Flight Club - Foreign Pilots Visiting Australia and flying privately

Operating out of Jandakot Airport, Perth, Western Australia.
Introduction

Why not enhance an overseas holiday to Australia with a bit of flying? Here's a run-down on how you can visit Australia, hire a plane and fly all over the vast countryside of Australia. There are a few easy steps to go through to hire a plane in Australia on a foreign pilot's licence.

Step 1: Decide how long you want to fly for in Australia

If you're in Australia and will be flying within a period of less than 3 months, all you need is a "Certificate of Validation". The local regulatory authority - Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) can issue a Certificate of Validation (CV). This is a short-term authorisation, valid for up to 3 months, tailored to specific operations (eg Private Day VFR Operations). More info on the Certificate of Validation Licence can be found in this PDF document and also at the Licence Section of the CASA web site.

If you're staying in Australia for a period of more than 3 months, you should obtain a Special Pilot Licence. More info on the Special Pilot's Licence can be found in this PDF document and also at the Licence Section of the CASA web site.

Step 2: Make a booking

If want to hire our Grummans, talk to The Aeroplane Company and book in for the check rides required and the aircraft too. The earlier the better. See below for details on the check flights required.

Step 3: Study our regulations

Flying in Australia is rather easy (we follow ICAO regulations for the most part) - most areas of the country are in uncontrolled airspace too. The documents you'll find essential are:
Aeronautical Information Package (AIP) - The regulations for navigation, radio communication, interpreting weather forecasts.
En-Route Supplement (ERSA) - Information on aerodromes (dimensions, frequencies, procedures), information on obtaining relevant information (weather, flight plans) and emergency procedures.
VFR Flight Guide - a summary of all of the regulations for flying and clear examples of radio calls, circuit entry procedures etc.
Visual Pilot Guide for Jandakot - a great summary of the procedures for entering and leaving Jandakot and "what you should see".

Step 4: Show the following items to CASA upon your arrival in Australia

You'll then obtain your Certificate of Validation or Special Pilots' Licence.

Note: A written exam is not required by CASA for either the CV or SPL. However, CASA do require that an Australian flying school conduct check flights appropriate to your flying experience.

Step 5: Check flights

Generally, there are at least three flights required for you to become proficient in flying in Australia -

Flight 1:
Briefing: Local operating procedures
Flying: Local check flight on general aircraft handlin (stalls, steep turns, practised forced landings etc.) then back to the aerodrome for a few circuits.
Approximate flight time: 1-1.5 hours

Flight 2:
Briefing: Air law, using NAIPS (an internet-based applications) to obtain weather forecasts and submit flight plans + interepretation of the output from NAIPS
Flying: Navigation exercise to a couple of remote aerodromes and back to Jandakot
Approximate flight time: 2.5-3.5 hours

Note: Some pilots find the visual navigation aspect of flying around Australia difficult. Australia is a very unforgiving country due to its vast remote areas (sometimes there may not be an airstrip for 200 miles or more! Therefore, the flying school may require an additional flight to meet the standard required for navigation - they need to be satisfied that you can demonstrate an acceptable standard in this area. In general, we find that African pilots do fairly well with their navigation, however European and American pilots have difficulty with the visual navigation aspects. Have a look at our West Australian Aistrip Pictorial Guide to see some examples of different airstrips you might fly into. In particular, you'll notice how hard it is to spot some of the airstrips from a distance - see the bottom photo of Narrogin and Southern Cross as examples. Here's some tips: Use dead reckoning (X miles at Y airspeed in Z direction should put me HERE and this is what I should be seeing - towns/roads/rivers etc.), regularly check your DG for precession against the compass, look for the large tin sheds - they reflect sunlight and are often located near townsites, navigate to find the towns then use the map to determine where the airstrip should be (looking for the airstrip itself is often difficult - look for the town, then look X miles in Y direction to locate the airstrip), note positive location fixes on your charts, and record the times at each location.

Final Check Flight:
Briefing: A check that the pilot knows the items covered in Flights 1 & 2, and relevant parts of the regulations. Flying: Navigation exercise to a couple of remote aerodromes and back to Jandakot
Approximate flight time: 2.5-3.5 hours

Approximate costs

Roughly AUD $1000 for the two instructional and one check flight, and approximately AUD $250 for the briefings. Charts cost around AUD $30-$50 depending upon how far you want to go. The Aeroplane Company can provide you with the relevant charts on your first flight.

Feedback & experience with other pilots

We have had several overseas visiting pilots hire our aircraft - from Air Force pilots, Airline pilots to private pilots. We'd love to hear from you regarding your flying experiences and even a photo or two.

Hiring an aircraft

Provided you meet the above criteria licence, medical and flight review criteria, many flight schools in Australia will be happy to hire you an aircraft. Flight Club's Grumman Tigers are available for hire at very reasonable rates. If you want some company in your flying, you may find that some Flight Club members might want a holiday too and would be very happy to come along with you on a cost-share basis or perhaps come in the other plane if yours is full.

questions / queries / comments to rad@flightclub.com.au.