Aerofan
 

Can any one help me!!!
I have recently seen an ad for flight training in madrid with Aerofan. Their prices are good and they have very little limitations. Does anyone know whats the catch.
p.s if you know of any other flight training schools in Spain( preferably south east) please tell me.

RESPONSES IN ENGLISH PLEASE:ok:

i did my FIC there and it was good, that was in 2003.
As far as i know still ok.
This subject has been discussed not long ago, make a search on the forum for it, and read.

Ibelieve they have at least one british instructor working there now, so you may wanna have a chat with him and ask him about the school.

as far as i know several british pilots have done thier FIC in Aerofan.

My personal opinion is that is the best place to do a modular course in Spain, prices are extremely good, and what you get in exchange is similar to what the other spanish schools offer.

Goood luck

Hi Delta Xray,

I did my PPL in the same airport in Madrid (Cuatro Vientos) but with Aeromadrid, who are the biggest school there. Aerofan seem ok, and I have had chats with them about continuing courses.

Apart from that in the same airport there are American Flyers and Aerotec. As far as I know Aeromadrid are the only ones with their own maintenance hanger.

The main problem I encountered was that I elected to do the modular course (and still am v slowly) and the result was I had to do the ground exams in Spanish. If you are doing the whole integrated training this is not a problem.

With regards to the South of Spain, I have no detailed knowledge, only that there is a school in Jerez which Britannia certainly use. Something like European Aviation Training I think.

Hope this helps, good luck and feel free to PM me if you think I can help further.

Graham.

Hi! I just want to point a couple of things regarding the information posted by JamonGris (just to clarify and help).

1- AeroMadrid are not the only one in Cuatro Vientos airport (Madrid) to do their own maintenance or to have their own maintenance hangar. Aerofan does their own maintenance in their own hangar aswell.
2- I'm pretty sure that you can request to take all your exams in English. The ATPL exams are in English and Spanish at the same time (i.e. the paper is divided in 2 halfs the right hand side is in English and the left hand side is in Spanish) it doesn't matter if you are a modular or integrated student. To be honest there are FTO like AeroMadrid, Aerofan, etc where you can take the course in English.

If you need a full list of schools that do their own maintenance within Cuatro Vientos or FTO who runs English courses, PM me and I'll be happy to help.

Regards,

Bubble

Hi Bubble, could I just ask which course you did. It's just you get a different answer from virtually every person you ask. I believe you can do the ATPL solely in Spanish, it's only if you choose to do the bi-lingual course exam you get both languages, is that correct ?

My experience was I did ask to do the exams in English and Aeromadrid said they passed on that request, only to be told by the Spanish authorities that because I was doing the PPL exam in Spain it had to be done in Spanish, which surprised everyone.

Still it gave my Spanish a useful push, just made Air Law even harder for me.

Kind regards, Jamongris

:) Thanks everyone that really helped me, but does anyone know what the job opportunities are like in Spain. I love the thought of working there.

Hi JamonGris! I would double check for you with the FTO in Cuatro Vientos if it's possible for you to take the PPL exams in English. Regarding the ATPL you can take the course in Spanish and take the exams in English or Spanish, or the other way around. Before June'2004 you did have to request in advance your exam papers in English at the time when you fill the form to pay the exam fees to the DGAC. But since that, they are in both languages so you read whichever side of the paper you understand best. The questions and answers are presented in the same order, etc, etc. For example I took my lessons in Spanish and my exams in English, and so many of my colleagues for many different reasons.

I'll get back to you with a definetly answer for the PPL.
Regards,

Bubble

:ok:

Hi There, I am also trying to complete a PPL in Madrid and would rather do it in English, so any info is appreciated.

Bubble, I've PM'd you already.

Thanks
CTG

PPL Theory Examinations Spain
 

I have researched this in the past it's not possible to take the PPL theory examinations in English.

What a pity !!

Given that there is now a reciprocal agreement between the CAA and IAA perhaps its now time that the DGAC ( Spanish CAA ) was approached to get a reciprocal agreement between the UK Irelaand and Spain.

Who should take up the batton ??


Cliste

Hi CTG, which school are you doing it with ? If you ever fancy a chat about experiences of doing PPL in Madrid let me know and we'll have a quick beer or something next time I'm in LECU.
Bubble, thanks for the help. I think we're misunderstanding each other a little, I have actually taken the PPL now and am happily flying as a private pilot around Madrid from Cuatro Vientos. I am interested in taking the CPL exams however, maybe with a view to doing some teaching in the future but that would be as far as I would want to go.
It's a little unusual maybe, but I have no desire to fly large jets as a pilot, I really enjoy small light aircraft. :ok:

JOB MARKET IN SPAIN
 

Dear DX
I am an Aeromadrid SIM instructor on my free days and 320 Cpt for a major airlne in Spain.
Airlines job chances in Spain are slim at best. IB, which has always set the market trends in Spain hasnt hired a single pilot in the last , i guess 4 years. The number of unemployed spnish pilots is said to go up to 4000 in a population of 5000 at the max.
The new low cost airlines just hire either experienced TRated personnel or management relatives. So forget that path.
However, if your intention is to settle down in Spain and you are an English native speaker my personal impression is that it wont be unlikely that you´ll be offered a position as a flight instructor in any of the Spanish schools that are surviving through european students.
Hope this info helps u and PM if u need have any more queries.
Sl2 LUPA

Cheers Jamón. I haven't started here yet..that's basically my problem.
I did make a start in UK and ended up with about 70 hours over 5 years, then weather, cash etc, and all my exams expired :{ .
Then to make it easier, 18 months ago I was sent here for work for 6 months :eek: ... blah blah blah and basically I like to think I just need to resit the exams and 10-15 hours to get into it again (last flight 18months ago!). :ok:
Because of this I doubt the big schools would be interested and am therefore looking for more of a club (since I'll need to hire the plane once I finish). I could sit exams in Spanish if necessary, but having done them once and having all the books, it would be quicker to do them in Brit...I could also do them back home.
Please PM me and we can have a chat, I'm off to London for the next 2-3 weekends, but plan to visit LECU very soon to find out more and hopefully make a start.

PS sorry for "hijacking" the post! :(
CTG

As Cliste wrote before... and after checking directly with FTOs in Spain (as I previously to Cliste post, I said I will). Yes, you can complete your PPL training in English in Spain, BUT, the DGAC (Spanish CAA) would only let you take your PPL exams in Spanish.

Thanks Bubble, got your PM. If you had any suggestions for smaller or PPL friendly schools, please let me know before I start visiting all of them.

Thanks
CTG

ATPL @ AEROFAN
 

I'm about o do the ATPL theory course at Aerofan
Any comments on the FTO????
Thanks

They are OK. But don't expect to complete your ATPL Theory course in 6 months (as they normally quote for course duration).
:ok: