For UK CAA licence holders needing a G-registered hour building aircraft, select here
Fly EPT Spain has teamed up with ferry flight services and receives a number of requests throughout the year to position small single-engine piston aircraft across Europe. If you are a time builder currently studying ATPL theory, are willing to subsidize the cost of a ferry flight and are flexibly available, we can offer you some cheap hour building opportunities. You can fly with an experienced flight instructor, if needed, and gain international route experience. Only airborne time is charge but you can log all the block time which includes taxi time as Pilot-in Command (PIC).
Our choice of competitively priced single-engine piston aircraft available for rent for EASA licence holders include:
For UK CAA licence holders, check here to see our choice of G-registered single engine piston hour building aeroplanes based in Spain and Portugal
If you would like to rent an aircraft from us and do some touring flying around Spain and Portugal and even further afield to France, Germany, UK, and Italy then you are welcome to do so.
We offer PPL pilots several cost-effective time-building packages to help hour builders accumulate P1 Pilot-in-Command (PIC) time.
Just send us an email about your plans, number of days away and how many hours you need to fly, and we will make you an offer.
Generally, you can take the plane away as long as you want. Our rental agreement with time builders is to fly a minimum of 3 hours/day; 18 hours/week.
Aircraft available for hour building in Spain and Portugal are generally located at the regional airports based in Palma de Mallorca-Son Bonet/LESB (Ian), Cordoba/LEBA (Miguel), Granada Juan Espadafor/LEJE (Clifford), Ocaña/LEOC, Bordeaux/LFCS, and in Portugal at Lisbon Cascais-Tejo/LPCS (Joao). If you plan your time building routing through these airfields our ground support network can be made available to you, if needed.
Safety Pilots can be provided. Those available include flight instructors, airline pilots as well as like-minded PPL qualified pilots. We encourage flying in pairs. Flying with another pilot makes the experience not only more sociable but also allows you to relax somewhat knowing you have a competent wing-man next to you in times of need.
We have a choice of G-registered aeroplanes (PA28, C152) in Spain and Portugal. After 31 Dec 2022, post-BREXIT, only UK CAA licence holders can continue to fly G-reg aircraft. All the rest of our fleet are EASA-registered so you will need an EASA licence to fly one. If you hold a foreign ICAO PPL, contact us for details how you can convert to EASA and still fly an EASA-registered aircraft.
WET rates and include: -
DRY rates which do NOT include: -
Note: For Dry lease rates, a BP Aviation Fuel Card will be provided which will offer you subsidized AvGas below market rate. Carefully plan your routing through the airfields with the cheapest fuel price (click on this map) and you will minimize the expense even further.
Aircraft rental price do NOT include: -
First, DRY lease rental rates are offered because it significantly reduces the tax burden. Plus, the aircraft owner does not need to mark up the hourly fuel price to hedge themselves against unknown more expensive fuel stations down route. If you accept a WET rate, the hourly rate must be calculated using the most expensive regional fuel price station, and it may be an airfield that you did not even fly too. If you accept a Dry lease rate, and you carefully choose landing at those aerodromes with the cheapest fuel, you will save money.
It is our strongest recommendation therefore that budget conscious hour builders choose a DRY lease rental rate as it is by far the cheapest option. When you multiply the hourly saving (e.g., €25) by 80 hours, that is €2000 saved which is significant.
When a Dry rental rate is accepted, the onus simply falls on the renter pilot to adopt some other money saving tactics. For example:
Typical Fuel Consumption for a Rotax 912 UL engine is: 19.2 L/h at 75% power (5000 RPM 27.2 MAP) while at 65% (4800 RPM) it is 15.8 L/h. To reduce fuel consumption in the cruise, do NOT fly full throttle and, if fitted, lean the mixture.
CPL aspirants need 20 hours PIC cross country time, and to start the ME-IR, 50 hours PIC X-country. Once you hit this target, consider circuit practice because significantly less fuel is burnt in the circuit compared to flying cross-country routes at full throttle. The Tecnam’s P2002 Rotax engine, for example, can burn as little as 12 liters/hour flying circuit patterns as opposed to 17 liters/hr. in the cruise.
