Anyone got / been in a microlight
Discussion
I was down at my local beach the other day watching the local microlight club doing their stuff and one came in nice an low and buzzed the beach. I have got to admit that it looks like fun. I may take a walk up to the club and have a chat with them.
Has anybody had any experience of it or even own one?
Has anybody had any experience of it or even own one?
I started to learn last year but due to a combination of weather, time and cash I had to stop after about 8 hours of lessons.
Theres 2 types, Flexwing (giant kite with a bucket underneath) or Fixed wing (pretty much like a small plane) as a M/Light is defined by weight.
I learn't flexwing which is a little easier than fixed. They are very secure and you don't really feel like your sitting in a bathtub.
Great fun, easy to fly and reasonably cheap to learn and own (£60ish per flying hour lesson & anything from £4k up to buy)
Go to your local club and have a word with the instructors etc, they're usually a lot more open and welcoming than other flying clubs.
If you do decide you like it I've got a couple of handbooks I don't need anymore that you can have for a reasonable price.
Theres 2 types, Flexwing (giant kite with a bucket underneath) or Fixed wing (pretty much like a small plane) as a M/Light is defined by weight.
I learn't flexwing which is a little easier than fixed. They are very secure and you don't really feel like your sitting in a bathtub.
Great fun, easy to fly and reasonably cheap to learn and own (£60ish per flying hour lesson & anything from £4k up to buy)
Go to your local club and have a word with the instructors etc, they're usually a lot more open and welcoming than other flying clubs.
If you do decide you like it I've got a couple of handbooks I don't need anymore that you can have for a reasonable price.
I used to own G-MTIZ.... Lovely things, but a couple of proviso's
They are very suceptible to the weather, which means you can't fly that often. Also, they take about an hour to rig before flight and another hour to derig after. Add that to driving time to get to the launch site while learning, instructor availability and it can take up all day to get an hour of flight time.
Having said that, they are wonderful. Yes, very bumpy, but excellent fun. You won't get anywhere fast, but what a view..... I loved trailing my hands in the clouds while flying
It's a bit like a 3D motocrosser 
It's a relatively cheap hobby, with instruction coming in at about £45-£60 an hour. I would resist buying one until after you have your licence though. Most Microlight places rent them out.
The guy where I used to learn to fly was going to open a place up in Portugal so you could go across and get licenced in your holiday. Dunno if it ever happened though.
Also, they are better in a crash than you would think. Watched a guy roll one end over end once and he walked away unscratched (Pilot error, shallow descent on a blustery day and the wingtip dug in) Took a hacksaw to get it off the field though
Take a trial flight, it's not for everybody.
They are very suceptible to the weather, which means you can't fly that often. Also, they take about an hour to rig before flight and another hour to derig after. Add that to driving time to get to the launch site while learning, instructor availability and it can take up all day to get an hour of flight time.
Having said that, they are wonderful. Yes, very bumpy, but excellent fun. You won't get anywhere fast, but what a view..... I loved trailing my hands in the clouds while flying
It's a bit like a 3D motocrosser It's a relatively cheap hobby, with instruction coming in at about £45-£60 an hour. I would resist buying one until after you have your licence though. Most Microlight places rent them out.
The guy where I used to learn to fly was going to open a place up in Portugal so you could go across and get licenced in your holiday. Dunno if it ever happened though.
Also, they are better in a crash than you would think. Watched a guy roll one end over end once and he walked away unscratched (Pilot error, shallow descent on a blustery day and the wingtip dug in) Took a hacksaw to get it off the field though
Take a trial flight, it's not for everybody.
Hilts said:
I've done paragliding, no motor involved but still quite scary. Those things get buffeted around a fair bit, just be prepared for that.....
Wouldn't mind giving paragliding a blast, I quite enjoy being under canopy.
It cost me £140 for a 'taster day' to learn the basic controls, emergency procedure, dos and donts etc. Then you fly repeatedly down a short hill for the rest of the day (1 minute flight). It wasn't for me, but I'm glad I did it anyway.
