In the past, students who would love to become pilots had to travel to as far as South Africa or overseas in order to pursue the career in a recognized institution. However, that has changed courtesy of one Captain Joseph Ririani who founded the Kenya School of Flying.
Captain Joseph Ririani.
Captain Joseph Martin Ririani began his career as a pilot working for Kenya Airways on the Airbus 310. After working for the company for several years, he got an idea of starting a pilot school in the country since at the time most people were traveling overseas in order to pursue the career. In June 1992, he established the Kenya School of Flying with the goal of having an indigenous pilot school owned and operated by Kenyans. He would then quit his job at Kenya Airways in 1996 to fully manage and operate the Kenya School of Flying.
In 2000, he joined hands with other like-minded individuals to establish Orly Airpark in order to take their training away from the overcrowded Wilson Airport. The school has grown over the years to own over 20 aircrafts that students use in their training. Apart from being the founder of Kenya School of Flying, Captain Ririani serves as the Chairman of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
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Kenya School of Flying.
Kenya School of Flying is a professional pilot training school with its main campus located at Wilson Airport. Other campuses are located at Orly Airpark, Malindi and Ukunda airstrip where they conduct the night flying training for their students. The school provides personalized training with students having access to the 21 aircrafts including the first full-motion twin engine flight simulator in Africa.
Other flights available include a Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper PA-28, Cessna 150, Cessna 206, Cessna 208 Caravan and Piper PA-34 Seneca. Some of the programs offered in the school include PPL Holiday Programme, Private Pilot License that lasts for six months, Commercial Pilot’s License that lasts for up to 12 months and Initial Multi-engine/Instrument rating that lasts for a maximum of 6 weeks. The school has 10 aviation examiners, a total of 1,500 students and 1,003 graduates. The school offers accommodation services for the 3 campuses outside Nairobi and advises its Nairobi students on the best places to find accommodation.
Qualifications and Requirements.
In order to join the school for any course, one must be 16 years old and above, must have a minimum mean grade of C+ IN KCSE and at least a C+ in both English and Geography, a medical fitness certificate from an accredited Aviation medical examiner and a Certificate of good conduct. Other requirements include copies of academic papers, ID/Passport/Birth Certificate, 6 passport size photos – three normal size and three 2cm*2.5cm, three internal evaluations in Mathematics, English and Psychometric Testing and Five lessons of flight assessment.
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The School is led by Captain Joseph Martin Ririani who is the founder and Managing Director (MD) and Captain R. Shah who is the Chief Instructor. Call +254(0)20 6007892 or email studentcoordinator@flyingschool.co.ke for any inquiries.
