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're 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. You will fly with an experienced flight instructor and gain international route experience. You can log all the block time which includes taxi time as Pilot-in Command (PIC).
Fly EPT Spain is also in partnership with a banner towing company in Spain that has summer season contracts every year in Alicante. If you hold a CPL, this is paid employment.
To register your interest and availability, contact our CFI
Ferry Flight Opportunity # 1
Banner Towing Pilot
Hour building is without doubt one of the most enjoyable stages of your commercial pilot training. After completing the PPL, you will need to start time building and accumulate flight time experience. The professional pilot license requires 100 hours Pilot in Command (PIC) time before license issue and 150 hours total before you can continue with further professional flight training modules.
We have a wide choice of hour building aircraft available for rent in Spain for both EASA and UK CAA licence holders. PPL(A) pilots can pick up any one of our aircraft dotted around various airfields in Spain and you're free to fly away and go touring.
Our choice of single engine piston aircraft available for rent at competitive prices include: -
If you would like to rent an aircraft from us and do some touring flying around Spain and even further afield to France, Portugal, Morocco, 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'll 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 2 hours/day weekdays; 3 hours/day at weekend; 18 hours/week.
Aircraft available for hour building are generally located in Mallorca/Son Bonet/LESB (Ian), Cordoba/LEBA (Gus), Granada Juan Espadafor/LEJE (Clifford) and in Ocaña/LEOC. If you plan your time building routing through these airfields our ground support network can be made available to you, if needed.
Formerly 5B-CLD
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 one G-registered plane (PA28) in Spain. After 31 Dec 2022, only UK CAA licence holders can continue to fly this aircraft. All the rest of our fleet are EASA-registered so you will need an EASA licence to fly one. If you do not hold an EASA licence, contact our CFI for details how you can still fly.
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 subsidised AvGas below market rate. Carefully plan your routing through the airfields with the cheapest fuel price and you'll minimise the expense even further.
Aircraft rental price does NOT include: -
First of all, dry rates are offered because it reduces the tax burden significantly. Plus the aircraft owner doesn’t need to mark up the price to hedge themselves against unknown pricier fuel stations down route.
Dry lease rates therefore offer time builders the opportunity to really save a lot of money.
The onus is simply on the renter pilot to adopt some of these money saving tactics.
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’s 15.8 L/h. To reduce fuel consumption in the cruise, lean the mixture.
CPL aspirants need 50 hours PIC cross country time. Once you hit this target, consider circuit practice as the Tecnam’s P2002 Rotax engine can burn as little as 12 litres/hour flying circuit patterns.
Also, the Rotax engine can burn 95/98 Unleaded MOGAS which is always cheaper than AVGAS, so given the choice, fill up with MOGAS.
If you need to save money, fly the Tecnam P2002 JF as it’s by far the most fuel efficient aircraft in our fleet, uses both AvGas and cheaper MoGas and has the lowest fuel consumption. After finishing your hour building, just fill it up with before returning it back to us.
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 teach the CPL course will be 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 also accumulate a certain amount of flight time before they can begin the modular professional 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 training as your licensing regulatory 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, you should start the 100-hour time building phase soon after 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 the ME rating, CPL and ME-IR courses with no delay or interruptions which is all dual instruction. It's in this period that 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 site platform 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 Barcelona and Valencia, even up to 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 Binissalem Aerodrome, which has NO landing fees and where cheap Unleaded 95 MOGAS is freely available for those flying the Tecnam P2002-JF (which offers you the chance to operate the Tecnam for €21/hour in fuel cost), consider the following route network to build up your cross country flight time.
Nearest Airports from Binissalem Aerodrome, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Departure | Destination | Distance | Destination Notes |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Menorca/San Luis Aerodrome (LESL) | 118 km | No re-fueling available. Landing fee: €15 Unlimited touch and go's |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | Ibiza (LEIB/IBZ) | 160 km | Landing fee: €23.15 (landing fee + 2 hours parking) Handling fee: €18.85 |
Palma-Son Bonet Airport (LESB) | 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: -
Balearic Islands, Spain
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)
Spain
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)
South of France
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)
Italy
Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA/LIRP) (Safestay Pisa hostel) - Milan-Bresso Airfield (LIMB) - Rome Urbe Airport (LIRU) - Venice-Lido Airport (LIPV)
Morocco
Fes Saiss (GMFF/FEZ)
MOGAS airfields in Spain, South of France, Italy
Binissalem Aerodrome (LEIS) - Aerodromo de Santa Cilia (LECI) - Riviera Airport (LIMG) - Aeròdrom d'Avinyonet del Penedès (West Barcelona) - Carpentras Airport (LFNH)