenges and Benefits For Pilot Training Abroad [print this page] The Challenges and Benefits For Pilot Training Abroad
In pilot training course there are challenges and benefits that one has to expect even if you training here in Kenya or abroad. We will tackle the pilot training in United States of America based on our title.
The Challenges for Pilot Training In United States of America.
(a)Cost of Airfare and Visa
The cost of the airfare return ticket will be approximately 4% of the cost of training which you have to budget on top of you're the fees. If you were to train in Kenya then you could have 14 hrs of flying for the amount of airfare paid. The process of visa processing is another headache, producing bank statements, letter from the flying school that you going to be admitted to.
(b) Cost of accommodation, Transport and Meals
You will have to change your style of living, eating and adopt to amulti-cultural one and even be forced to forge some of your tradition meals. Also getting used to sharing a two-bed roomed house with a stranger and from a different continent .If you never used to cook or wash utensils then you have to learn before you leave the country. The accommodation depends on an individual pocket and it also increases based on the market demand. The cheapest accommodation you can get for a two-bed roomed sharing is usd 350=00 at the moment without meals. It is recommended you get accommodation near to the school of a walking distance. You have also to change your eating habits and adapt to the habits of the people you will be living with. By getting an accommodation next to the school it will save you on transport.
( c) Cost of converting your license to Kenyan
After completing your pilot training course it is a must you convert your license to Kenyan by sitting for your ground exams and flight. You will be required to first study the Kenyan Air Law and also train to be familiarized with the Kenyan Airspace and procedures. These conversion will cost you and if you don't find a good school which has quality instructors for both ground and flight then you might end up spending more money or even a pardoning the career. The best way is to engage a consultant to get you a better flying school abroad and who will also organize for your conversion. Conversion of the license is a must even if you have Private Pilots License, Commercial Pilots License or full license there is no short cuts for those going to study abroad for the pilot course due to the fact that the Kenyan system is hard then they are day dreamers they will not escape. There are no short cuts in aviation you have to pass through all the required procedures unless you want to kill yourself then you go for short-cuts.When training a broad you need to also ensure you train on aircrafts that are available or being used for training in Kenya or otherwise you will spend more money on converting ,by doing technical type rating, form 64 and some hours on Multi-IR.
Benefits For Training In United States of America
( a) Enough resources and qualified instructors
In United States the fleet is more than the number of students and you can fly from morning until mid-night. Whenever you feel like flying this is when you have done your solo flying and you are now doing cross-country then you just pick the aircraft as long as you have informed your instructor and you have done a proper flight planning for the flight you are released to fly. When one aircraft breaks down you have a replacement or the spares are readily available not like in Kenya they have to order and then the spare part has to be shipped and this takes time. The ground instructors are trained mainly for the purpose of pilot training and follow the syllabus and curriculum and they have semesters. They attend the refresher courses and take safety courses with the manufacturer of the aircrafts they are training the student pilots on. The flight instructors are on full time and concentrate on training only. They are well motivated and this results into quality training and high performance by training students.
They attend safety and refreshers courses on all the aircrafts they are training on and this keeps them current and safe.
( b) The cost of training and duration.
The training period is shorter than when training in Kenya and it takes maximum 14 month for the whole course from Private Pilots License, Commercial Pilots License and Multi-IR training as weather is very good opposed to Kenya. The School Fees can be paid in stages and it is cheaper than training in Kenya as it can cost you only for training usd 46,000=00 and accommodation and meals usd 7,000=00,airfare and visas usd 2,500=00 total usd 55,500=00 for the entire course without conversion fees when you come back to Kenya. This is when you go through a consultant but direct you will pay usd 52,500=00 for the course without meals, accommodation, airfare and visa. But also note if the fuel or spare parts prices increase then the school fees will increase by 2.5% and it is unpredictable. It is advisable for those students who have money or who can get sponsors to do it a broad as it will take the shortest period.
Consultant are aviation experts who knows what it should cost you for any training you want to take,so they ensure you are not exploited. They will also make any dealing legal and ensure a proper audit is carried out on the school that they have chosen from you. There is a consultancy fee paid one off to the consultant.
Ultimately even with the challenges faced when training a broad it still remains cheap and quicker in terms of time spend and the costs.
