ChickenHouse
Can't let you get away with that ! " Microlites ignoring all the safety bells and whistles of certified aircraft " in the interests of costs ? Nowhere even near accurate.
The impetus to develop microlites certainly arose from a perceived need to produce a safe aeroplane that would cost only one arm and leg and not two.
Microlite aircraft go thru' a procedure every bit as testing as that employed for certified aircraft. It is called Section S.
Section S sets the parameters for engineering and aerodynamics culminating in a set of limitations for each class of microlite.
The principal benefits gained from operating a microlite are economic. The fuel burn is generally about half or less than that of a conventional certified a/c. And more significantly, about 90% of the aircraft maintenance can be done by the owner. The remaining ten percent can be also but, must be signed off by an inspector.
I gave up certified a/c years ago when my Robin went in for its Annual requiring little work and I was attacked by an invoice for just short of £10K. I now operate a Group A Permit a/c, do all the work myself and have a bill for the Annual Permit of £200 including a 50 hour service. And I now know an awful lot more about how my a/c works.
My advice to flyboy97 is to contact the LAA via their website. If you can't find something attractive and economical I'll slurp the waste oil from my 80hp, four stroke Rotax which while not certified, has a TBO of 2000hrs or, thereabouts, and guzzles fuel at the rate, in the cruise, of around 12 liters per hour! Which amount, in a PA28, wouldn't enable you to taxi from the ramp to the hold - to make a point !