Becoming a LAPL(A) pilot
Want to fly without setting out to circle the globe? The light aircraft pilot licence, created by EASA rules (Part-FCL), is the most direct way into flying: shorter than the PPL, and enough to fly light aircraft as pilot in command anywhere in Europe.
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Flying hours minimum (15 dual + 6 solo)
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Minimum age for the licence
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Minimum age for first solo
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Minimum solo cross-country (150 km)
What you need to start
You can start the ground school and your first dual flights from 14.
First solo allowed from 16: a moment our students never forget, with the instructor on the ground watching you go.
You may finish the training earlier, but the LAPL(A) itself is only issued from 17.
Its standards are lighter than the PPL's. An aeromedical examiner issues it, and you will need it before your first solo.
No qualification or prior aviation knowledge is required: we have been teaching complete beginners since 1937.
The shape of the training
Fifteen flying hours fewer than the PPL, a smaller budget and a shorter timeline: room to concentrate on local flying and shorter cross-country trips.
Joining the club
You become a member of the BYAC, a declared training organisation (DTO) overseen by the French civil aviation authority. A discovery flight with an instructor is still the best way to check, before anything else, that this is for you.
Ground school
The syllabus is shared with the PPL: nine European subjects, from air law to meteorology by way of navigation and principles of flight. Nothing is wasted if you later decide to go for the PPL.
Flight training — 30 hours minimum
15 hours dual with your instructor, then 6 hours of supervised solo, including 3 hours of cross-country. The stage ends with a solo flight of at least 150 km (80 NM), with a full-stop landing at another aerodrome.
The skill test
A flight with an examiner authorised by the authority: navigation, handling, emergency procedures. The written exams must have been passed within the previous 24 months.
Licence in hand
The authority issues your LAPL(A). You fly as pilot in command on single-engine piston aircraft under 2,000 kg, with up to three passengers on board.
One licence, several horizons
Flying in Europe
The LAPL is recognised in every EASA member state. Local flying, cross-country, trips with friends: you fly the same club aircraft as PPL holders, on a non-commercial basis.
Keeping it current
There is no paperwork to file here: validity simply follows your recent experience. Over the last 24 months, count 12 flying hours as pilot in command, 12 take-offs and landings, and one hour with an instructor.
Widening your privileges
Night flying, mountain rating, aerobatics, glider towing: most of the extensions open to PPL holders are open to LAPL holders too.
Moving up to the PPL
Nothing is lost: all your hours are credited. Some further training up to the 45 hours required, the missing cross-country flights, a skill test — and your LAPL becomes a PPL, without retaking the written exams.
Our instructors will help you choose
Flying for pleasure in Europe, or building towards advanced ratings: those are not quite the same needs. A conversation is usually enough to settle it.
This page is based on European EASA rules (the Aircrew Regulation — Part-FCL) and on the examination arrangements published by the French civil aviation authority. As the LAPL is not an ICAO licence, its privileges apply to aircraft registered in EASA member states. These texts change: the conditions in force at EASA (easa.europa.eu) and the DGAC (ecologie.gouv.fr) are the ones that count.