“A somewhat noob question here: would it be sensible to get a PPL and end up owning an MCR01, or is it best suited to people with more experience? Its pricing point, performance and range seem to be a good fit. Am I missing something? As a microlight/VLA, are there gotchas that don't apply to other GA aircraft?”
The MCR01 Club is a home build VLA, this is a sub set of “Group A” so no complications at all. The ULM version is identical apart from the bigger; more complex and heavier wing (and higher cost) but is a micro.
With any fast Rotax machine you will have differences. If you learned in a modern VLA (which is becoming more common) then you need to understand the CS prop and adapt to 138kn, which will not take too much effort. If you have never sat in a Rotax machine then you will need a bit longer to understand the engine, oil check etc. If you learned in aircraft with poor vis and ailerons which do almost nothing then you may find it hard to suppress the silly grin for several days, maybe even weeks.
Rod1