From your first flight to the flight deck.
Build your professional aeroplane career step by step — with independent EASA theory training, a clear regulatory roadmap and the freedom to choose where you complete your practical training.
One destination. Your own sequence.
The modular EASA route turns a major career decision into a series of manageable qualifications. You begin with the PPL(A), build experience, complete ATPL(A) theoretical knowledge and then add the instrument, multi-engine and commercial privileges required for a professional career.
Unlike an integrated programme, the modular route lets you control pace, location and many of the practical-training choices. That can make it especially attractive if you want to combine training with work, university or family commitments — or simply want to select the strongest provider for each module.
We teach the theory. You keep the freedom to choose where you fly.
Cranfield Aviation is flight-school neutral. We can introduce you to trusted practical-training partners, but you are not tied to them. Where Part-FCL permits, you may complete practical training with any appropriately approved ATO or DTO.
Explore our partner network →Take the controls before you commit.
Your first step should be an introductory flight of around an hour. Sit in the pilot seat, handle the controls with an instructor and experience the workload, visibility, radio environment and sheer joy of flying for yourself. It is the best way to answer the most important question: is this really the career you want?
Find a practical training partner →Complete your Class 1 medical early.
A professional CPL, MPL or ATPL requires a valid EASA Class 1 medical. The initial Class 1 certificate is issued by an Aero-medical Centre (AeMC). We recommend completing this step before making a major financial commitment to professional flight training.
Class 1Initial at AeMCWhat should you budget — and how long does it take?
Professional aeroplane training is a major investment. The final cost depends on aircraft rates, training location, hour-building strategy, simulator use, previous experience and the route you choose. The figures below are realistic planning ranges rather than fixed quotations.
Approx. €60,000–€100,000
As a broad planning range for a modular professional route from zero experience through PPL(A), ATPL(A) theory, hour building, night flying, instrument training, multi-engine privileges and CPL(A). Individual totals can move materially depending on where and how you fly.
Modular pathwayPlanning range18–24 months intensive · 2–4 years part-time
An intensive, well-structured programme can typically be completed in around 18–24 months. If you train alongside work, university or family commitments, a realistic planning horizon is roughly 2–4 years. Weather, aircraft availability, exam scheduling and personal continuity can all affect the timeline.
18–24 months intensive2–4 years part-timeThe professional aeroplane pathway, step by step.
The sequence below shows a highly practical modular route from zero experience to the qualifications normally expected before an airline type rating. Individual credits and training needs depend on your previous experience, training records and the ATO programme.
Make the dream tangible.
Book a real introductory flight and fly the aeroplane yourself under instructor supervision. We can help arrange it through our network, or you can choose a local school. This is deliberately first: professional training is a serious commitment, and you should know what the cockpit feels like before you invest.
Build your foundation.
Complete your PPL(A) theory with Cranfield while starting practical flight training in parallel. EASA requires at least 45 hours of flight instruction, including at least 25 hours dual and 10 hours supervised solo. The solo element includes cross-country experience. Your practical training can be completed with a suitable partner or another approved school.
Move from private flying to airline-level theory.
Once you hold an ICAO-compliant PPL(A), begin the modular ATPL(A) theory course. This is the academic backbone of the professional route and gives you the theoretical-knowledge credit used later for CPL/IR and the first multi-pilot type rating. Passing ATPL(A) theory also credits the theoretical-knowledge requirement for an IR(A), so no separate IR theory examination is normally required.
Turn flight time into professional experience.
The CPL(A) is issued at a minimum of 200 hours total flight time, including at least 100 hours PIC and 20 hours cross-country as PIC. Before starting the modular CPL flight-training phase, you need at least 150 hours total and 50 hours PIC. Rather than simply collecting hours, we recommend structuring this period around cross-country flying, international operations, disciplined planning and progressively more demanding missions.
For a zero-to-professional modular route, the additional experience-building phase is often around 100–110 hours after the PPL, but the exact figure depends on how your PPL, night, IR, MEP and CPL training hours combine.
Extend your privileges beyond daylight.
The aeroplane Night Rating requires at least 5 hours of flight time at night, including at least 3 hours dual, at least 1 hour of cross-country navigation with a dual cross-country flight of at least 50 km, plus 5 solo take-offs and 5 solo full-stop landings. It is a compact module, but an important step toward professional operations.
Learn to fly when the outside world disappears.
A single-engine competency-based modular IR(A) includes at least 40 hours of instrument time under instruction. Up to 25 hours may be completed in an FFS or FNPT II. Eligible instrument instruction previously completed with an IRI(A), or an FI(A) holding IR-training privileges, may be credited up to 30 hours; the ATO determines the credit after a pre-entry assessment. In all cases, at least 10 hours of instrument flight instruction must be completed in an aeroplane at an ATO.
