FAQ · Frequently Asked Questions

Quality Fly is an airline-focused flight school that offers what is probably the most innovative ATPL Integrated Programme in Europe, fulfilling all of EASA’s latest improvements and regulations, such as APS MCC, KSA 100 or CBTA, and exceeding its requirements by completing the course in a Full Flight Simulator Level D and receiving Gliding training.

Based in Madrid, Spain, and enjoying over 300 sunny days per year, Quality Fly is a global school with students from over 60 nationalities that delivers its training 100% in English, the only school in Madrid to do so.

Quality Fly operates an entirely new generation fleet which combines glass-cockpit, up-to-date technology, cost efficiency and the highest environmental respect with a fuel consumption up to 50% lower than the equivalent old fleet.

QF is located at Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid, which is one of the oldest airports in Spain and the one with the highest number of operations per year. This airport is ideal for pilot training due to:

1. Intensity of traffic, which prepares you for real, busy airspace conditions
2. Varied geography
3. Location in the centre of Spain, within reach of many airports
4. Excellent weather with many sunshine days per year.

There are multiple ways to come to Cuatro Vientos Airport:

• By bus, lines 483, 486 or 487 will leave you at less than a 5-minute walk from our office.
• By car, take motorway M-40 until exit number 30. Then you will be just around the corner, simply follow directions to Ctra. Barrio de la Fortuna and you will reach our offices in 1 minute.

Depending on the area, the living costs on a single room are around € 600 per month.

Quality Fly has an agreement with a 5 star, fully equipped residence just 7 minutes drive from the airport. You can find out more HERE.

Interested in knowing more about our ATP Integrated program? Then get in touch with one of our Admissions Officers, attending our next Open Day, or feel free to join our Weekly Webinar every Wednesday at 18:00.

Have a look at this page, where you can check all the requirements and find out if you are able to start the course right away.

On one hand, there are at least three subjects that you should be have a good command of.

• The first one is English, the international language of aviation.
• The second one is maths: you will need to sort out some equations, formulae, or do some quick calculations in the cockpit.
• You will also need a basic, general understanding of physics in order to complete the ATPL theoretical exams.
• Be able to pass a pilot aptitude test.

On the other hand, you need to have excellent personal and interpersonal skills such as leadership, decision-making, temperance, communication and assertiveness.

Yes, you need to have completed higher secondary school to A-level/12th grade/Bachillerato or have an equivalent qualification.

You can check the minimum requirements here.

Yes, preferably Cambridge B2 or higher.

Keep in mind the whole training and exams are done in English. Besides, you will need to obtain a certificate of ICAO Language Proficiency in English Level 4 for the issue of your CPL.

It is a course in which you go from zero-experience to having a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) without any intermediate steps, ensuring the fastest time to completion and the highest level of airline focused training.

Quality Fly has launched a new and improved 20-month program to ensure a high quality of training, at an optimal duration.

You will start with 2 months of intro to help get your familiar with the concepts of aviation, followed by 9 months of ATPL Theory training. You then start your flight training in month twelve once you are fully equipped with all the knowledge you need to get into the cockpit and fly safely!

You can see more information about the syllabus HERE.

Quality Fly’s 20 month Integrated Program focused on theory before flight, so you will complete all your official ATPL Theory exams before getting into the cockpit.

This way, we make sure you are fully equipped with all the knowledge you need to become a top pilot. Think about it, would a medical student be permitted to operate on a patient just months into their studies? You will also have a big responsibility for not only your own life but for the lives of others, meaning you have to be fully prepared before flying.

Most flights are 1 to 2 hours long. During cross-country navigations to different airports, you may fly more than one sector a day. Depending on the phase, you will practice basic aircraft handling, VFR manoeuvres, touch and goes, VFR navigation, IFR manoeuvres, IFR navigation, ME handling, UPRT, Night Flight and more.

You will also start your flying with 3 flights of glider training.

We will credit 22.5 hours of your PPL flight time, and will naturally offer you a discount for those hours, providing your flighting level meets our standards.

Yes, you will be granted access to our Online Campus, where you can find all the necessary training material to study along the course.

All the exams have only test-type questions. Depending on the subject, they have from 24 to 84 questions and last for 1 to 2 hours.

The length of our ATP Integrated Program is 20 months.

It usually takes students about 20 to 24 months to complete the theoretical and flight training.

All the training and equipment costs are included in the price.

Accommodation and living expenses are not, although we offer housing options for our students, which start at €920pm.

The other costs you have to be aware of are the initial class 1 medicate exam (€450), the medical certificate renewal (about €120 per year), and the question bank subscription (approx. €200/year).

If you are a non-EU citizen, the cost of your visa is also not included in the price.

It is very important before signing up with a school to know the validity period of your contract, which when expires, you may be subject to additional fees.

