The fact is that great STICK and RUDDER SKILLS require the same basic training whether you learn to fly in Africa, Europe, the USA, South America, Asia, Australia, or anywhere else in the WORLD that may have missed a mention. And that is predominantly what this site is about.  The BASICS of flight. Followed by ADVANCED VFR.

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Created by a passionate South African Flight Instructor, this site is of intended value not only to student(spl), private(ppl), future commercial(cpl) or airline pilots(atpl), but also for light sport aircraft pilots(lsa) and three axis microlight pilots(mcc).  Skip ahead to the REQUIREMENTS to learn to fly.

 

All Countries offer a PPL, CPL and ATPL. The differences come in with the structure of the lower level licenses. The requirements for the different license types are very similar worldwide.

PPL - Private Pilot License
CPL - Commercial Pilot License
ATPL- Airline Transport Pilot License (also ATP)

 

In South Africa, Sport/Recreational flying, Glider, Balloon, etc. all fall under the NPL (National Pilot License).

For 3-axis (normal aeroplanes), these are further divided into two categories for powered flight: 

 

LSA - Light Sport Aircraft
MCC - Microlight Conventional Control

 

Then there are still Glider Pilots, Hot Air Balloon Pilots, Airship Pilots, Drone Pilots, and Helicopter Pilots!

The difference between getting a Private Pilot License and a Light Sport Aircraft license is weight. Not yours, the aircraft's!

With a Private Pilot License you can fly an aircraft up to 5.7 ton (5700kg) aircraft. (minimum flight training hours for initial PPL license = 45).

With an LSA, you can fly one up to 600kg; (minimum flight training hours for initial NPL Conventional Control license = 35).

MCC, 450kg.

 

This means you are very limited regarding aircraft, passenger (no more than 1), and/or luggage with LSA or MCC licenses, but unlike in some other countries, provided you are Transponder equipped, you can pretty much fly anywhere with this license below 20,000 ft. So your license choice depends on your purpose for flying.

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With a PPL, you can go up or down in weight category, and carry on to a CPL if you want your flying to become your career. 

 

A PPL license affords you more options.

If you already have your pilot license, this site is still for you. With reminders of things you might have forgotten, useful info for your license renewal, tips, tricks, and interesting articles that can help improve your skills and knowlege, and updates on the regular CAA and ICAO changes in a friendly, easily digestible format.

South Africa with its plentiful sunshine and stunning landscapes is the country of choice for local and international flying students. We are blessed with year round excellent flying conditions and high standards of training within our wide choice of approved flight schools around the country.

South Africa is an exciting destination for hour building and flying adventures.

If you have a Pilot License that is not South African, you can do a Foreign License Validation. This allows you to fly a South African registered aircraft for 5 years; as long as your initial license remains valid. We recommend you get a head start with your Validation, so you can maximise your holiday time.