There is a growing number of young Nigerians interested in a pilot career.

Unfortunately, not every one has access to the necessary information that will equip him/her to know where to start from.

This forum is inteded to be a meeting point for Pilots, aspiring Pilots and other aviation workers that will make a difference in the future of Aviation in nigeria.

visit this thread

How To Become A Pilot?

Hello @Poster

Are you a Pilot ? if not in what area of aviation are you.

I am an aviation enthusiast and a prospective student pilot

Nope! I'm not yet a pilot but I am very passionate about flying choppers for a coy like Aero in the Oil fields.

I have done quite an amount of studies on my own and I plan to get my self a PPL or CPL probably from SA or NCAT Zaria.

You have Operators like Bristow, Aero and Virgin that sponsor people for training especially when u already have a private or commercial License.

What about you?

@Mustay
Thanks for that link. Enough info on the subject.

@wham

That ia what I intend doing my self, to get a PPL and then check out for sponsors.

like Arik, Virgin.

Virgin Nigeria Just sent some 8 young guy like me to the US for flight training.

I heard they had invited some folks to do aptitude tests and interviews at about the same time Bristow Helicopters were conducting theirs earlier this year.

The Bristow Advert is out again. They are seeking for young guys to train for choppers.

Those 8 guys, did they have their PPLs or CPLs? or were they without licenses when they applied?

See JUNEI2 GUARDIAN, PAGE 50 for Bristow helicopters Advert seeking for interested applicants

wham,
what's ur mobile?

You could mail me on whamatix@yahoo.com and well hook up from ther pilot77

@Pilot77

You are either in the chopper line OR you are gearing up to be there.

Are u an Aeronautical engineer?

well when i get ur number,we'll talk.

or betterstill,i'll add you to my yahoo msgr list when i get home at about 9pm.is that ok by u?

Okay then. I didnt want to paste it here publicly thats why I droped my email. I'm still online so u can send me an email (You can drop ur mobile there too).

Or u can add me to ur messenger when u get home. but I'll be offline then. Why not send it now. U can add me to ur messenger now

I'm on my yahoo messenger now

i'll sign in at about 2100 (9pm).

http://www.faa.gov/library/

For a good collection of pdf books on flying, maintenance etc

Its the American Civil Aviation Apex Agency (FAA)

hey guys i just got myself registered and i have seen all your post i also am an aviation enthusiast i re applied for bristow helicopters trainee, i got to the interview the last time and really don't know why i wasn't taken but i intend to give it another shot.i guess with guys like you i stand a better chance since at least i got some one to motivate me

what is cost of becoming one.for a starter?give me info on kkycee@yahoo.com

the cost of flight training depends on a number of variables such as where you want to train(as regards the country),when you want to train(as regards the weather),your aptitude,what kind of training you want to do as in fixed or rotary wing,how far you want to go i.e. PPL,CPL,IR,ME,CFI,CFII,and on what kind of aircraft you want to train in.

Training in a Robinson R22, and getting IR and obtaining a HPPL, would coys Aero take me?

@wham

With regards to the 8 guys virgin sponsored,
I was at the Head Office of Virgin Nigeria some time last week to make enquiry at the the 9th floor of etiebets house and all I was told by the cute front office lady after like 10mins she went inside some offices there was that those guys they sponsored were in-house people i.e they are allready staff of V.N and that if I was already a pilot she would have just asked me to drop my C.V and they would get back to me.

@ forum
but what I dont understand is that According to the article I read in the papers and on their website, thay called those guys cadet and they were going to D U.S for 10mnths and obtain CPL. The question is, is it possible for a ''cadet'' that does not have a CPL to be a Staff of V.N and what does it take to become this so called CADET or is there some Kind of Politics going on in V.N towards the selection of cadidates.

@ rez
I prefer to be a Commercial line Pilot to a rotary wing, What was your first interview with Bristow like I mean for ab-initio candidates?.
Is the application for the next interview still open? I am thinking u know things sometimes may work out in another way

@Pilot77

Oga sir which one you dey, abeg no be only Wham dey this thread O .

