Flying in Israel

[mzurek]

Hi,

I'm planning some vacation in Israel and was wondering if it is possible to rent planes there ? I hold a JAA ATPL and would like to do some pleasure flying there but have no idea if this is possible. I tried to google it but it didn't really come up with anything. Maybe someone on this forum can help with the following questions ?

1.) Is it possible to rent planes in Israel or do they have some kind of closed airspace ?
2.) If 1.) is possible, does anybody have an idea on how to get a PPL based on my JAA license ?
3.) Does anybody know a flying school in Israel ?

Many thanks in advance.

[patowalker]

Have you tried Google (http://www.google.com) ?

[IanPZ]

The microlight world championships are there this year, and the website about it has a lot of useful information, as well as stuff about LAA etc.

Might be a good place to start

WMC 2011 ISRAEL (http://www.wmc2011.co.il/)

[patowalker]

Aeroclub of Israel: [email protected]

[Jidi]

Never had the chance to fly in Israel, even if I do have Israeli citizenship but hold a JAA license. As far as I know you can not fly alone as PIC with a foreign license, you need to either convert the license or fly with an Israeli license holder - maybe an instructor at the field. Also, VFR is quite limited so SVFR as far as I remember ...

More information you can find on:

Flying to / in Israel (http://www.aopa.org.il/site/userfiles/files/English/intoisrael.htm)

Now reading the link I've sent you it clearly states:

By local regulations, Foreign licensed pilots are not allowed to fly on VFR routes.
Since most of the airports and airfields are not equipped for IFR approaches it is not practical to plan an IFR tour in the country.
Validation procedure requires written exams ( aeronautical law, radio operation, navigation, technical knowledge ) as well as practical flight test with CAA examiner, it might take few weeks to complete and it is valid for one year only.
The practical way to have a one time flight is to rent a plane with a local flight instructor in the right seat. The other possible way is to find a local licensed pilot and join a ride by calling local AOPA office (http://www.aopa.org.il/site/component/option,com_contact/Itemid,3/)

More references can be found on AOPA website.

Enjoy your stay in Israel tho :)

[Heliplane]

I believe there is a flying club/school in Herzliya but suspect that you will have to fly with a local instructor. All VFR flying there is what they call "controlled VFR" (each flight needs clearance and must be flown along prescribed routes) and I gather that airspace can be subject to closure at fairly short notice.

Even when I flew there as part of a charity flight from the UK, we had to be accompanied by Israeli qualified pilots when flying VFR internally.

However, if you can arrange it, I'd strongly recommend a flight there. I recently flew around the Negev in a microlight and landed at Masada - great shot of the altimeter indicating about 8,800 feet upon landing!

[mzurek]

Thanks so much for all the great info. Really appreciated !! I found the AOPA site as mentioned a few posts above that gives a lot of info. I also had a look at the AIP. I'm looking into getting an Israeli license so I sent a mail to one of the flying schools. Just waiting for their reply.

Thanks again for all the info guys. I'm looking forward to flying there :-)

[Ultranomad]

There is no uncontrolled airspace in Israel, everything is class D or C. By default, R/T language for VFR flights is Hebrew, but controllers will switch to English on request. For IFR, it's English by default.

If you want to convert your JAA ATPL to PPL, you will have to sit an air law exam in Hebrew (no English version is available) and pass a skill test. I was told that on a foreign license you can only fly IFR, but I could not find a clause in the documents saying so. Maybe it's actually a language issue. Actually, the legislation in Israel is generally much less clear-cut than in Europe: if the law says you cannot do something, you may often be allowed to do it as a matter of exception if you petition the relevant authority and explain why you need it.

Israeli AIP is freely available for download, but the domestic part is in Hebrew only. International AIP (i.e. for IFR flights) is bilingual. IFR airports are LLBG, LLSD, LLET, LLOV (no private flights) and LLJR (seems to be closed, it's on Palestine-controlled territory). LLHA is international but VFR only. There are about a dozen more domestic-only airfields, but the information is somewhat in disarray: a visit to a few of them revealed some discrepancies. For example, LLYO is listed in the AIP as an active aerodrome, but the person in charge of it at the town hall of Yotvata (where it is located) told me it was closed. Apparently, it's legally open but unattended. There are also several aerodromes with known ICAO location indicators and seemingly some traffic, but not listed in the AIP (maybe they are for ultralights only?)