FAQ

In Europe, the firefighting operation is delegated by EASA to each country.

In the case of Spain, there is a national regulation (Royal Decree 750/2014) that all air operators of this type of operation must follow and comply with.

In addition to RD750/2014, there are certain EASA regulatory points (Regulation 965/2012) that also apply.

The answer is yes, although with nuances.

Doing a class qualification course by your own means does not guarantee a job, besides being a very important economic investment.

It is advisable to be tested by a company and if this company pre-selects you, it will be the one who will most likely take the qualification course.

As it is a very high investment in training for the company, a commitment is usually signed with the pilots for a period of time, in which the pilot, if he leaves the company, must assume the prorated cost of his training.

The extinction sector is growing a lot, due to the need in many countries to have their own or subcontracted fleets for these operations.

It usually starts as a seasonal job – an average of 6 months a year – although as experience is gained it usually becomes a year-round job.

If you consider dedicating yourself to this sector, it is best to prepare yourself with other types of aerial work that give you enough experience to be able to carry out a class / type rating with a training center (ATO) and be able to join the sector.

Jobs:

• Fire coordination pilot.
• Aerial work pilot with tail skid plane: fumigation, billboard dragging, parachutist launching, glider dragging, etc.
• Observer / firefighting operator.

Courses:

• Mountain flight courses.
• Basic amphibious aircraft courses.
• Complete aerobatic / UPRT courses.

At our EASA-approved Training Organization (ATO), we can perform:

• AT802 initial qualification course – terrestrial version.
• AT802 initial qualification course – amphibious version.
• AT802 terrestrial to amphibious differences course.
• AT802 Amphibious to Land Difference Course.
• AT802 class rating renewal courses (land / amphibious).
• AT802 CRI Instructor Courses.

The European regulation (EASA) establishes the AT802 class rating with the following reference: AT4/5/6/8.

This means that in our EASA license the authorization will appear like this, since it covers all the Air Tractor series.

If you take the course in our ATO, you can only fly the Air Tractor AT802 – in the version that the course has been received (land / amphibious) – and to be able to fly any other series (4,5,6) you must take a differences course at a training center that has that course approved.

The differences courses that you take will not appear on your license, but you must have their completion documented: in the pilot’s logbook and through certificates issued by the training center.

Of course. Although our approval is European, we can and regularly train pilots with licenses from third countries.

Of course, it must be clarified that for the training to be valid, the pilot must request from his aeronautical authority that issued his license, the recognition of our training organization as valid.

The AT802 Initial Class Rating Standard Course includes:

• Theoretical training: 16 or 28 hours of face-to-face theoretical classes (depending on whether it is AT802 land or amphibious class rating)
• Flight training: 8 or 11 hours of minimum flight + exam (depending on whether it is AT802 land or amphibious class rating)

Disclaimer:

The flight hours are always minimum hours since, depending on the student’s progress, more may be needed.

No, the qualification course provides you with the minimum knowledge necessary to be able to fly the plane, since what it teaches and trains is at a general level: Structure, limitations, airplane systems, normal, abnormal and emergency procedures; performances and load and centering.

Training is not taught for a specific operation: firefighting, fumigation, surveillance,…

This operational training is obtained from the operator that hires you, since in each case the use of the aircraft may vary.

To be able to fly with a non-European license on a European operator you must have the necessary class/type rating on your license.

If you want to fly an AT802 in Europe, you must have the qualification included in your license and pass an administrative, training and examination process in Europe.

This process called “License Validation” is usually managed by the operator for which you are going to fly and will allow you to fly with your third country license for a maximum of 12 months (extendable if you show that you are enrolled in a school to obtain the pilot CPL EASA).