Easy one first. If you have a current JAR PPL(A), then you don't need an NPPL(M), all you need to do is complete microlight differences training with a microlight FI who will then sign it off in your logbook. You then need to maintain 5hrs in 13 months microlight currency, with a 13 monthly stamp in your logbook, but that's all.
You can do as much "repair by replacement" and normal reburbishment as you like on the aircraft. If you want to change anything, that has to go through the BMAA for approval, who generally charge £30 a throw for mod approvals but nothing for repair scheme approvals. The work has to be signed off by a BMAA inspector. not a particularly rare beast, particularly in the Midlands.
Once the aircraft's sorted, you're looking at around £80 to a BMAA inspector for the permit renewal, and probably £75 (it varies according to age and weight) to the BMAA. The only other major expense (apart from parts of-course) is that at-least one named owner must be a BMAA member, at about £45pa.
After that if you reckon on that as a recurring annual cost, maybe £100pa in parts, £600pa for full hull, 3rd party and crown indemnity insurance, and about £15/hr for fuel and oil - you are about there. Assuming that you don't pay for hangerage and fly about 100hrs per year with it, that'll come out around £24/hr.
If the instructor is a teacher or VGS instructor doing it for the fun of it, that becomes a fairly inexpensive luxury.
P
Last edited by Pilotage; 18th June 2004 at 15:51.