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Pilot Progression Pathway
For existing PPL or more holders. Gain advanced flight experience, build competency and readiness for mission aviation roles supporting communities in need.
Have you already started your flying journey?
The Pilot Progression Pathway (PPP) is a new training route within the Mission Aviation Academy, created for pilots who already hold a Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) or higher and are discerning a call to Christian mission aviation, but who are not yet mission‑ready.
This pathway exists to bridge the gap between early flight training and the experience, maturity, and qualifications required to serve as a mission pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) overseas.
What is the Pilot Progression Pathway?
The Pilot Progression Pathway supports pilots who have already begun building flight experience and need a clear, supported route to reach MAF’s operational standards.
If you are successful, MAF UK will support you in gaining the advanced training, experience building, and preparation required for overseas service as a mission pilot.
Unlike the Future Pilot Programme (FPP), this pathway does not start from zero hours and is not a fixed‑length programme. We would anticipate pilots completing the pathway in approximately 6-18 months, depending on prior experience and individual progression.
Who is the Pilot Progression Pathway for?
The PPP is designed for pilots who:
A solid working understanding of maths and physics is expected from PPL theory level onward, as these subjects underpin both early learning and later stages of advanced pilot training.
Becoming a mission pilot involves significant training costs. Through the Pilot Progression Pathway, MAF UK provides financial support by employing selected pilots on a fixed term contract throughout their training.
This includes:
All trainees are also required to engage in support raising, building a team of prayer and financial supporters. MAF UK provides guidance and support throughout this process.
In view of MAF’s investment, successful candidates are required to sign a training agreement, committing them to overseas service with MAF following the completion of training.
This agreement normally involves a multi‑year commitment starting from deployment overseas. (Self-withdrawal from training or overseas service may require pro‑rata repayment of training‑related costs.)
All flight training is conducted through MAF’s Mission Aviation Training Centre (MATC) in the Netherlands, one of MAF International’s core training locations operating to MAF standards.
Training is delivered using MAF’s own operational standards, competency framework, and mission-specific flying practices, ensuring pilots are prepared for the realities of remote and challenging environments.
Stage 1: Connect & Discern
Pilots can begin a conversation with MAF at any point during the year.
This initial stage focuses on understanding your flying background, sense of calling, and whether the Pilot Progression Pathway may be the right fit. These early conversations are relational and exploratory, helping both you and MAF prayerfully discern next steps.
While we welcome enquiries throughout the year, the Pilot Progression Pathway operates with a fixed annual application window. Details of the current application window and next steps can be found further below on our application page.
Stage 2: Assessment & Selection
Assessment within the PPP is designed to be holistic, exploring calling, character, readiness for mission, and technical suitability.
Interview assessment days will include:
Alongside interviews, candidates will complete technical and aptitude assessments, which would include online Symbiotics assessments to help evaluate learning style, technical foundations, and readiness for next stages of flight training and experience building.
For suitable candidates, this process may then lead to a Gap Analysis assessment at the Mission Aviation Training Centre (MATC) in the Netherlands. This is typically a 2–3 day practical assessment, involving flying and simulator activity, designed to identify strengths and clarify the most appropriate training route to mission-ready standard.
Candidates are engaged and assessed throughout the year, with a single annual decision point (illustratively toward the end of September).
Stage 3: Train & Build Experience
Once accepted, pilots enter a tailored training programme, designed around their existing qualifications and experience.
Training may include:
Progression is based on competency and readiness, not time served.
At the end of training, Pilots will undertake a flight evaluation and final interviews to consider potential roles and locations of assignment, and an assignment offer will be made.
Stage 4: Prepare for Deployment
Following completion of flight training, pilots undertake further preparation for overseas service, including:
During this stage, conversations around overseas deployment begin to take shape. Any recommendation regarding a future programme is made with the trainee’s current family circumstances in mind, and—where applicable—their spouse is actively included in these discussions throughout Stage 4. Decisions are approached prayerfully and transparently, in conversation with the trainee, their family, and MAF.
Stage 5: Overseas Service
On completion of the Pilot Progression Pathway, pilots are deployed to serve with MAF in Africa or the Asia‑Pacific region, flying lifesaving and life‑changing missions to isolated communities.
How the Pilot Progression Pathway differs from the Future Pilot Programme
The Future Pilot Programme (FPP) is designed for those with no flight experience and follows a fixed, multi‑year structure.
The Pilot Progression Pathway, by contrast:
– Starts with an existing PPL or higher licence.
– Has a shorter, flexible timeline (typically 6-18 months).
– Uses rolling engagement with candidates over a fixed single annual application window.
– Offers a higher living allowance, reflecting later stage candidates.
Both pathways share the same mission, values, training standards, and commitment to overseas service—they simply start from different points.
If you already hold a PPL (or higher) and are prayerfully considering how your flying could serve Christian mission, we invite you to start a conversation with us. You’re welcome to start a conversation with MAF at any point during the year. Formal applications, however, are considered within a defined annual application window, enabling us to prayerfully assess candidates together and appoint the strongest and most appropriate cohort year on year.
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