PZL Warszawa-Okęcie ATO

About PZL Warszawa-Okęcie ATO

PZL Warszawa-Okęcie ATO is the training arm of one of Poland's oldest aircraft manufacturers, a company that traces its roots to 1928 and is based at Aleja Krakowska in the Okęcie district of Warsaw. Its Aviation Training Centre has operated since 2001 under certificate PL/FTO-95 and covers the full aeroplane ladder: PPL(A), CPL(A), IR(A), night VFR, MEP and SEP class ratings, plus instructor courses for FI(A), IRI(A) and CRI(SP)M. Two things set it apart from a typical Warsaw flying club. It runs specialist AGRO (agricultural) and FFF (firefighting) courses that few civilian ATOs offer, and because the parent company holds its own continuing-airworthiness and maintenance approvals, the fleet is looked after in-house. The school also advertises a "parallel method" that lets students run PPL theory and flying concurrently. Practical touches include instalment payments, no administrative fees, a free internal examination system, free loan of maps, headsets, calculators and plotters during training, and budget motel accommodation for students travelling in.