I have a share in an Icarus C42, which is one of the modern breed of fixed wing microlights. I learnt on a Piper PA38 then the PA28 and I have my full Group A license.
The C42 is very good. 80knot cruise with 12L/hour fuel consumption so very frugal, with a 4 hour range so you can really go places.
It is superb fun. I've only about 15 hours logged in the C42 and I'm definately still learning, and making a few mistakes, as it is quite different to fly compared to a "heavy" four seater such as the PA28. But I'm enjoying building my skills and becoming a better pilot.
The PPL (M) - i.e. Microlight is easier to obtain than a Group A license, requiring a minimum of 25 hours tuition. Reckon on circa £4000 to obtain the licence which will depend on how many hours instruction you need.
The C42 is very good. 80knot cruise with 12L/hour fuel consumption so very frugal, with a 4 hour range so you can really go places.
It is superb fun. I've only about 15 hours logged in the C42 and I'm definately still learning, and making a few mistakes, as it is quite different to fly compared to a "heavy" four seater such as the PA28. But I'm enjoying building my skills and becoming a better pilot.
The PPL (M) - i.e. Microlight is easier to obtain than a Group A license, requiring a minimum of 25 hours tuition. Reckon on circa £4000 to obtain the licence which will depend on how many hours instruction you need.
BliarOut said:
You won't get anywhere fast, but what a view.....
The fixed wing 3-axis planes are great, many outperform their 'light aircraft' rivals on both top speed, crusing speed and range. One helluva lot cheaper too, and there are some nice looking models on offer
Below is the VM1 Esqual
Microlights are not what they used to be, and slowly the stigma (unsafe flying lawnmowers etc) is falling away.
Jabiru above
Dynero Banbi below
Ive been up a few times, its great fun. Plan to go the light aircraft route myself (when I can afford it
) 30-50k buys you a top of the range microlight (prices vary, you can buy brand new ones for less than half of that) and if 50k is within reach financially, you can buy you a very nice light aircraft for that sort of money. There are advantages of owning a light aircraft vs microlight, but the bottom line is fun and they're all great fun Speaking of flying, I won a red letter day flying voucher whilst out clubbing last week
>> Edited by UKBob on Sunday 26th June 21:46
UKBob said:
30-50k buys you a top of the range microlight (prices vary, you can buy brand new ones for less than half of that) but 50k can buy you a very nice light aircraft. There are advantages of owning a light aircraft, but the bottom line is fun and they're all great fun
Mine only cost £9K second hand
Sold it after a year for £8.5K
parrot of doom said:So what's it called when you sit under a parachute going up and down on thermals either off cliffs or on mountains? Alwasy facnied that...
parrot of doom said:
I've done paragliding, no motor involved but still quite scary. Those things get buffeted around a fair bit, just be prepared for that.....
Wouldn't mind giving paragliding a blast, I quite enjoy being under canopy.
It cost me £140 for a 'taster day' to learn the basic controls, emergency procedure, dos and donts etc. Then you fly repeatedly down a short hill for the rest of the day (1 minute flight). It wasn't for me, but I'm glad I did it anyway.
wanty1974 said:Thats paragliding. I get the impression that its more dangerous than microlighting. I have a mate who over 10 years of paragliding broke her back (shes ok now, but she was in a bad way for years) and lost half a dozen mates to the sport!
So what's it called when you sit under a parachute going up and down on thermals either off cliffs or on mountains? Alwasy facnied that...
The one time, a gust of wind pulled a student up into the air, and the instructor grabbed a hold of him, tried to pull him down. Both were swept off a cliff. The instructor's weight was causing damage to the equipment, and after a few minutes of hanging on, knowing he was going to kill both of them if he didnt let go, he said his goodbyes to the student, told him what to do, where to land, let go and fell to his death.
What makes microlighting safe(ish) is the stall speed requirement, which ly law is 37mph or less IIRC. Should an engine fail, one can float back down to earth at a relatively slow speed. Some microlights are spinproof. I was in one once, and we tried to put the aircraft into a spin, which was impossible. (anyone know the shadow? It was ugly, but was quite popular)
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