I need assitance too , in any way you can Please. (ab-initio to ATPL)fixed wing

Hey Femo2000

pls drop a line whamatix@yahoo.com

Lets talk on phone

@wham,
Bristow and Aero can take you with your PPL and sponsor you for your CPL>It's very possible.I have some friends who work for Bristow or Aero and were sponsored through that medium.
My word to u all is to lay ur hands on microsoft flight simulator X or X-plane and practice flying using the 3D cockpit as ur default screen.It'll help u a lot.but do not i repeat,do not glance at the instruments for too long as that becomes a bad habit which can affact ur real world flying.Also get the hard ward such as CH Pro Pedals and a Joy Stick
@femo2000
Fixed wing Aircraft are by far cheaper and easier to learn.Infact,we 're talking about half the cost of rotary wing.If u need some schools ,let me know via wham as we're friends now.
Till then,
Take care.

hi guys. Am a female and am an intending pilot trainee. I have enrolled in a school in the us and have gotten myself a sponsor. I will be commencing my training on fixed wing soon, as soon as my visa is ready.
Har far guys, The stuf is not easy oh. I got a capt friend with KlM that sent me some books and cd that am studying with.
It feels good to meet people who share your intrest.
I beg make una dey hala me.
One Luv.

@IVY4U
Hello sis, whats up, I saw you posts at the other thread,

you and radarvector just got along so well, I envy you small. You know I dont even know why I did not contribute to that thread all I did was just reading all the posts,
Capt. radarvector is so experienced he really did a lot on that thread. by the way have you met with him physically.

From that thread I learnt you are in contact wit the C. Pilot and Dir. of Finance at Virgin Nigeria ( Sis you gat da guts oo, thats the spirit of our dreams ''Fear Nothing" any way sha, I believe you have read my posts on this thread and probably come across the cadet pilot scheme of Virgin Nigeria in the papers. Please kindly contact your guys at V.N for me and ask them the process cos your fellow N.Lander need such help Badly.
I will be waiting for your positive response.

I hope your Niger delta something something are still helping you out as promised. I really cant wait for you to burst the news of finally traveling for your training ooo

lest I forget I believe your jaw almost droped when you got the piles of those material. Many people I have talked to said so, but it will be all good when you get an instructor to take you through. Nice and easy.

Sit tight Sis, I am waiting for your reply

@femo2000,

you and radarvector just got along so well, I envy you small

haba,, no need for envy,, I dey here for you too 

@ forum
but what I don't understand is that  According to the article I read in the papers and on their website, thay called those guys cadet and they were going to D US for 10mnths and obtain CPL. The question is, is it possible for a ''cadet'' that does not have a CPL to be a Staff of V.N and what does it take to become this so called CADET  or is there some Kind of Politics going on in V.N towards the selection of cadidates.

There is a bit of politics,, but not in the way that you are thinking. I will explain that later.

First of all, don't worry at all about the term "cadet". It does not mean anything. It is just a way of describing trainee pilots that are sponsored by an airline, to differentiate them from trainees that are paying for the course themselves, who are described as "self-sponsored".

You do not become a cadet until the airline agrees to sponsor you, and you sign all the agreements, etc. So you could be working for Virgin as a ticket agent, cabin crew, baggage loader, driver, or whatever,, then you apply for sponsorship, and then when you are accepted, they start to describe you as a cadet. That is why the 10 guys you were talking about were already working for VN before they became cadets. (In actual fact, the majority of them were cabin crew and office staff  before they became cadets). That is also why no one heard about the whole thing until after they had been selected. all advertising was done internally.

When the cadets finish their training, they come back and start flying as Second Officers, and then they progress in time to First Officer, and finally Captain.

The Politics - The only politics going on here, is that VN selected the cadets from within the workforce, and did not place an advert in the newspaper, or advertise on TV, Radio etc.  But, that is very normal in the airline business. Pilot training is very expensive, and airlines are always very afraid of selecting someone who ends up not being able to complete the course, or will not fit in to the company culture, when this happens, the airline loses a lot of money.

It therefore makes more sense for them to select people who are already known within the company, regardless of what type of job they are doing in the company. They already know the type of person you are, your ability, your performance, etc, and can make a better judgement about how succesful you will be, compared to a JJC that just walks in from the street.

That is why 99% of airlines will choose internally. If there is a lack of internal candidates, then they will advertise and recruit externally. But external candidates will go through a much tougher selection process, involving interview, aptitiude tests, psychometric tests, etc, again because the risk is greater for the airline. The internal selection will not be as rigorous, because they know you already.

SO, the bottom line?

If you cannot get private sponsorship (like IVY4U), and are really keen for the VN sponsorship, your best starting point, is to get any kind of job you feel comfortable with, at VN. Once you are in, then you will have the earlier opportunity to apply to become a cadet. From within, you can lobby and network with the people that matter much better than you can as an outsider. ( The ideal starting point, in my view, is as cabin crew, or flight dispatch, or flight operations, you get to interact in those jobs, everyday, with the very same people who make the decisions on recruitement of cadets)

@ rez
I prefer to be a Commercial line Pilot to a rotary wing,  What was your first interview with Bristow like I mean for ab-initio candidates?.
Is the application for the next interview still open? I am thinking u know things sometimes may  work out in another way

Also a good alternative option. The conversion from rotary to fixed wing later in your career is also quite straightforward. The academic training is exactly the same. so, if you can get rotary sponsorship, go for it. The conditions of sponsorship usually mean that you have to work for the company for something like 5 years after graduation, but after that you can do a small conversion course and switch to fixed wing if you like.

