Ultralight Flying in Africa
Africa is beautiful continent with very diverse nature and over 50 countries, with many different regulations and opportunities for ultralight aviation. This article isn't meant to be a complete guide to ultralight flying in Africa. We'll cover the most popular / realistic to go to countries that we have found reliable information for. If you know more about any of the countries listed, or anything about those not listed, please let us know in the comments or by email. Let's make this page a good guide for these who want to fly an ultralight in the wonderful Africa.
South Africa
The most popular place for ultralight flying is probably also the most developed country in Africa - the Republic of South Africa. One of the reasons is of course that the country is well developed and relatively rich. But don't underestimare the views! Just have a look at this picture gallery for example. The country itself is very diverse and even if you live there you won't be able to see all the great places in a short time.
As far as licensing and regulations go, have a look here and here.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a beautiful country. As a flying destination it's best known with its access to the Victoria Falls. There are many companies who offer flights with helicopters or light airplanes to tourists there. Of course most of our readers are more interested in flying themselves. Here is a page explaining shortly the microlight reugulations in Zimbabwe.
Zambia
Zambia also has access to the Victoria Falls so for the same reasons as Zimbabwe it's worth to consider a visit. Unfortunately we could not find any reliable information about the regulations there.
Namibia
Namibia's nature is very different than most of the other African countries. The unique colors and views of the Namib Desert can't be seen anywhere else. The country is not densely populated like many other African countries and is very calm and peaceful. For information about ultralight flying visit the Microlight Association of Namibia website.
Kenya
Kenya is one of the most popular destinations for tourism in East Africa. What about flying? Well, same wonderful views but from the air :) Well worth it. Interested? Here are a bunch of regulation-related links. Check especially this document about pilot licensing. We could not find anything about ultralights so it's safe to assume you always need at least Private Pilot License.
Ethiopia
Nowdays Ethiopia can be considered safe for tourism, and so is for flying. The country is beauitiful and abundand in national parks and reserves. It's a dry and hot place, sometimes unpleasantly hot. But on the good side, this means the season for flying is long. The procedure for obtaining Private Pilot Certificate in Ethiopia is available here. As with most African countries, we could not find any reliable information that you can legally fly an ultralight with a lesser license, so it's safe to assume you need to be a private pilot.
Sudan
We'll talk about both Sudan and South Sudan here although they are different countries. Information about ultralight regulations in Sudan is available in the following PDF file. As with most African countries, there is no word about ultralights so assume Private Pilot license is required.
But you'll probably enjoy this story about home builder from South Sudan. The story makes it not clear what regulations are there either but is a great read! You can also watch the video:
Nigeria
Nigeria is probably the fastest growing African country. The country is still a bit dangerous and caution is required. But if you are adventurous, here is the procedure for obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate.
Ghana
One of the friendliest countries for first time visitors to Africa is Ghana. No surprise the country is friendly to the fellow flight enthusiast too! This page here gives some basic information about the legal side of flying an ultralight aircraft. There is also a very interesting article about how Ghana uses ultralight airplanes for medical needs.
Morocco
Morocco is a nice place to fly and easy to reach from Europe. Unfortunately it's hard to find any reliable information about the regulations there. There is at least this forum thread which gives some perspective.
Egypt
The situation in Egypt remains unstable so caution is adviced about traveling and flying there. If you still ought to give it a try, seems like Private Pilot Certificate is required for flying even an ultralight. More information here.
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