The freedom of the sky conjures up images of daring-do and adventure – and our microlight 30-minute trial flight will give you a taste of what flying is all about.
When you arrive, your instructor will take you through how the aircraft flies and all of the control inputs. Then, after a walk around the aircraft, it will be time to climb inside. Start-up is a simple affair and soon you’ll be off down the runway and into the air. Once up and straight and level, your instructor will invite you to take control of the aircraft. You’ll be flying it!
The instructor will want you to get the most out of it – after all, they want you to come back and learn to fly – so holding the aircraft straight and level, climbing, and turning and descending will all be taught. Time will go quickly and all too soon it’s back into the circuit for the landing.
The microlights that we offer flying lessons on are all three-axis microlights. So, if the image of a microlight was one where the pilot was holding on to what resembled a hang glider with an engine, put that image away now.
We think ‘microlight’ is a dated term these days. We’ve flown a lot of microlights and fixed-wing, and have to say that the three-axis microlights, such as the Ikarus C42, are not very different from a Cessna 152. They have similar cruising speeds and levels of comfort. In fact, the Ikarus C42 is actually a lot quieter!
The General Aviation industry has changed considerably in the last 40 years. We’d challenge a lot of novices to know the difference between a modern microlight and a Group A fixed-wing aircraft such as a Cessna 152, so don’t get too hung up on it. The thing to consider is, if you are intending to go on and get your Pilot’s Licence, what are you going to use it for?
If you think you’d like to go on and get a licence to allow you to fly in cloud or to fly at night, then go for the Group A fixed-wing. This is also the way to go if you are looking to use an aircraft for business, if you’d like to fly aerobatics, or if you’d eventually like to be a commercial pilot flying the big birds.
However, if you are only doing it for a bit of fun, then the grin from a microlight is as big as the grin from a Group A! The choice is yours – neither will disappoint.
You can gain your NPPL(M) in a minimum of 25 hours, so the overall cost of gaining your licence is a lot less. Microlights also use a lot less fuel – a Rotax 100hp Ikarus C42 will use less fuel on a trip from Cambridge to Brighton than your family car, and you won’t be clogging up the roads.
Cost
– £79
Locations
Eaglescott School of Flyng - Devon
Fly CB Peterborough – Cambridgeshire
Fly 365 – Lincolnshire
Kernan Aviation – County Armagh
Pegasus Flight Training - Cambridge
Sportflight Scotland Ltd - Scotland
Airbourne Aviation - Hampshire