Good luck with whatever option you end up choosing. Any more questions,, I dey here for you. 

@RDV

Ogaa mi, e ma bi nu(with Oyo accent), se e wa pa.

Capt. its wonderful you're here, thanks alot for the clarifications.

For the Bristow advert, they are looking for University graduates from their requirements. This is why I can't apply now. and I think ti is for the same reason you gave for the V.N stuff. I think what they are looking for is maturity and they don't know that some
O level/under grads will perform better in aptitude than the grads they are looking for.

Or do you think I shoul apply still?, with O levels ?

I am also interested in becoming a pilot,but to get a sponsor is difficult.

@Femo2000,

Bristow must have changed their requirements. I have a class mate from secondary school that joined them straight after with only O Levels. He is now in Scotland, with Scotia, and is a Helicopter Captain. So, at one time, it was possible, but I guess not now.

Whether you should still apply depends on your circumstances, i.e. your age now, what you are doing now, whether you plan to complete a university degree, etc. (I appreciate that you may not want to post all that kind of info here, so lets take the worst case scenario)

Lets assume that you are mid to late twenties, your highest qualification was the O Levels, and you are working now in a job you dont particularly enjoy, with no plans to do a degree.

Then in that case, my advice to you would be to apply to Bristow, VN, Arik etc, not as a trainee pilot / cadet, but in some other function where you stand a better chance of getting in, e.g. ticket staff, office staff, etc. Once you are in and have built up a good working history, the lack of a degree will not count against you as much as it would now. A degree is not a requirement for the flying training. It is as you rightly said, just the airlines way of trying to ensure that they get people with proven academic ability to pass the course. By doing another job within the organisation very well, you will also demonstrate this to them another way.

If your circumstances are different to what I assumed, then I guess you can adjust the recommendation slightly, e.g. if you are going to do a degree, then wait until you finish the degree before applying. If you have a good job now, then try and get private sponsorship, etc.

If you are quite young, and still have to go to university, you are perfectly placed. Try and get a holiday job every vacation with aero, VN, Bristow or Arik. By the time you finish your degree, becoming a cadet for one of them will be easy.

@ Tuby,

getting a sponsor is difficult,, but it is possible.

every organisation that offers a scholarship, is also a potential sponsor. approach them.

Also, try the NDA as a way to get into the NAF, and after that you can switch to commercial flying.

@ Everybody,

I am getting a lot of emails about diffculty of sponsorship, etc. So instead of individual replies, here is some additional info:

One way that Airlines try to reduce the risk of selecting cadets who wont succesfully finish the course, is by looking for graduates (This shows them that you have the academic ability and can apply yourself to pass the course). Another way, is by them requesting that you already have a PPL (Private Pilots Licence) before you apply. See for example, the current advert by Virgin Nigeria here

http://www.virginnigeria.com/en/ng/careers.html

You having a PPL shows them that you can pass the basic course (which means that you also have a very high chance of passing the advanced course), that you already have experience of flying (and will not suddenly decide during their sponsorship that you are afraid of flying ), and that you are really committed indeed to a career as a pilot.

That is why most airlines will list it as an alternative to a university degree. They both demonstrate that you have a very high chance of becoming a professional pilot.

Now, what if you do not have a PPL?

Well, do not let that stop you from applying. The PPL is the most basic, cheapest and quickest of all the pilot qualifications. There are accelerated courses all over the world that can be completed in as little as 4 to 6 weeks. The cost varies according to where you do the course, but is usually around 6,000 dollars in USA, or 70,000 Rand in SA.

Apply anyway, and send a covering letter (or explain in your application) that you do not have a PPL yet, but you are working towards it, and would like them to consider you with a view to giving you an offer "conditional on your having got a PPL by your starting date".

This is a two way deal - you are telling them that if they offer you a cadetship you will get the PPL before you start, and they will be telling you in return that if you pass the selection but do not get a PPL before your start date - no show!!!! This is now shifting almost all of the risk from the airline, to you. So, be sure that you are capable and determined enough to take the risk of spending all that money on a PPL.

If they agree to that, then that in itself should be enough incentive for you to move heaven and earth to find the money for the PPL. Maybe even show the letter to your bank and try and get a loan. It is as good as a job guarantee (if you get the PPL, and pass the cadet course)

Hope that helps

@RaDarVector,
are u talking about Marcus Olaleye?or Jide Adebayo?