About Us

About Us
WHY ECHELON AIR

Excellence for all pilots and owners

Do you dream of gaining your licence?
Want to maximise your flying and offload ownership hassles?
Need support to be a safer pilot?
Seeking ways to inject adventure into your flying?

Echelon Air can make all this possible. As an experienced trainer and valued Cirrus Partner, our end-to-end servicing works to your needs and schedule. We do all we can to leave you flight ready and equipped for your next adventure.

1000

+

Flight Hours Per Year
0

+

Completed Courses
300

+

Tonnes of Carbon offset since 2021
about us

Dedicated and passionate

We are committed to bringing superior flight experiences to those who require the best. But this isn’t solely about luxury travel and the delight of personal aircraft ownership. It’s about fresh destinations, resetting the priority clock and putting you firmly in the pilot’s seat.

It’s our mission to help every graduating pilot answer the question of what comes next. We deliver this with comprehensive owner services, flexible training programmes, the invitation to join our bespoke flying adventures or shared insight to create your own.

We’re here to reset the status quo of the pilot-owner experience. No need to seek separate training, maintenance and sales providers. We have aligned services that we tailor just for you.

With us you’ll always feel connected. Benefit from our years of expertise owning and operating aircraft around the world. It’s a network to be part of.

Our Fleet

Modern and
well-equipped

Striving to always deliver best in class, our training fleet of Cirrus Aircraft is the safest, most advanced piston aircraft in general aviation. They’re all here – the SR20, SR22, SR22T and Vision Jet – with integrated digital flight displays and Garmin avionics fitted as standard.

Our Flight One Tech G6 SR2X Simulator is an important part of our comprehensive scenario-based training. Cirrus-approved, with a functioning CAPS handle and full failure modes, it’s the ideal route to avionics knowhow or efficient recurrency training.

New for 2024 we’re adding an Aeropro Eurofox high-wing STOL aircraft. A joy to fly with responsive, coordinated controls, it handles the shortest and roughest airstrips. Reconnect with your flying roots in this one-of-a-kind tailwheel.

Through our pilot partners we can also secure other high-performance piston and turbine aircraft for rental and training. Just tell us what you need.

The Team

Founder
Declan Callan-Mcgill
Flight Instructor and Operations

Why Choose Us?

Built-in adventure

Finding routes to amazing places, we help make the world a smaller and more diverting place.

Excellence made simple

Welcome to your one-stop-shop for all general aviation and aircraft owner needs.

Tailored delivery

Like your favourite restaurant, we always work to your tastes, serving the best of what’s available.

21st-century training

Enjoy safe landings both in theory and practice with our approved simulator and leading in-flight avionics.

Flexible programmes

Keeping things accessible and actionable, flight training takes note of your motivations and availability.

Total management

Be free to fly as we take insurance, hangarage and maintenance firmly off your ‘To Do’ list.

Global mindset

In air miles and connections, we’re a company of the world. Tap into our network whenever needed.

Ideal location

Our Biggin Hill base offers easy London access or a taking-off point to wherever you need to be. 

Safety

We operate the safest fleet, and train to the safest standards, as there are some mistakes we simply cannot make.

Responsible aviation

Reduced Environmental Impact

We recognise our responsibility to leave the world better than we found it and fully commit to:

Founder

Echelon Air’s here because Philippe wanted to fill a much-needed space and offer pilot-owners better after-sales support. His specialism is supplying the right environment for clients and his own team to grow their aviation journeys and adventures.  

Passionate about general aviation, he flies to visit amazing places and make the world more accessible. “I love the variety of destinations that even a small continent like Europe offers. In two to three hours there are totally different climates, cultures and geographies to explore”.

Flight hours: 4,500 hours between piston and light-turbines.

Private Pilot’s Licence: at 17.

Favourite Cirrus feature: Car-like comfort for relaxed passengers who know they are in the safest piston aircraft around.

Head of Training

As you’d expect, Christopher plays a key role in training delivery, and internal quality assurance and best practice. A skilled pilot and PPL and IR(R) examiner, he oversees training for Ab-Intio PPL, single-engine piston (SEP) refresher courses, Cirrus Transition, Initial IR(R) and recurrency, and helps clients build time towards Competency-based IR.

Christopher admits huge pride seeing clients’ first lessons and solo flights grow into specialist skills. Giving the ability to go further, faster and higher than before always thrills.

Away from Echelon Air, he volunteers with his local Royal Air Force Air Cadet (RAFAC) Squadron and the Honourable Company of Air Pilots, a philanthropic organisation for pilots and navigators.

Flight hours: 2,500 hours, over 2,000 of those instructional.

Commercial Pilot’s Licence: at 21.

Preferred airport destinations: The views crossing Europe, as well as the area’s fantastic food and wine, make trips to Pula in Croatia, Torino in Italy and San Sebastian in Spain all excellent choices.

General Manager

Growing up watching the planes above Biggin Hill set a young Robbie on a path to knowing exactly what he wanted for his career. With his PPL secured then came ATPLs and ME/IR/CPL ratings. He now oversees most of our ferry flights, is a major cog in our show calendar and drives his passion to ensure people enjoy aviation without the hard work.

Robbie pulls together his passion for flying aerobatics and vintage aircraft by being part of the local heritage hangar and dreams of flying warbirds. With his CRI course taken he’ll join our instructing team, offering tailwheel training in our brand new Eurofox!

Flight hours: 1,000 hours

Private Pilot’s Licence: at 21.

Favourite airport destination: Innsbruck for its airport, approach and amazing surrounding terrain.

Flight Instructor and Operations

A self-confessed devotee of leaving the ground far behind, Declan shares his time at EA between onboarding clients, business development, and ab initio PPL and Cirrus conversion training. Flying gliders at 13, Declan got into powered flight at 16, towing gliders around Snowdonia before completing his Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL).  

Wherever flight training needs to happen, Declan can bring it to you with his experience of Alti ports, major international airports and farm strip flying. When not at Echelon Air you’ll find him towing gliders up to 7,000 feet or being part of the annual Junior Gliding Nationals.

Declan Callan-Mcgill

Flight hours: 1,000+ from gliding, SEP and PC12 safety piloting.

Private Pilot’s Licence: at 16.

Favourite Cirrus feature: the Perspective+ Avionics’ fantastic situational awareness with synthetic vision, traffic call outs and capable auto pilot. It means more time to enjoy the view knowing if conditions deteriorate, you’ll achieve a safe landing with minimal stress.

Flight Instructor

Enjoying travel at speed in the air, on land and at sea, Henry instils the adventure of flying. He’s behind many of our successful PPL, Night Rating, IR, IR(R) and Cirrus Transition courses, all tailored to clients’ needs.

Henry learnt to fly after taking up skydiving, completing his commercial training in 2017. Scotland-based at the time he’s well versed in loch-side landings, naming Glenforsa on the country’s west coast an ideal spot for a Cirrus touch down when conditions are right.

Previously a mechanical engineer involved in upskilling colleagues, Henry is well-equipped to make plain all the technical elements leaving no one phased by the detail.

Flight hours: 1,500+ hours

Favourite Cirrus feature: The aircraft’s ability to be a “go anywhere” machine. Plus, the air conditioning is also very nice to have!

Life away from flying: In free time in summer Henry is part of a successful sailing team, leaving winters for motorcycle rides and paramotor flights.