- equally the best lifesaver in a microlight is the ability and willingness to land in a field and walk.
I agree. It is a shame that the skill seems to have been lost by a generation of pilots growing up with the 912. Those who learnt to fly with Cuyunas, Chotias and the like are far better prepared and willing to land in fields, for fun or to avoid averse wether.
A microlight is not a stable enough platform for instrumement flying, so that AI will only be useful for the 180 that gets you out of there in a hurry. It might be safer to simply learn to read the wx.
You only have to read the many accounts of trips done done by UK microlighters every year to realise that bad weather can be a nuisance, but is not a barrier to flying across much of Europe.