Cheap Hour Building Packages in Spain, Portugal, France, UK, Europe

For UK CAA licence holders needing a G-registered hour building aircraft, select here

Cheap Hour Building opportunity in Europe - Ferry Flights 

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).

Cheap Hour Building for EASA

• Date:  October
• From:  Maastricht Airport (EHBK/MST), Holland / The Netherlands
• To:  Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Aircraft:  Tecnam P2002-JF; registration:  PH-EPT (This aircraft has been re-registered from UK to EASA)
• Licence:  EASA
• Details:  This TECNAM P2002-JF needs to be ferried from Maastricht INTL Airport (EHBK/MST), Holland / The Netherlands down to Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The ferry flight will suit an hour builder holding an EASA PPL(A) with a current SEP(land) class rating. €75/hour (Dry). Only air time is charged but you can log all the block time which includes taxi time for free. The aircraft will be handed over full tanks and must be returned tanks full. A flight instructor can be provided to act as a safety pilot, but you can log P1 PIC time towards the crediting experience of your CPL. This flight will of course count as your CPL Qualifying cross country route. Contact us to register your availability

Banner Towing Pilot - Paid employment

• Date:  July, Aug, Sept 2024
• Base:  Mutxamel Airport (LEMU), Alicante, Spain
• Price:  Paid employment for CPL holder
• Aircraft:  Socata Rallye
• Licence:  EASA
• Details:  Banner towing rating provided. Training in Spain, Italy or France (TBD)

Entry Requirements

• At least 17 years old
• Private Pilot Licence (PPL) - EASA

Hour Building Fleet in Spain for EASA licence holders

Our choice of competitively priced single-engine piston aircraft available for rent for EASA licence holders include:

• Tecnam P2002 JF (EC-NZS)
• Tecnam P2002-JF (PH-EPT)
• Cessna 172 (EC-ETC)
• PA28-180 Piper Cherokee C (EC-LOK)

Hour Building Fleet in Portugal for EASA licence holders

• Cessna C150 (D-EIQI)

Hour Building Fleet in Spain + Portugal for UK CAA licence holders

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

Hour Building Packages, Spain, 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.

Hour Building Aircraft in Spain

€ 75 / hour (Dry)

Tecnam P2002-JF

EC-NZS (formerly 5B-CLD)

PH-EPT

• Check pictures of the Tecnam P2002-JF here
• 2 seats
• Aircraft based in:  Mallorca/Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Night VFR certified
• 80 hours x €75/hour = €6,000 EUR + fuel
• Accepts MoGas - Half price fuel
• Lowest fuel consumption - Cheapest to fly 
• No landing fee aerodrome option in Palma de Mallorca
• Tecnam P2002-JF
• Licence required:  EASA PPL(A)
• Impeccably maintained by Turmina General Aviation Maintenance. Under CAMO - Continuing Airworthiness Maintenance Organisation (CAMO) - with Efficient Flight, Reus and Itaer, Madrid.
• Full aircraft details here
• Accommodation options here

€ 125 / hour (Dry)

PA28-180 Piper Cherokee C

EC-LOK 

• Wet rate:  €203 EUR / hour
• 4 seats
• Check pictures of PA28 Piper Cherokee here
• Aircraft based in:  Mallorca/Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Night VFR certified
• Licence required:  EASA PPL(A)
• Impeccably maintained by Turmina General Aviation Maintenance. Under CAMO - Continuing Airworthiness Maintenance Organisation (CAMO)

€ 125 / hour (Dry)

Piper Arrow PA-28RT-201 Turbo 4

D-EVID

• Based:  Son Bonet Airport (LESB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Fastest option
• 4 seats
• Fuel capacity:  72 USG
• Fuel consumption:  11.5 USG per Hour 
• Normal cruise speed:  131 KTS, 151 MPH
• Range:  640 NM, 737 SM 

Safety Pilots

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.   

UK Licence Holders

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.

For flights in Spain, hour building packages include:-

WET rates and include: -

• Fuel 
• Oil 
• Initial en-route briefing

DRY rates which do NOT include: -

• Fuel

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: -

• Landing Fees
• Air fees
• Aircraft parking down route, away from home base
• Checkout flight with an instructor or any necessary training. 
• Aeronautical charts (use SkyDemon - Fly EPT Spain is an official retailer and we can offer it to you at a discount)

What is the cheapest way to hour build?

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.

Benefits of Time Building in Spain

• Mediterranean location
• Best all-year-round weather conditions in Europe. 300+ days of sunshine per year. 90+% of the year is VFR
• Easy navigation
• A lot of open VFR airspace, unlike much of Europe which is congested with too much airspace restrictions. 
• Cheaper landing fees ranging from €6-15. At major airports handling is mandatory but only €9.99.
• Opportunity to discover wider Spain, the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Barcelona, Madrid, Gibraltar and neighbouring France, Italy, and Portugal. 
• CPL preparation program. Some of our QFI's are very experienced airline pilots who teach the CPL modular flying course and are available for coaching and mentoring. During these dual-piloted hour building flights you can still log the flight time as PIC. It is not an additional expense, rather a value-added service that aims to sharpen your flying skills to a CPL standard. 

We also provide

• a thorough Briefing for the Airport and Area
• Briefing for the Route Areas you would like to fly, and
• Familiarization training on the Aircraft you will fly.

FAQ - CPL Hour Building

I am hour building for the CPL.  How shall I plan my structured hour building program

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: - 

• Multi-Engine (ME) rating:  70 hours as PIC
• Multi-Engine Instrument Rating (IR):  50 hours PIC cross country flight time
  
• CPL:  150 hours total flight time, including 70 hours PIC and a Night rating  

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.

When to do the hour building

‘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.

What is the definition of flight time?

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.

What is cross-country 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.

Are there ways to help me subsidize my hour building?

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

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.

Popular Destination Airports for Hour Builders

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.

CPL Qualifying Cross Country Flight - 1

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.

CPL Qualifying Cross Country Flight - 2

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

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 Airports in Spain, South of France

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)