The increasing interest in civilian aviation has resulted in an increasing interest in innovative types of aircraft. Ultralight aviation is of particular interest due to its practicality and accessibility. The price of renting out the ultralight planes is now almost equivalent to vehicle rental prices. With prices around 65,000 Euros, it's now possible to be the owner of an airplane and at the price of a vehicle. THK Gökçen Aviation has reached an agreement to soon start selling Italian Tecnam planes. However, they are also offering a rental service which may prove even more tempting than purchasing the planes themselves. The firm is planning to rent aircraft out for extremely reasonable prices. It will cost just 200 liras to rent an ultralight plane from the 450-kilogram weight category. If a pilot is required for the flight, then the rental prices increase to between 250-300 TL.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY

The airplanes will not just be rented out by amateurs for hobby purposes, but are also expected to be used for a number of additional purposes, including for both the tourism and industry sector. Mapping companies are also expected to be in demand of these planes. According to THK Gökçen Aviation General Manager Volkan Yılmazer, they are mainly targeting those interested in aviation as a hobby. "We will be renting the planes out for 300 lira an hour. It will also be possible to rent them out for tourism purposes, such as to conduct short-distance tours." Emphasizing that the necessary infrastructure has been prepared, Yılmazer states that they are trying to make it possible to provide rentals in Istanbul, Efes, Antalya and Ankara.

MAPPING AND TRAINING

Explaining that they will also be offering flight training, Yılmazer states, "There are a number of people who have licenses and want to fly on the weekends but are unable to. We will be establishing a network that will include a number of provinces. We have the infrastructure for our facilities in a number of provinces already. In addition, these planes will be able to be used for mapping purposes. At present these types of planes are already used in a number of areas in sectors such as in determining pipelines or by municipalities. These types of planes are usually dual engine." Training for pilot licenses will also be available. The training involved includes 60 hours of land training and 24 hours of flight time. It takes approximately two to three months to complete the training. The cost for training is approximately 4,500 Euros. In order to fly a private plane however, a PPL (Private Pilot License) is necessary. This license is eligible for planes ranging from 450 kilograms to 5,700 kilograms. Training for this license requires 140 hours of land training and 45 hours of flight time and takes approximately four hours. The PPL course costs approximately 10,000 Euros.