Iain Scott and Scott Dingle set off on their flight on Tuesday Picture: DAVID FERGUSON (00983027)

TWO young pilots from Jersey are flying 3,500 miles across Europe in a single-engined plane.

Scott Dingle (21), and Iain Scott (22) set off to Morocco on Tuesday morning in their single-engine light aircraft, aiming to complete the longest trip in a Jersey Aero Club plane for 15 years.

Scott will take the controls for almost the whole journey, as he needs the air miles to qualify for the next stage of his studies for a commercial licence. ‘We were just hoping that the weather would be on our side,’ he said.

Scott has been a member of the Jersey Aero Club since he was 16 and met his co-pilot, Iain, who is an overseas member of the club and already has his commercial licence, when the two were studying in Bournemouth.

‘Iain is coming on the trip to poke me in the ribs when I do something wrong!’ Scott said. ‘He might do a few hours, but I will probably do most of the flight.’

Scott has just completed 14 ground exams, studying subjects including meteorology, navigation and engines, and needs 100 hours of flight time in command of a plane and 50 hours under instruction to take the next part of the course.

‘I have 120 hours in total at the moment,’ he said. ‘This trip will take me well over what I need.

‘When young pilots try to build up their hours they normally go to America, where the weather is better and the flying is cheaper, but the Aero Club have done me a great deal with this plane.’

The plane in question is a Piper PA28 Archer 3, a single-engine plane that travels at a top speed of about 100 knots (110 mph) and at a maximum height of about 9,000 feet. It has undergone safety checks and is well stocked with spare parts, but confident Scott is not a nervous flier.

‘If the engine dies, it basically becomes a glider,’ he said. ‘We would just chuck it down in a field somewhere.’

The duo will spend a total of about 35 hours in the plane, with the longest stint coming in at about four hours as they travel across Spain from Valladolid to Jerez. But Scott is not worried about cabin fever.

‘We are great friends, so there’s no worries there,’ he said. ‘We have both been looking forward to it and I think it will be brilliant. We also have a stop in Ibiza, which should be fun.’

They plan to return to Jersey between 25 and 28 June, depending on how they progress.