Before the IR skill test route, Part-FCL also requires the relevant cross-country PIC experience. With completed ATPL(A) theoretical examinations, the IR theoretical-knowledge requirement is credited.
Add the second engine — and IFR privileges to match.
For the initial single-pilot multi-engine class rating, Part-FCL specifies at least 7 hours of multi-engine theoretical knowledge and 6 hours of dual flight training: 2.5 hours in normal multi-engine operations and 3.5 hours in engine-failure and asymmetric-flight techniques. If you already hold a single-engine IR(A), the first multi-engine IR extension requires at least 5 additional hours of instrument instruction in multi-engine aeroplanes, of which up to 3 hours may be completed in an FFS or FNPT II.
Convert your experience into a commercial licence.
With a valid IR(A), the modular CPL(A) flight-training phase requires at least 15 hours of dual visual flight instruction. At least 5 hours must be flown in an aeroplane certified for at least four persons, with a variable-pitch propeller and retractable landing gear. The remaining training can be completed on an appropriate single-engine aeroplane or, where the prerequisites are met, on a multi-engine aeroplane. The CPL(A) skill test completes the commercial-licence step.
Prepare for a multi-crew flight deck.
The Multi-Crew Cooperation course introduces the operating philosophy, communication, task sharing, CRM and threat-and-error management of a multi-pilot cockpit. The standard MCC(A) course includes at least 25 hours of theoretical instruction and 20 hours of practical MCC training in an approved simulator. Advanced UPRT adds at least 5 hours of theory and 3 hours of dual flight training focused on prevention and recovery from aeroplane upsets.
Both are key prerequisites on the route to a first multi-pilot aeroplane type rating, subject to the applicable Part-FCL exemptions and the aircraft OSD.
Now train for the aircraft you will fly professionally.
With your CPL(A), multi-engine IR(A), ATPL(A) theoretical knowledge, MCC, Advanced UPRT and the required PIC experience, you can move into a first multi-pilot aeroplane type rating, subject to the exact prerequisites for the aircraft and operator. This is where generic professional training becomes aircraft-specific — for example on an Airbus, Boeing or regional-aircraft type.
The full ATPL(A) licence itself is issued later, once the Part-FCL experience requirements — including 1,500 hours total flight time — are met. The common term “frozen ATPL” is industry shorthand, not a separate licence.
Your professional qualification stack.
A typical modular airline-entry profile combines licences, ratings and certificates rather than one single “airline pilot course”. Each component builds a specific privilege or competency.
Airlines may impose additional selection, language, recency, experience, licence-state or training requirements. A type rating may be airline-sponsored, self-funded or integrated into an operator training pathway.
A theory school that does not lock you into one cockpit.
Your theoretical training should support your career choices — not dictate where you rent an aeroplane. Cranfield provides EASA theory, learning technology, exam preparation and personal guidance. For practical training, we can connect you with experienced partner ATOs, while remaining transparent that you are free to choose another appropriately approved training organisation.
View practical training partners →Build a route around your life — and your objectives.
Want to train intensively? Combine modules around work? Hour-build in another country? Use one ATO for the IR and another for the CPL? A modular route can accommodate that flexibility, provided the regulatory prerequisites, records and course-entry requirements are respected.
Before you start.
Do I have to complete my practical training with Cranfield or a partner school?
No. Cranfield is intentionally flight-school neutral. Our core role here is EASA theoretical training and pathway guidance. We can recommend practical partners, but your PPL, hour building and subsequent practical modules may be completed elsewhere where the relevant Part-FCL approval permits it.
What does “frozen ATPL” actually mean?
It is an industry expression, not an EASA licence. In everyday airline recruiting it usually describes a pilot who holds a CPL(A), multi-engine IR(A), has passed ATPL(A) theoretical knowledge and has completed the additional airline-entry prerequisites such as MCC and Advanced UPRT. The full ATPL(A) is issued later when the required flight experience is met.
Can I build my hours outside a flight school?
Much of your PIC experience can be built through ordinary flying in aircraft you rent, share or own, provided the time is legally loggable and contributes to the relevant Part-FCL experience requirements. Instrument-training credit is a separate matter: CB-IR credit outside an ATO is subject to specific instructor, documentation and ATO-assessment requirements.
Is 100–110 hours of hour building always required?
No. It is a useful planning range for many zero-to-professional modular routes, not a fixed regulatory number. The legal targets are the total and PIC experience requirements at CPL entry and issue. Your exact remaining hours depend on the flight time already accumulated through PPL, night, IR, multi-engine and other training.
When should I complete the Class 1 medical?
Early. A Class 1 medical is required to exercise CPL, MPL and ATPL privileges, and the initial certificate must be issued by an AeMC. Completing it before major professional-training expenditure reduces avoidable financial risk.
Start with one flight. Then build the career.
Whether you are still deciding if aviation is right for you or already hold a PPL(A), we can map the next theoretical and practical milestones around your current experience.
