Not your typical international flying question

[umd81]

Hi. I've been lurking on the board for a while and decided to post since i have a few questions. It could probably be categorized in the JAA/European forum, but there isn't much traffic there. It fits here also since i am changing careers.

I'm recently out of the Air Force and have a strong desire to persue a career in commercial aviation. I did some flying while i was in the military (on my own), but never got around to finishing my PPL. I'm currently living in Germany for about 9 or 10 more months...after I get back to the states i want to finish up my PPL and then go to a full time flight school like ATP, or better yet, somewhere that has VA benefits. (Anybody know of any in the DC area? I know Ari-Ben does, but i don't want to go to Florida.)

Here is my situation: My wife just got picked up to be a Foreign Service Officer in the State Dept. She will probably start training sometime in late 2007 (which is why we are heading back to the states and why i want to do my training in the DC area). Her training will be around 6 months to a year which would work for me, as i should be able to get all my ratings full time and maybe doing some instructing if there is enough time.

After that comes the tricky part. Once she is done training, we will be magically whisked away to some unknown corner of the globe. Could be Africa, could be Europe, etc, etc.

My questions is, what kind of possibilities do I have of flying in remote places? My question is more directed to places like Africa, South America, or the Caribbean. I know i'm not going to land a job with British Airways if we get sent to England. Does anyone have experience flying in these places? What kind of jobs are there? Cargo hauling, instructing, skydiving ops? What kind of hours do they hire at? What conversions will I have to do for different countries (JAA, etc...i dont know of any others)?

Thanks for any input.

[jjm]

lots of questions in your post--
I do know that it is a bit easier to convert from FAA to JAA rather than the other way around. You can do that once you get to the country she is assigned to. There are lots of flying outfits all over the place, but I would recommend getting your ratings here-- much cheaper.
I have friends from Asia that got their ratings here, applied to a cadet program back overseas and are now flying Airbuses with 300+ hours. Pretty crazy, but I think there are a lot of programs like that around the world. I think the website is www.pprune.org that has a lot of info on international flying.

Good luck-- PM me if you want info on flying in DC-- I won't try to steer you towards our school but I can give you a lot of info on schools in the area, though.

[Stoneage]

You might want to check out the flying clubs on the military bases in Germany if you are near or on base. Often active membership in one military flying club will let you join other military flying clubs even though you would not be otherwise able to join. There are some Military flying clubs around DC that will tend to be a lot cheaper than any of the nearby flight schools.

With your wife's career you may find it almost prohibitive to fly or you may find a lot of doors open to you. It may depend on where you end up and what your qualifications are. You may find yourself flying humanitarian flights or be able to get a work permit almost overnight because of your wife's connections. Or because of the political implications you may be unable to do any flying at all.

I say go for it, a year from now you are going to be a year older no matter what you do. You might as well go flying.

--Stoneage

[umd81]

Thanks for the responses. I'll definitely look into the Aero Clubs around DC at least for single engine stuff. I was with the Aero Club at my last base and i am still in the reserves, so it shouldn't be a problem. The closest one to me in Germany is about an hour away and gas is too expensive to drive back and forth a lot, so i will just wait.