Also, the Rotax engine can burn 95/98 Unleaded MOGAS which is always so much cheaper than AVGAS. So given the choice, fly an aircraft with a ROTAX engine and fill up with cheaper MOGAS.
If you want to save money, fly the Tecnam P2002-JF as it is by far the most fuel-efficient aircraft in our fleet, it takes both AvGas and cheaper MoGas and it has the lowest fuel consumption among the fleet. After finishing your hour building, just fill it up before returning.
We also provide
PPL pilots looking to undertake a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) course will need to accumulate a minimum of 100 Pilot-in-Command (PIC) hours. Our structured hour building programme ensures students achieve this requirement for CPL issue while also preparing you for the CPL course.
Our team of experienced flight instructors who teach the CPL modular flying course will be made available to help you build the additional skills and experiences required to meet the very high standards expected of you during the CPL skill test.
PPL pilots working towards CPL must accumulate a certain amount of flight time before they can begin the professional modular flight training courses. For example, pilots must have completed, before starting the: -
When you apply for the CPL(A) you must have at least 200 hours of total flight time (although you may count 5 hours in a flight simulator training device - FSTD), which must include 100 hours as PIC, of which at least 20 hours must be cross-country, which shall include a cross country flight of at least 300 NM including full stop landings at two (2) aerodromes.
Do make sure your log book reflects these minimum flight time requirements before you start your professional modular flight training courses as your licensing authority will check your log book. If you did not meet the minimums before starting the ME/IR/CPL training, it will invalidate the course.
‘Hour building’ is the term used to describe the accumulation of the 100 hours Pilot-in-Command (PIC) flight time requirement for CPL issue after gaining your PPL.
Once you complete your PPL and Night Rating course, ideally you should start pretty soon after the 100-hour time building phase while you are still in current flying practice. Having passed the PPL skill test, it is wise just to continue through another month and complete the 150 hours total time. If you let your recency lapse you will incur additional expense getting current again as you will need to fly with an instructor to have your proficiency checked. After a long period of no flying, it is a given that you will have lost some of your proficiency which you worked so hard to get in gaining your PPL. You will also leave yourself with more flying to do before starting the CPL and ME-IR which adds time and financial pressure. Once the 150 hours have been logged and you have passed all 13 ATPL examinations, you can start and finish without delay or interruptions the MEP rating, CPL and ME-IR courses which is all dual instruction. In this period you need to be focused on sharpening your flying proficiency with an instructor so you reach peak flying practice for the CPL and ME-IR skill test.
Flight time commences when an aircraft moves under its own power for the purposes of flight and ends when the aircraft comes to rest after landing. This is the time you record in your pilot log book, known as block time.
For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements for a PPL, CPL or an instrument rating, cross-country flight is time acquired during a flight (a) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure.
Yes. As a private pilot you can subscribe to and advertise on Wingly, a platform site that allows general aviation pilots to share the aircraft rental costs and this will significantly subsidize your hour building programme. One of the advantages of flying from Palma de Mallorca, a thriving tourist island year-round, especially in summer, is the huge demand for flight sharing to neighbouring Balearic islands including Ibiza and to mainland Spain, particularly Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona, even up to France, the UK and Germany. Try your luck, advertise, and see who signs up.
Safety when flying must always be your first priority. When it comes to flight sharing, Fly EPT Spain promotes the safety of cost shared flights and supports EASA’s Safety Charter for non-commercial general aviation, which you can read here.
For hour builders flying from Son Bonet Airport (LESB), or from Binissalem Aerodrome which has NO landing fees and where cheap Unleaded 95 MOGAS is freely available for those flying the Tecnam P2002-JF, consider the following route network to build up your cross country flight time.
