Third stop on my tour of the local flight schools was AeroLink, also based in Sabadell Airport, they offer flight training for fixed wing and rotary both private and commercial as well as offering cabin crew training. They also run Aeronautical course at the local university.

Welcomed by a very friendly chap called Marcel we spent well over an hour talking about the course, the school, flying and, oddly enough, cars. Put two petrol heads together in the same room, and there is little to stop them talking all day… One of the non car related facts I garnered was that the JAR PPL is not only valid for the whole of Europe but the commonwealth as well. Travelling and flying in Australia and NZ? Yes please!

Marcel is clearly a good sales man, as I left this place with a very good feeling about them. As well as the private course they run the full commercial course and are one of few schools to offer this in the modular approach which is so common in the UK. This would allow me to work towards my commercial licence without having to go at it full time.

A lot of the commercial licence is done in association with Taf Helicopters with the offer of working as a co-pilot during the summer’s forest fire fighting season.

I was surprised to learn that 5 hour the 45 hours ‘flight’ time were actually done in a simulator. I wasn’t aware that these would count towards the actual required flight time, but apparently so. In theory this keeps the costs down, but I can’t help but feel at this stage as many hours as possible in the air is the best way to go.

The theory course does seem more comprehensive than what the other schools offer, with 170 hours of classes, possibly because I’d find myself in a classroom full of students who are working directly towards their commercial license. The classes take place, either from 09:00 to 13:30 or 17:00 to 21:00 Monday to Friday and last 10 weeks.

The price structure is very simple, with one price for the whole course which includes the theory, course books which they can get for me in English, 40 hours flight time, 5 hours simulator time and all landing fees included.

Prices: exempt from IVA