Flying in North America

Photo credit: Parklands Cobbler. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Personal Experience - Pete Carscallen Flying in Canada

The following experience has been provided by Pete Carscallen, B1900 F/O for Eagle Airways. Having been born and raised in Canada, this is where I was introduced to flying and completed all of my training; starting with my PPL right up to my CPL,

multi IFR float rating and a Class 3 instructor rating.

The PPL and CPL allow the same privileges as the NZ equivalents however one big difference with the systems is that in Canada you do not require a "aircraft rating" i.e. C172, C150, etc. In Canada once you are licensed you will be endorsed to fly all single non-high performance aircraft, and once you add on a multi-engine rating the endorsement includes all non-high performance multi engine aircraft. This changes once again as you complete a float rating (such as I did) and then was endorsed on all single and multi-engine land and sea aircraft.

The PPL and CPL hourly requirements are fairly similar to NZ however there is only 1 written exam per licence as opposed to 7 such as here in NZ.

The float rating is 7 hours long, however anyone looking at flying floats will need at least 150 hours on floats in order to get a job. I did my rating at a company in Perry Sound, Ontario and did a 50 hour bush flying course. Typically companies train students on C180 which is used quite a bit in the float industry. Once a person secures a float job it is standard for the new hires to work the dock loading and unloading aircraft for anything up to 2 seasons (May to October) before getting on as a full time pilot.

When you begin instructing you start as a Class 4 which requires you to have pre-solo students and pre-flight test students authorised by a Class 2 or Class 1 instructor. The instructor flight test is usually 3 or 4 hours long with the largest amount of time being spent on the ground going over a few lessons and having general discussions. Then it is into the air for the flight test which in my case lasted less than 1 hour as I had to only demonstrate 1 lesson.

I taught for 2 years and at the end of my time was a Class 3 instructor which meant I was able to send students solo as well as send them to the examiner for a flight test. In order to become a Class 3 I had to satisfy certain criteria such as sending 3 students solo as well as recommending 3 students for flight testing who then had to successfully pass the exams.

Instructing is one the areas which differs quite a lot from NZ as you are able to teach any of your current endorsements without having to do a flight test for them. As an example I was multi-IFR, night and float rated which meant I was able to teach all of the above to students.

After I instructed I went onto fly for Sander Geophysics Ltd who are specialists in low level airborne surveying. I flew both the Islander and Caravans for them and was fortunate enough to fly in such places as Mauritania (northwest Africa), Greenland and Saudi Arabia. We operated all the aircraft 2 crew due to Transport Canada requirements which were in place because our flight times were typically in the 6.5 to 7 hour range. All of the flying was conducted low level which depending on contract requirements meant anything from 300 to 500 ft AGL.

I am now currently living in NZ and flying for Eagle Airways as an FO on the B1900's.

To summarise:

you need to have the legal right to work in Canada either through citizenship or else some sort of work visa
the Transport Canada website has all the information in regards to converting licences: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/air-menu.htm
most companies like CV's sent to them and will typically say on websites whether or not phone calls are welcome. If you are interested in ‘bush flying’ (floats, etc) then the best way to get a job is a good old fashioned road trip around the country stopping at every operator you can think of (be prepared to start right away)
Instructing is still a great option for a first job however a number of companies hire from the ramp staff


	Photo credit: Parklands Cobbler. Licensed under Creative Commons. Personal Experience - Pete Carscallen Flying in Canada The following experience has been provided by Pete Carscallen, B1900 F/O for Eagle Airways. Having been born and raised in Canada, this is where I was introduced to flying and completed all of my training; starting with my PPL right up to my CPL, multi IFR float rating and a Class 3 instructor rating. The PPL and CPL allow the same privileges as the NZ equivalents however one big difference with the systems is that in Canada you do not require a "aircraft rating" i.e. C172, C150, etc. In Canada once you are licensed you will be endorsed to fly all single non-high performance aircraft, and once you add on a multi-engine rating the endorsement includes all non-high performance multi engine aircraft. This changes once again as you complete a float rating (such as I did) and then was endorsed on all single and multi-engine land and sea aircraft. The PPL and CPL hourly requirements are fairly similar to NZ however there is only 1 written exam per licence as opposed to 7 such as here in NZ. The float rating is 7 hours long, however anyone looking at flying floats will need at least 150 hours on floats in order to get a job. I did my rating at a company in Perry Sound, Ontario and did a 50 hour bush flying course. Typically companies train students on C180 which is used quite a bit in the float industry. Once a person secures a float job it is standard for the new hires to work the dock loading and unloading aircraft for anything up to 2 seasons (May to October) before getting on as a full time pilot. When you begin instructing you start as a Class 4 which requires you to have pre-solo students and pre-flight test students authorised by a Class 2 or Class 1 instructor. The instructor flight test is usually 3 or 4 hours long with the largest amount of time being spent on the ground going over a few lessons and having general discussions. Then it is into the air for the flight test which in my case lasted less than 1 hour as I had to only demonstrate 1 lesson. I taught for 2 years and at the end of my time was a Class 3 instructor which meant I was able to send students solo as well as send them to the examiner for a flight test. In order to become a Class 3 I had to satisfy certain criteria such as sending 3 students solo as well as recommending 3 students for flight testing who then had to successfully pass the exams. Instructing is one the areas which differs quite a lot from NZ as you are able to teach any of your current endorsements without having to do a flight test for them. As an example I was multi-IFR, night and float rated which meant I was able to teach all of the above to students. After I instructed I went onto fly for Sander Geophysics Ltd who are specialists in low level airborne surveying. I flew both the Islander and Caravans for them and was fortunate enough to fly in such places as Mauritania (northwest Africa), Greenland and Saudi Arabia. We operated all the aircraft 2 crew due to Transport Canada requirements which were in place because our flight times were typically in the 6.5 to 7 hour range. All of the flying was conducted low level which depending on contract requirements meant anything from 300 to 500 ft AGL. I am now currently living in NZ and flying for Eagle Airways as an FO on the B1900's. To summarise: you need to have the legal right to work in Canada either through citizenship or else some sort of work visa the Transport Canada website has all the information in regards to converting licences: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/air-menu.htm most companies like CV's sent to them and will typically say on websites whether or not phone calls are welcome. If you are interested in ‘bush flying’ (floats, etc) then the best way to get a job is a good old fashioned road trip around the country stopping at every operator you can think of (be prepared to start right away) Instructing is still a great option for a first job however a number of companies hire from the ramp staff	Flying Overseas Jobs Home Flying in Africa Flying in Europe Flying in Australia Flying in North America Requirements To fly commercially in Canada or the US, you will require a license issued by the respective Civil Aviation Authority. This may involve flight testing and exams. For more information contact the relevant local ALPA or visit the IFALPA website. Contacts IFALPA - web USALPA - web Transport Canada- web