Departure FROM | Destination TO | Distance (NM) | Destination Notes |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Menorca/San Luis Aerodrome (LESL) | 83 NM | Menorca (LESL) No re-fueling available. Landing fee: €15 Unlimited touch and go's |
Menorca/San Luis Aerodrome (LESL) | Ibiza (LEIB/IBZ) | 163 NM | Ibiza (LEIB) Landing fee: €23.15 (landing fee + 2 hours parking) Handling fee: €18.85 |
Ibiza (LEIB/IBZ) | Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | 90 NM | Landing fee: €2.71 |
TOTAL DISTANCE = | 336 NM |
Flying the triangle from Son Bonet Airport (LESB) to San Luis Aerodrome (LESL) on the neighbouring island of Menorca, and then to Ibiza (LEIB) and back to LESB is 336 NM and therefore meets the requirements for the CPL qualifying cross-country flight which must be a route of at least 300 NM including full stop landings at two (2) aerodromes. Menorca is an approved aerodrome for Night training. If you would like to combine the CPL qualifying cross country flight with a Night Rating course with a 2-night stopover in Menorca, this can be arranged.
Departure FROM | Destination TO | Distance (NM) | Destination Notes |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Alicante (LEAL/ALC) | 280 NM | Alicante (LEAL) Landing fee: €TBD Handling fee: €TBD |
Alicante (LEAL/ALC) | Reus Airport (REU/LERS) | 217 NM | Reus (LERS) Landing fee: €TBD Approved aerodrome for Night Rating course |
TOTAL DISTANCE = | 597 NM |
Flying Son Bonet Airport (LESB) to Alicante airport (LEAL) and then to Reus Airport (LERS) is 597 NM and will also satisfy the requirements for your CPL qualifying cross-country flight which must be a route of at least 300 NM including full stop landings at two (2) aerodromes. Reus airport is also one of the few regional aerodromes authorised for Night flying training. If you would like to combine the VFR CPL qualifying cross country flight with a Night Rating course over a 2-night stay in Reus, this can be arranged.
Nearest Airports from Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Departure | Destination | Distance | Destination Notes |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Castollón de la Plana Aerodrome | 244 km | Lunch on the beach MOGAS available |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Barcelona Sabadell (LELL/QSA) | 210 km | 20 km North of Barcelona AENA |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Reus (LERS/REU) | 216 km | |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Valencia (LEVC/VLC) | 287 km |
The following general aviation (GA) friendly-airports are popular destination stop-over points for time builders: -
Palma de Mallorca/Son Bonet (LESB) - Menorca/San Luis Aerodrome (LESL) (No re-fueling. Landing fee: €15 - unlimited touch and go's) - Ibiza (LEIB/IBZ) - Binissalem Aerodrome (LEIS) (No landing fee. MOGAS available)
Alicante (LEAL/ALC) - Almeria (LEAM/LEI) - Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell Airport (LEU) - Barcelona Sabadell (LELL/QSA) - Burgos Airport (RGS/LEBG) - Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport (LECH/CDT) - Cordoba (LEBA/ODB) - Granada Juan Espadafor (LEJE) - Huesca–Pirineos airport - (HSK/LEHC) - Jerez (LEJR/XRY) - León (LELN/REN) - Málaga (LEMG/AGP) - Madrid–Cuatro Vientos Airport (LECU) - Ocaña (LEOC) - Pamplona (LEPP/PNA) - Reus (LERS/REU) - Salamanca (LESA/SLM) - San Sebastian (LESO/EAS) - Valencia (LEVC/VLC) - Vigo (LEVX/VGO)
Gibraltar (LXGB/GIB)
Biarritz Pays Basque Airport (LFBZ/BIQ) - Bordeaux - Léognan-Saucats Airport (LFCS) - Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (LFMT/MPL) - Cannes Mandelieu Airport (CEQ/LFMD) - La Môle – Saint-Tropez Airport (LFTZ)
Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA/LIRP) (Safestay Pisa hostel) - Milan-Bresso Airfield (LIMB) - Rome Urbe Airport (LIRU) - Venice-Lido Airport (LIPV)
Fes Saiss (GMFF/FEZ)
Note: Tecnam P2002-JF registration EC-NZS has a ROTAX engine (MoGas).
Spain
Binissalem Aerodrome (LEIS) - Aerodromo de Santa Cilia (LECI) - Aeròdrom d'Avinyonet del Penedès (West Barcelona)
France
Riviera Airport (LIMG) - Carpentras Airport (LFNH)