At Quality Fly, your validity period is longer than 20 months in order to give you the breathing room in the event of having to repeat a module.

Our Admissions team will explain it to you will full transparency before you sign up to the school.

The admission process is completely free and can be completed in three simple steps:

• Have an initial video call with one of our admissions officers.
• Complete the two official admission assessments (English and Mathematics/Physics).
• Attend the official admission interview.

We have 13 aircraft: 9 Tecnam P2008 JC, 1 Cessna 172S and 3 Tecnam P2006T. However, the fleet has been growing and being renewed since 2018 at a rate of two aircraft per year.

Our student to aircraft ratio is roughly 6/7 students to each aircraft, which is one of the best in Europe.

Quality Fly currently owns all of the aircraft in our fleet.

No, we hire one of the best and most trusted maintenance companies in Spain, specialised in Tecnam, to ensure the utmost level of safety for all our students and instructors.

We have the following simulators which are used in our ATP Integrated training program.

• A Beechcraft King B200 FNPTII Elite Turboprop Simulator
• A Softec Tecnam P2006T Simulator
• An Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator Level D with full motion.
• An Airbus A320 FNPTII Simulator.
• A Boeing 737 Full Flight Simulator Level D with full motion.

You will have a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) with ATPL Theoretical Exams (Frozen ATPL), including several ratings and courses such as SEP, MEP, IR, PBN, Advanced UPRT and APS MCC.

The MEP rating will allow you to act as Pilot In Command of an aircraft with two piston engines, such as a Tecnam P2006, a Piper Seneca or a Diamond DA42.

The IR allows you to fly under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), that is, without outside references, by using the navigation instruments in the cockpit. It is the most common type of flight in airline operations and the only one possible in bad weather conditions.

A class rating allows you to fly a certain group of aircraft that require training common to all of them. SEP, MEP and SET (Single-Engine Turboprop) ratings are class ratings.

A type rating is required to fly heavy and/or complex aircraft that require specific training beyond the scope of a class rating. Airliners such as the Boeing 737, Airbus A320 or ATR72 all require a type rating.

No, the licence will be valid forever, as long as you have a valid Medical Certificate along it.

The ratings in your licence, however, do expire.

Yes, the SEP expires every 2 years, and the MEP, IR and PBN expire every year.

To revalidate or renew your ratings, depending on which specific rating it is, you normally need to perform a skill test with an authorized examiner at a flight school.

At the current time Quality Fly does not offer these services.

A revalidation is done when your rating is still valid.

A renewal is done when your rating is expired.

At the end of your training you will receive a CPL licence with the MEP, IR and PBN ratings. Therefore, you will be able to fly all multi-engine piston aircraft under VFR and IFR, for either leisure or work. In order to fly an airliner or some other complex airplane, you will just need one more course: the type rating for that specific aircraft.

No, you can start the course without the medical certificate, and Quality Fly can request the class 1 medical appointment at a medical centre in Madrid within the first month of your training.

We do recommend trying to have the medical appointment done before the start of your course, in order to avoid interruptions in your training. Speak with our Admissions Team who will be able to organise this for you.

To complete the ATPL course you will need a Class 1 Medical Certificate, the most exhaustive test for ensuring that you are fit to fly.

The Class 1 Medical has to be renewed every year.

The Class 2 Medical has to be renewed every 5 years.

Quality Fly has a maximum height restriction of 195cm including footwear.

Quality Fly has a maximum weight of 95 kg fully dressed, which must not be exceeded for the duration of the course. This is for Mass & Balance purposes of the Aircraft, and is critical for safe flight.

No, you will need a valid Class 1 Medical.

If you are in the process of applying in Quality Fly, our Admissions Team can organise the medical for you.

This will take place in Madrid at our partner medical centre at a cost of €450.

You can renew your medical certificate in any aeromedical centre. You can find a list of those in Madrid here (in Spanish).

Quality Fly will recommend you one of our trusted partners that will also offer you a discount.

In some countries it is possible to obtain government funding. Alternatively, most pilots either use their own savings or receive support from their family.

For Spanish residents only, Quality Fly has an agreement with Spanish bank CaixaBank to offer financing options for students. Ask your Admissions Officer for more information.

If Spain requires a visa for your country of origin, you will be responsible for obtaining it. Upon payment of the enrolment deposit, Quality Fly will provide an acceptance letter and enrolment certificate to assist the student with their student visa application.

We provide CV writing and interviewing skills workshops for all our graduates.

All Quality Fly graduates will also enter into a recruitment database if our training partners GTA, where their partner airlines can find your profile when they are searching for new pilots.

This is a normal reaction upon the first flight experiences. However, we recommend you to try a discovery flight before commiting to a commercial pilot program.