Being a paid pilot is not always as romantic as the movies portray. Some pilots refer to it as being a glorified taxi driver. Many pilots flying small to medium-sized aircraft in order to log hours for jobs on the big airliners and cargo planes become bored with the monotony of prescribed routes and flight plans and give it up. Then there is the passionate pilot who loves the adventure of flying in adverse conditions. The pilot who wants a challenge, and not interested in earning a fat salary. A Bush Pilot.
Bush Pilots all over the world have earned their respect from fellow pilots. There is a reason for this. To be a Bush Pilot, you do not fly by the numbers. Most of the time you do not use registered airfields or any airfields at all! It requires seat-of-the-pants flying in adverse conditions. At first glance, it looks downright dangerous and scary. With the right training, it is neither.
Realities of being a Bush Pilot
1. You’ll be away from home for extended periods.
2. Expect to live in varying types of accommodation ranging from hotels and motels to sleeping in the back of the aircraft!
3. Don’t expect a huge salary.
Pathway to becoming a Bush Pilot
Devote the best part of a year to obtain a PPL (Private Pilots License) and subsequent CPL (Commercial Pilots License) and if you are going to ferry passengers you will need an ATPL (Air Traffic Pilots License). This is if you can do the course full time. Part time, it can take up to 5 years. The cost can vary from $10,000 up to $50,000 depending on how intensive you want to do the course and how cheap you can rent a plane and instructor.
You must be prepared to study and write exams in order to pass the theoretical tests.
You must be able to deal with abnormal conditions like removing ice from the control-surfaces of the plane, because it got frozen over night. In Africa, we had to change tires because the Lions chewed through them!
Before you will get paid for any type of flying, you must meet the minimum FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requirements.
1. You must be at least 18 years old
2. You must be able to read, write and speak English.
3. You must have at least a PPL or higher license certificate from the FAA.
4. A minimum of 250 hours flying experience.
5. Have your logbook endorsed by a certified instructor to confirm the above-mentioned ratings and experience.
6. Pass all the practical and theoretical tests in order to hold a Commercial Pilots License. Most flight schools, that train commercial pilots, have a set program for students to obtain this type of certificate.
After you have obtained your Commercial Pilots License, you can go to a flight school that specializes in training pilots to become Bush Pilots. This normally includes training to fly airplanes equipped with floats, skis or tundra wheels. These flight schools will also train you to fly in abnormal conditions. This will include learning to land on lakes, gravel-bars on riverbanks and frozen lakes in winter.
There are a number of flight schools that offer this type of training, and depending on what type of environment, type of aircraft and type of work you will be doing, the courses run from a few hours to a week. On average a Ski Plane and Glacier Landing training course will last for 5 hours at a cost of around $1800 and will include two night’s lodging. A Sea Plane Refresher Course can cost around $180 per hour. A Bush- and Mountain flying course includes 5 hours ground- and 5 hours flight training and costs around $1400 with two nights lodging. An Advanced Bush Pilot Course can take up to 5 days, and will include 5-7 hours ground training and 5-7 hours flight training. This course will cover mountain flying, river landings and high altitude lakes. This course will challenge you, and sharpen your skills as a pilot. These courses are very helpful and necessary for any aspirant Bush Pilot who is going to fly in Alaska, Canada or operate in off-airport conditions.
You will learn to land, and take off in circumstances that conventional pilots regard impossible or very dangerous. You will learn precision flying, and would be able to get your aircraft in to very confined spaces, and out again. You will be able to do it safely and confidently. You would regard this as a normal day at the office. You will become one of “them,” a bush pilot.
More info:
Cedric Pieterse was born in Pretoria, South Africa and finished his schooling on the East coast city of Durban. He eventually became successful in business, but then did not like the whole corporate thing, and packed his old Land Rover and traveled though Africa for four years. He met the love of his life, Maria, and has decided to move to her hometown Uppsala, Sweden. Besides exploring his new home country and trying to learn Swedish, he is also starting a career in writing.
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19 Comments... join the discussion!
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Great article. I know a few bush pilots and they all love their work. Also handy friends to have if you love to fly and haven’t gotten your own license yet. I still get shivers when I think of landing on the Ruth Glacier in Alaska a couple years back.
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Good afternoon!
Thank you very much! It is wrote very clearly. In the whole internet so many bushpilots say, that they went to Canada/Alaska/Somewhere and became a bushpilot. But I never came to know, how I can became one of them.
My father’s got a 1959 Cessna 175 Skylark. I flew with him across europe since I was eight years old. Now I’m 18 and it was ever the greatest wish for me to fly in the wilderness. I hope, after my apprenticeship I’m going to live my dreams!
When I age to 20, then I travel to New Bern to get the PPL, like my father. Mercifully I was born in New York, so I have an US-Passport and one of Switzerland. Maybe I’m going to became first a glacier pilot here in Switzerland and then going to Alaska or Norway to be Bush-/Taxi-Pilot!
Oops, I wrote down my whole livestory! Sorry for this! But it’s a great exercise to learn english.
Best greetings from Switzerland!
Florian
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Thanks for the info. Being a bush pilot is my life dream!
