This guide follows the natural order of setting up a flying club or school: create the club, bring in the members, set the rights, enable the useful modules, then personalise your account.
Creating your club
Go to prepavol.fr/onboarding/. The first screen offers “Flying club / School” or “Independent pilot”. Sign-up runs in three steps: “Club”, “Legal identity” and “Your account”.
You must provide in particular: the club (chosen from the DSAC register), its 14-digit SIRET number (with a lookup in the INSEE database), the airfield, your club's subdomain in the form name.prepavol.fr, your last name, first name, e-mail, a French phone number and a password (at least one capital letter and one digit). A 6-digit code sent by e-mail, valid for 15 minutes, confirms your address. Sign-up with a third-party account is also offered.
The trial is free, with no commitment and no credit card. Its length is shown at sign-up and nothing is charged during the trial. See Billing and subscription.
The manager must then complete their account: verified e-mail, two-factor authentication enabled, identity verification and subscription. Two-factor authentication is therefore mandatory for the manager.
Bringing in your members
On first sign-in, the “Welcome to Prepavol!” screen asks how to import your data: “Aerogest connection”, “OpenFlyers connection” or “Manual setup”.
- Aerogest: you enter your Aerogest Online credentials (they are not kept). Prepavol imports the list of pilots (last name, first name, e-mail, photo) and creates them with the “invited” status, with an invitation e-mail. Aircraft and bookings are not imported at this step. Afterwards, each member can connect their own Aerogest account to synchronise their bookings and flights.
- OpenFlyers: connection through an API, which requires configuration on the club side.
- Manual: you add pilots one by one, each receives an invitation by e-mail.
Importing a file
With permission to edit members, two tools are available for a club.
- “Import members” (/members/import) accepts a CSV, XLS or XLSX file of 5 MB maximum with headers on the first row. First name, last name, e-mail and date of birth are required. You can choose a role for everyone and tick “Send email invitations”.
- “Data migration” (/members/migrate) imports members, the fleet or flight history from a CSV of 8 MB maximum. The source software is OpenFlyers or “Generic / other”. A report shows the lines created, updated, ignored and in error.
Inviting
The /members/invite page (permission to invite) lets you invite one person or several, choosing a role. The invitation link is valid for 30 days. The member fills in their identity, contact details and a password (or signs in with a third-party account), then verifies their e-mail.
Public sign-ups from /rejoindre/ are closed by default. In /members/settings you can switch them to “Manual approval” or “Automatic”.
Defining roles
The /settings/roles/ page (permission to manage roles) lets you create a role, or start from a template (instructor, student pilot, secretary, experienced pilot, mechanic) then adjust the permissions. The club owner has all permissions. The rights your members see in the application, and their access to modules, follow from their role.
Enabling the club's modules
The “Modules & options” page (/billing/modules/, with permission to manage billing) lists the modules. Tick “Active” then “Apply changes”. Required modules are ticked automatically (“Requires” mention). The core and payments are included in the plan and cannot be disabled. Disabling a module makes its features unavailable to all club members.
Securing sign-in
- After 5 failed attempts, sign-in is blocked for 15 minutes.
- “Remember me” keeps the session for 30 days, unless the club has disabled persistent sign-in. The club also sets the inactivity time before session expiry (from 15 to 480 minutes).
- Two-factor authentication uses a one-time code app. The club can require it for all members, with a trusted device valid for 30 days.
- A solo pilot account is limited to 2 devices.
- Sign-in buttons with a third-party account (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Discord, etc.) only appear if the provider is enabled on the platform.
Language, theme and mobile app
Language. Prepavol is available in 19 languages. By default, it follows your browser or device language. The language selector offers “Device language” (automatic) as the first entry, then the list. An explicit choice is saved on your account and applies on all your devices. Some texts may still appear in English in the least complete languages.
Theme. Three choices: light, automatic (follows the system) and dark. The choice is remembered in the browser: it is specific to each device and is not tied to the account.
Mobile app. The iOS and Android app uses your usual account (with the one-time code if two-factor authentication is active) and is included in the subscription. Access is being opened progressively: see app.prepavol.fr for its current status. A beta is available on request from prepavol.fr/beta/ for accounts whose subscription is active; trial accounts are not eligible.
Frequently asked questions
Can aircraft and bookings be imported from Aerogest at sign-up?
Not at the welcome step: it imports the list of pilots. A history import of Aerogest bookings exists afterwards in the booking settings, and each member can synchronise their flights from their account.
Why am I asked for two-factor authentication?
It is mandatory for the club manager to protect the account. The club can also require it for all its members.
How do I change the interface language?
Use the language selector in the top bar. Choose “Device language” to follow your browser automatically, or a specific language to fix it on your account.
My dark theme does not carry over to my phone, why?
The theme is remembered in each device's browser, it is not saved on the account. Set it on each device, or leave it on automatic.