Examiners & company
GAT – German Aviation Training is a German organisation specialising in aviation training and assessment, based in Gomaringen near Tübingen. We have been preparing pilots online for their exams since 2020 and running ICAO English tests since 2021. Our examiners are authorised by Austro Control up to Level 6 – and they are all pilots.
Your examiners
Every examiner is authorised by Austro Control as a Language Proficiency Examiner (LPE) up to Level 6 and has a personal number you can check on the official list . And they all know radio communication from the flight deck, not just from textbooks.
Founder · Examiner Levels 4–6
Examiner Levels 4–6 · with GAT since 2022
Examiner Levels 4–6 · airline pilot
Tim has been flying for as long as he can remember: first model aircraft, then gliding with special permission at 13½ and his first solo shortly after his 14th birthday. At 16 he started his PPL(A), including towing and night ratings. Today he holds LAPL, PPL and microlight licences, flies as a safety pilot on the PC-12 and TBM 930 and is currently doing his ATPL training at the Aero-Beta flight school in Stuttgart.
In December 2020 he co-founded GAT with Niklas Kirchert; since April 2021 he has been an ICAO language examiner for Levels 4–6, with more than 1,200 assessments for airline, commercial and private pilots. He is also a radiotelephony examiner (BZF/AZF) for the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) and has examined for Munich Airport since 2025. Off duty, he has been playing the drums since the age of six – preferably heavy metal.
Jan started gliding in 2017, obtained his SPL in 2020 and extended his training via TMG, microlight and SEP to a PPL(A) with night rating. Alongside his work for GAT, he teaches air law and communications at a German flight school and is attending an ATPL course.
Johannes flies long-haul as an airline pilot with a major carrier. English on international frequencies is part of his everyday work – practical experience he brings to every test.
Approval chain
GAT organises the test; rating and certification go through a language testing body certified and supervised by the Austrian civil aviation authority. You can check the approvals and the examiners in Austro Control’s public lists.
GAT handles booking, instructions and the Zoom session. Your test is conducted by an examiner authorised by Austro Control, who always works within LTB 112 and gives the first rating.
GAT · LPE examinerA language expert (LPLE) from LTB 112 rates your test a second time. LTB 112, based in Leonding (Austria), issues your certificate showing the ICAO level achieved and the date of the test.
LTB 112 · LPLEThe Austrian civil aviation authority, Austro Control GmbH, has certified LTB 112 and the “ICAO Level” test for English at Levels 4, 5 and 6. It authorises the examiners, lists them publicly and, if required, carries out a third rating.
Austro Control · authority of an EASA member stateENAC accepts online language proficiency tests delivered by language testing bodies approved by EASA states under FCL.055, provided that candidate identity, security and confidentiality are guaranteed (ENAC notice, effective 30 August 2022).
GAT is not a centre certified directly by ENAC: our test is delivered by an LTB approved by another EASA state, Austria. This is exactly the case covered by ENAC’s published conditions; the final decision on the endorsement still rests with ENAC.
On request, we can also provide documents on the approval of LTB 112 and on your examiner’s authorisation.
Method
For us, “German quality” is not a slogan but a method you can check point by point.
Company
GAT is based in Gomaringen, Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The idea was born in 2019; in December 2020 Tim Hittinger and Niklas Kirchert founded the company. Niklas passed away in 2021 – his commitment to clear, practical training still shapes our work today. The company is owned by co-founder Tim Hittinger.
Besides the ICAO language test, we prepare pilots online for the exams for the German BZF and AZF radiotelephony certificates. Since 2023 GAT has been an official training partner of the AERO Friedrichshafen trade fair. We also work with the Airport Academy of Munich Airport, Plantoon Aviation and the Professional Aviation Academy, among others.
FAQ
Austro Control publishes the list of Language Proficiency Examiners (LPE) on its website, with authorisation number, test and level. Look for your examiner’s name or number: A-126-LPE (Tim Hittinger), A-187-LPE (Jan Westphal), A-143-LPE (Johannes Schmelz). Official Austro Control lists
Your certificate is issued by LTB 112, the language testing body certified and supervised by Austro Control GmbH. GAT organises the test, and our examiners conduct it within LTB 112. You receive the certificate by email within 24 hours, usually on the same day; endorsing the level on your licence is then up to ENAC. How the endorsement works
No. Under AMC1 FCL.055, examiners should not test candidates they have given language training to. That is why, if you do a training session with us first, a different examiner assesses your test. Preparation and training
Because in the EASA system, language proficiency can be demonstrated through a method of assessment established by any competent authority (FCL.055(e)). For tests taken in EASA countries, ENAC information notice NI-2020-027 (§ 11) states that the result is recognised and accepted for endorsement on an Italian pilot licence. Since 30 August 2022, ENAC has also accepted online tests under the conditions it has published. GAT is not a centre certified directly by ENAC, and the final decision on the endorsement rests with ENAC. All details and sources
Pick a free slot and take your FCL.055 assessment online with a real examiner. The test takes about 30 minutes; your certificate arrives within 24 hours.
from €159 incl. VATapprox. 30 min · certificate within 24 h
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