How Much Does a Gyroplane Licence Cost?
The full price of a PPL(G), line by line
Most schools answer this with “it depends” and leave you there. It does depend - on how many hours you need - but that is no reason to hide the numbers. Here is the whole rate card for our Algarve training programme, including the one figure most schools never mention until you have already committed: the solo bond.
The short answer
- From about £8,500 for the full course if you have never flown - against £40,000 to £50,000 for a helicopter licence - roughly what a new electric car loses to depreciation in its first year, which is a comparison we make properly in Tesla autopilot vs aircraft autopilot.
- From about £5,600 if you already hold a pilot licence and need roughly 25 gyroplane hours.
- From £190 per flying hour - the rate everything else is built on.
- Plus a £5,000 returnable bond held during solo training, and your travel and accommodation.
The rate card
Published rates for the Algarve programme, correct as at 17 August 2026. Rates are reviewed periodically, so ask us to confirm the current figures before you budget on them.
| What | Price | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Dual instruction | from £190 per flying hour | With the instructor beside you. The rate applies from your second hour onwards as a registered student. |
| Supervised solo | from £190 per flying hour | The aircraft is still chargeable when you fly it alone. |
| Ground school and briefings | from £50 per hour | Charged only for extended instruction beyond the briefings around each flight. |
| Written examinations | £35 per paper | Five papers are required, so £175 in total. |
| Flying club membership | £60 per year | Required of every student before training begins. |
| Gyropedia subscription | £120 per year | The online training platform used alongside the flying. |
| Solo insurance contribution | £500 per year | Towards the additional insurance needed to fly the school's aircraft solo. Not refundable. |
| Solo training bond | £5,000, returnable | Held while you are flying solo and returned in full if the aircraft comes back undamaged. |
What that adds up to
The UK PPL(G) needs 40 hours of flight training. Those hours may be flown in any flying machine, but 15 hours dual and 10 hours solo must be in gyroplanes - so an existing pilot lands at around 25 gyroplane hours while a complete beginner flies the full 40. What those hours are spent on is set out exercise by exercise in the PPL(G) syllabus.
| Starting from scratch - 40 hours | 40 × £190 = £7,600 of flying, plus £175 of exams, £60 membership, £120 platform and £500 solo insurance - about £8,455. |
|---|---|
| Already a pilot - about 25 gyroplane hours | 25 × £190 = £4,750 of flying, plus the same £855 of fees - about £5,605. |
Treat both as floors rather than forecasts. The CAA sets minimum hours, not average ones, and an instructor signs you off on competence rather than on a stopwatch. Flying frequently is the cheapest thing you can do: students who fly twice a week generally need fewer total hours than those who fly once a month, because less of each lesson is spent recovering what the gap took away.
The bond nobody mentions
Before you fly the school's aircraft solo, a £5,000 bond is held. It is not a fee and not a deposit against your training - it is security against damage, and it comes back in full when your solo training finishes with the aircraft in one piece. Student liability for damage is capped at £7,500.
We put it high on this page rather than in the small print because it is the number that catches people out. It does not add to the cost of your licence, but you do need it available at the point you start flying solo, and that is worth knowing in month one rather than month four.
What is not in these figures
- The FRTOL radio licence and its practical test.
- The CAA licence issue fee when you apply.
- Travel and accommodation for the Algarve - though we help arrange somewhere to stay, Faro is one of the cheapest routes out of the UK, and a hire car for the week runs to about £100.
- Ground school hours beyond the briefings around each flight, which vary from student to student.
- A medical examination - none for the UK licence itself, which runs on a self-certified Pilot Medical Declaration. But if you train in Portugal you will need a valid Class 2 medical certificate to satisfy Portuguese regulations - a declaration is not sufficient there. Budget for the examination fee and book it before you travel.
Where the money actually goes
An hourly rate on a two-seat gyroplane covers fuel, the engine and airframe reserves that fund scheduled servicing, insurance, the airfield and the instructor sitting next to you. It is why the honest lever on total cost is not haggling over the rate - it is flying often enough that you need fewer hours. Our intensive Algarve course exists for exactly that reason: flying weather nearly every day and at least two flights a day, so the syllabus takes weeks instead of the six months to a year a weather-bound UK schedule usually needs.
How that translates into calendar time, and how to split the course into two trips with a gap, is set out in how fast you can get a gyroplane licence.
And then the aircraft
The licence and the machine are separate purchases. A new ARGON is built to order from £125,000 and used two-seat gyroplanes in the UK start from roughly GBP 45,000 - our guide to what a gyrocopter costs to buy and run covers that side, and what we have for sale covers the rest. Worth knowing early: our used machines usually come out of the training fleet, so the aircraft you learn on is often the one you end up owning.
Comparing rotorcraft before you commit? A helicopter licence is the other route people weigh, and gyrocopter versus helicopter sets out the difference in both training and running costs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a gyroplane licence cost in the UK?
Budget from about £8,500 if you are starting from scratch and from about £5,600 if you already hold a pilot licence. Training is charged by the flying hour - from £190 - so the total turns on how many hours you fly: 40 from scratch, or around 25 gyroplane hours for an existing pilot. On top of the flying there are five exams at £35 each, £60 club membership, a £120 training platform subscription and a £500 solo insurance contribution.
Why is there no fixed price for the whole course?
Because nobody can tell in advance exactly how many hours you will need. The CAA sets minimum hours, not average ones, and students who fly twice a week generally need fewer total hours than those who fly once a month. An honest school quotes an hourly rate and an estimate against your starting point rather than a single headline figure.
What is the £5,000 bond for?
It is a returnable deposit held while you are flying the school's aircraft solo, released in full when your solo training finishes with the aircraft undamaged. It is not a fee - but it is real money you need to have available, so plan for it rather than being surprised by it. Maximum student liability for damage is capped at £7,500.
What is not included in these figures?
The FRTOL radio licence, the CAA licence issue fee, and your travel and accommodation for the Algarve. Ground school hours vary by student. For the UK licence your Pilot Medical Declaration is a self-certification and adds no examination fee - but training in Portugal requires a valid Class 2 medical certificate, which is an examination with an Aeromedical Examiner. Allow for that fee and book it before you travel.
Can I spread the cost?
Training is paid as you fly rather than as one lump sum, which is what makes it manageable for most students. Contact us with your starting point and we will set out a written estimate and how the payments fall across the course.
Does the licence cost include the aircraft?
No - the licence and the aircraft are separate purchases. A new ARGON starts from £125,000 and used two-seat gyroplanes in the UK from roughly GBP 45,000. Our guide to what a gyrocopter costs covers buying and running one.
Before the money, the rule: whether you need a licence at all, and the one flight that is legal without one.