Left Seat Culture tools
Pilot Training Route Calculator
Compare likely cost and flying time for a UK NPPL microlight, direct PPL, NPPL-to-PPL conversion, or modular commercial airline route.
Planning aid: Regulations, training credits and school requirements change. This tool separates legal minima from editable assumptions. Confirm your route with the CAA and your intended DTO or ATO before spending money.
Estimated routes
Choose your goal and costs, then compare the routes.
Rules used by this version
- NPPL(A) microlight course minimum: 25 hours, including at least 10 hours PIC.
- PPL(A) minimum: 40 hours, including 10 hours supervised solo and the qualifying 150 NM cross-country.
- Modular CPL skill-test experience: 200 hours total and 100 hours PIC, including 20 hours PIC cross-country and a qualifying 300 NM flight.
- Three-axis microlight credit toward modular CPL experience has been approved in principle by the CAA but remains marked as pending until the amended rule is implemented.
Regulatory review date: 6 August 2026. Default prices are illustrative UK planning assumptions, not market averages or quotations.
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