1. How old is Kenya School of Flying?

• Kenya School of Flying was founded in 1992 and has been in pilot training business since then.

2. Who are the directors and what is their experience?

• Captain J.M. Ririani: Chairman/ CEO and founder of KSOF. He started as an Air Traffic Officer before becoming a pilot. He flew in the East African Airways on the DC3 and Fokker27. He later joined Kenya Airways (KQ) on inception in 1977 and climbed up on seniority and qualified as a captain on DC9, B707 and Air Bus 310. He was a member of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) Board for over five years.
• With Col. (rtd) Kisoso, Haro Trempenau among others, Captain Ririani is a founder member of Orley Airpark where KSOF students train. He has over 23,000 flying hours experience.
• Captain Reshma Shah: Director and share holder. She is the Chief Flight Instructor of Kenya School of Flying (KSOF). She is also the Chief Pilot of Aeronav Air Charter. An Airline Transport Pilot License Holder (ATPL), and has over 14,000 hours of flying experience and is also KCAA Flight examiner for PPL, CPL and Multi/IR.
• Judy Githinji: She is the Financial Director and a share holder. She is an MBA holder from MUA University and has over 30 yrs working experience.
• Captain Charles Wachira: Director and share holder. Captain Charles is in charge of safety at Kenya School of Flying. He is also a check captain in our Aeronav fleet.

3. How long does the training take?

• In a good flying school, you can obtain your PPL, CPL, Multi-engine and Instrument Rating within two years if the finances are available.

4. What makes a good pilot?

• Try to answer the following truthfully:

A: PASSION TO FLY:

One must have immense interest to fly. Read about Group Captain Douglas Bader, RAF pilot World War II to know what passion is all about. Are you really and truly passionate about handling a machine in the skies without external influences or peer pressure?

B. APTITUDE:

In KSOF we take you up in the air for a minimum of five sessions to evaluate this talent before we can proceed. Failure rate is between 20-30%. Are you ready for this? The five lessons of flight assessment are charged at Kes. 70,000/

C. DISCIPLINE:

Is your personal discipline above average such that you have said no to smoking, miraa chewing and other forms of substance abuse? In our country it is fashionable to take short cuts. Are you disciplined enough to say no to short cuts and ‘Matatu’ attitude?

D. EDUCATION LEVEL.

Civil aviation minimum requirement is a C+ in English, Mathematics, Physics and Geography. KSOF would like to see B+ in the same subjects at KCSE level or GCE/IGCSE equivalent. A degree is increasingly becoming important in employment. Do you meet the above?

E. HEALTH:

Physical and mental health is crucial in this career. You will be thoroughly examined by a KCAA approved medical practitioner before joining KSOF.

In addition, KSOF may take you for a drug test. Are you ready for this?

NB: If your answer to the above questions is YES, then you stand a good chance of training with us and becoming a good pilot.

5. What is the major mistake done by students when choosing a flying school?

A lot of students are duped by looking at the costs. In flying, CHEAP might be very EXPENSIVE in the long run. Do you want to become an aircraft driver or a professional pilot? There are no shortcuts when it comes to pilot training.

6. How does one choose a good flying school?

          By finding out the following:

•  How large is the training fleet? How many aircraft do they own and are available?Flying Instructors- their numbers, whether permanent or freelance? Avoid schools with freelancers.
•  What are their alumni like? The first lady Captain to command a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the whole world – Captain Irene Koki Mutungi is an alumnus of KSOF.
• Where is the school situated? KSOF has chosen very serene, safe and quiet satellite centers of learning conducive to serious learning.

7. WHY KENYA SCHOOL OF FLYING?

• Professionalism: Kenya School of Flying aims to impart professionalism and safety ethics to all our graduate pilots. We have professional and experienced instructors who are skilled to offer the best. They are very conversant with modern digital training methodologies which accelerate students’ performance.
• Responsibility and accountability: KSOF strongly believes in this and we are continually assessing and evaluating the students’ progress resulting to discontinuation of 20-30% of our intake. This ensures only the very best will be released to the job market.
• Residential Accommodation: We are the only flying school that offers accommodation to its national and international students in three locations namely: Orly Air-park (Isinya), Ukunda (South Coast) and Malindi. Residential flight training reduces course duration and helps in maintaining focus to the students. Relevance: We are the only flying school in the entire continent that teaches SPINNING at PPL level and MORSE CODE at CPL level. We still believe that they are still relevant.
• COST: It is ONLY at KSOF where the cost per hour is the same for both Cessna 150, 152 and the larger Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee 28.
• Exposure: Our students are exposed to high attitude and high temperatures in Orly Air-park (Isinya), followed by strong severe crosswinds training at the Coast and climaxed by ‘heavy traffic shock’ at Wilson Airport.
• Aviation Holiday Program: It is only at KSOF that secondary school students (Pioneer Schools, Mangu, Juja, Maseno, Dawamu, Mt. Kenya) among others, join us in holiday programme from Form one and attain their Private Pilot License (PPL) before their KCSE results are out.
• Maintenance: We are the only school with its own maintenance facility thereby ensuring safety and extra exposure to our students.
• Religion: Kenya School of Flying not only accepts students of all religions and faith but also encourage and facilitate their worship.
• Caravan Rating: On completion, KSOF offers its graduates Cessna Caravan Rating from our sister Charter Company – Aeronav at a subsidized rate of $1,000. We are the only flying school who offers this facility that enables our students to get employment. Top students are also offered jobs in our sister company – AERONAV or at the very most offered chance to build hours on the fleet.