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I like the article.
I’m a bush pilot in Tanzania with Cessna Caravans.
I have flown in Botswana as well.I have a blog too africanbushpilot.blogspot.com
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I have been looking into this as a possible career choice. This article answered most of my questions that I had.
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I was an Alaska bush pilot for 35-years, and logged 20,000 safe flying hours. In all that time, I never once came across a “bush pilot flying course” of any nature. One does not require any license beyond a Commercial Pilot License to flly and charge freight or passengers. If flying floats, a Commercial ASES (Airplane Single Engine Land) rating is required to charge others for your flying.
To be a bush pilot, you must either own your own airplane (no one will rent an airplane to you for that sort of flying!) or work for (a) an air taxi operator, (b) a hunting/fishing lodge, or (c) an Alaska Registered Guide.
I speak for North America, of course, and know nothing about African bush flying. I did once accept a position with Bally Air Service in Dar es Salaam (with Tim Bally) at one time, but did not travel to Africa after having learned that I would have to buy my own uniforms. The salary was too meager for that, I thought.
And, by the way, I was also an Alaska Registered Guide for those 35-years. My two books, “Fying the Alaska Wild” and “The Alaska Bush Pilot Chronicles” will give you a better insight into what flying the bush is really all about.
Still, great article!
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Is there any way how one can become a pilot even if he had a cardiac operation (valve replacement) ??
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I hold an FAA CPL and trying to find a job as a bush pilot. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rushad↵ -
To all potential Bush $Pilots out there, this article sums up most of the issues but there are issue of Quality of fuel and condition of planes from what ever company you get hired on with. I have been flying for quite some time and worked for companies that ducked typed there planes together. Just stay on top of your game know how to do all your own repairs of power plant and instruments and purifing contaimenated fuel. ATP will come in handy. Low and slow to places nobody knows-Happy flying to all. Sean
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Interesting article. Sounds as if bush flying in Africa is comparable in many ways to bush flying in Alaska.
I flew Alaska year ’round for 13 years and another 20 years seasonally after that. I flew air taxi, worked for flyout fishing lodges, for registered guides and flew as a herring and salmon spotter for commercial fishermen for many years.
My website, http://www.flyalaska.com has several of my true stories about flying in Alaska, a directory of Alaska flight operations, other information and many photos. There is also a membership section that lists Alaska flying job offers as they come up. The membership section includes a directory of about 300 Alaska flight operations with website links to about 250 of them. There is also a section that details and diagrams methods and techniques for fish spotting.
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I specialize in Advanced Bush & Mountain Flying Training in South Africa.
Email me at cc@bushair.co.za for more info or go to my web site http://www.bushair.co.za
My “Bush & Mountain Flying” handbook is available from selected pilot supply stores worldwide.
Regards
CC Pocock
Bush Air, Barberton Airfield, South Africa.↵ -
I am close to getting my private license, my dad owns and runs a cropdusting business, i plan on getting into ag flying, but i would like to go to alaska and work for a bush pilot and maybe get a chance to do a few jobs during summers, i belive training with a bush pilot will make me a better pilot. Any comments or ideas will help.
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Hi guys, I’am a spanish 32 ‘boy’, I’m still feeling young
To be a pilot was my dream since I have memories. As my parents have never been rich, I could not make my dream come true. Now I have a good job, my own apartment and a good car but, you know, I don’t have what I really wanted. I just writting here to know if there is any chance to learn fly, in Alaska or Canada, with some opportunities to continue working there. I really don’t mind if I don’t earn a good salary, you know, money does not make you happy.Any flying school to become a bush pilot??? website? prices, job opportunities? Maybe I need to break with ‘everything’!
Cheers for everybody who understand me!↵ -
I am a student enrolled in a course called Career Explorations. I am currently researching a career as a Bush Pilot. In this course we are supposed to gather lots of information about our chosen career. I have enjoyed all the research and informational postings that I’ve come acrossed, however I haven’t been able to locate any wage information. Could you possibly help me out with this information? I would be looking for… starting wages and the top side of of the wage scale. Also, what do bush pilots charge for being a taxi from island to island?
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Gday! Nice article mate, I printed it off and showed to the family, youve hit the nail on the head and its nice to have something that describes the bush pilot life that ive been living for the last 2 years in the remote northern territory of Australia. Very entertaining and very accurate!
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For becoming a bush pilot intensive training is required. The person who wants to be bush pilot must be attentive and confident. There are many flight training schools that offer training programs related to aviation. The students can acknowledge the methods of flying different air-crafts by the help of skilled trainers. Some of the courses that they offer are ski-plane and glacier landing course, mountain flying course.
http://www.commercialpilottraining.net/>
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We feature a series on our website that follows a local pilot on his quest to become an African bush pilot, called Botswana Bound. Check it out at: http://www.nbtvtoday.com/nbers-abroad/botswana-bound
The footage is just amazing, all shot from a first-hand perspective.↵ -
I have recently completed a commercial pilots license with an instrument rateing. I would like to know if you have any job opportunities. I have done most of my training at 43 air school and i have just under 300 hours.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Matthew Taylor
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