MICROLIGHTING
– The Latest Obsession!
Flying Club Based At
Rhuallt on the A55 –
The British Microlight
Aircraft Association - Includes Microlights for
Aircraft for
Microlight Videos
ABOUT MICROLIGHTING
Microlighting is the most fun form
of Aviation there is! With an open cockpit you can feel the air rushing past
you and unlike flying in a commercial plane such as a Cessna, you can see ALL
AROUND YOU!
Microlights only need a slow speed
to take off and fly at which is why they’re as safe as they are. Some
Microlights are capable of flying at speeds of over 150MPH though!
WHAT IS A MICROLIGHT?
A Microlight is defined as ‘An Aircraft with 2
seats or less with an All Up weight not exceeding 450kg’
This definition does not restrict a
Microlight to being any type such as the Flexiwing which everyone thinks of as
a Microlight. Below are the 3 main types:
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Weigh-Shift
or Flexiwing The
Flexiwing is defined as a trike with undercarriage and an engine suspended
from a hang-glider type wing. The aircraft is controlled in effect by the
weight of the trike being moved by the pilot. If the pilot wants to turn
left, he pushes the control bar to the right effectively pushing the trike
left. The weight moving towards the left overbalances the left part of the
wing, making it fall downwards, instigating a left turn. Moving the weight
forward makes the aircraft dive and backward – climb. |
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Axis 3
Axis Microlights are the same as a commercial aircraft in every way. The
plane is controlled by control surfaces on the wing and the tail. There are
Ailerons on the wing making the aircraft roll. There is a rudder on the tail
to make the aircraft turn left or right. And there is an Elevator on the tail
to make the aircraft climb or dive. |
Helicopter
or Autogyro Autogyros
have a rotary wing. The spinning of the rotor is caused by the forward motion
of the aircraft. Sometimes there is a rotor pitch control making the aircraft
climb or descend more, but the climb or descent is usually controlled by the
forward speed ie. the throttle. They have a rudder behind the propeller to
allow the aircraft to turn. Helicopters have rotors powered by the engine
making them more complicated and requiring much more control. |
Microlights are really convenient as
all you need is a field around 150 Meters long to take off and land. Such a
field can be purchased for around £3000! You can even bung a farmer a few
quid a month and fly from a field already inhabited by sheep and cows, they
tend to get out the way when they hear the engine!
COST OF BUYING
I’m giving an idea of second
hand prices as I’d never consider buying new! I don’t believe in
wasting £1,000’s for the 5 meter drive out the factory!
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Pegasus
Quasar Rotax 562cc Engine 2 Stroke Electric Start Water Cooled Around £6000 |
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Single Seater – Typhoon Robin 330cc Engine 2 Stroke Around £800 -
£1400 |
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Mainair
Blade 912 Rotax 912 1100cc Engine 4 Stroke (Unleaded Petrol!) £9000 - £25,000 |
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Cyclone AX3 Rotax 503cc Engine 2 Stroke £3,000 -
£12,000 |
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Eurostar Rotax 912 1100cc Engine 4 Stroke £30,000 - £50,000 |
As you see there’s a
Microlight to fit everyone’s budget! This is not necessarily a rich
man’s sport, it’s for everyone.
ASSOCIATED COSTS
- Buying the aircraft
- Fuel – Microlights typically need between
7 and 14 litres of fuel per hour. 2 Strokes use much more than 4 strokes
- 2 Stroke Oil
- Obtaining a pilot’s license (NPPL)
- Servicing (Engine & Airframe)
- Certificate of Airworthiness
- Hangarage
- Parts
- Equipment
- Insurance
CASE STUDIES
Cost
to get you flying on your own. Remember, you can literally just use your
instructor’s plane at around £85 per hour for as long as you like
with no ties.
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Mainair Gemini Flash II
Rotax 503 with a Years C of A Flying Suit Helmet Tank of Fuel inc 2 Stroke
Oil 8 Hours Training (@
£85 ph) In Instructors Aircraft Insurance Solo Supervision (A day) Month Hangarage TOTAL |
£2800 £100 £50 £60 £680 £200 £60 £50 £4000 |
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Cyclone AX3 Rotax 503 One
Years C of A (3 Axis Microlight) Flying Suit Gloves Lynx Helmet Lynx Headset Icom Airband Radio Flying Shoes Tank of Fuel inc 2 Stroke
Oil 8 Hours Training (@
£60 ph) + 88 Litres Fuel Insurance Solo Supervision (A Day) Month Hangarage TOTAL |
£6000 £100 £40 £140 £180 £200 £50 £55 £568 £200 £60 £60 £7653 |
PILOTS LICENSE
All
the fuss has been taken out of getting a pilot’s license by a company
called the British Microlight Aircraft
Association. This company has
taken charge of controlling allocation of pilot’s licenses from the
official body, the Civil Aviation Authority.
This means there’s less rules, less medicals, basically; LESS FUSS with
the sport of Microlighting. I would recommend becoming a member of the BMAA as
they are more of a charitable organisation than a hard sell business. They
fight to keep airfields open and they fight to make the laws on owning aircraft
more relaxed. That’s what we need in this country – less bloody
laws!
To Obtain a NPPL License you must:
Fly with an instructor for 8 hours
Fly solo (with an instructor on the ground) for 10 hours
Fly with an instructor (kurb those bad habits) for 7 hours
Complete 5 multiple choice exams in Airlaw, Aeroplanes
Technical, Meteorology, Human Performance and Navigation.
Complete a General Flight Test and Ground Oral Examination.
Fly at least 5 hours navigation flight training within the
25 hours total including 2 solo qualifying cross country flights.
When flying solo, it will usually cost a daily fee from your
instructor (around £60 - £85) for the instructor to supervise you
from the ground. It normally saves you around £15 an hour to use your own
plane.
OTHER INFORMATION
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The cockpit of a
Mainair Gemini Flash Left to Right
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ULTRALIGHTS Ultralight defines an
aircraft with a dry-weight of 115kg or less (Without Pilot!) Hopefully, these will
be de-regulated early 2007 which means you won’t need a Certificate of
Airworthyness (Plane MOT!) for single seater planes. This particular model
is a Maxair Hummer with an engine approximately 2-300 cc |
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Microlight in Flight This is a Southdown
Puma Sprint with a Fuji-Robin 440 Engine. The Main
Manufacturers of Microlights Are Mainair and Pegasus. They are both part of
a company called P M Aviation |
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This is the popular
model made by Mainair This is the Mainair
Blade |
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And this is the
Pegasus Quick |
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