abgb: Hourly costs for a microlight - in a similar location - will save a considerable sum. Even though petrol is 1.04 a litre, it still costs quite a bit of time and effort to get to Inverness. Too much for a quick lesson after work!
In summary, central Scotland light aircraft are £176+ per hour, central Scotland three-axis microlights are £125+. And the closer you are to Glasgow and Edinburgh, the dearer both of them are!
To take ACS: 2-seat £182.50 and 4-seat £200.50 (member rates, from ACS website).
PPL
A 12 month membership is £99
But then Leading Edge at Cumbernauld seems to offer bulk discounts for blocks of 10 giving £176.60 in a 2-seat and £192.70 in a 4-seat.
Training (blocks)
And you have landing fees to pay.
So that seems to cover Glasgow, Cumbernauld and Perth.
For Tayside, at Glenrothes and Dundee, but website only seems to give Dundee for trial flights and training:it is £176 for the warrior in a pack of five. Plus landing fees and membership? Site is not clear.
https://taysideaviation.com/product/...piper-warrior/
Edinburgh, as we know is sadly gone.
At Balado, the price for a 60min trial flight is £125 - can't see the lesson price - so a lot cheaper than GA.
And Alba Airpsorts at Perth charge £125 an hour for lessons in the Eurostar. Don't know about club membership fees or landing fees for either.
callum62:
"Thoughts on variations of aircraft"
Not sure what you mean. In Strathaven, we teach on the C42, a high wing. In Perth they teach on the Eurostar, a low wing. At Blalado Keith teaches on a Thruster, an older style high wing.
I prefer the C42 and Eurostar because they are light aircraft that have been squeezed into the microlight category. Like their looks! We prefer the C42 over the Eurostar because we operate from a grass field and it is easier to get into a high wing aircraft, especially for people with mobility problems. I also think bubble canopies can get like a greenhouse at times. But the Eurostar has great visibility, ideal for busy circuits like Perth.
As regards microlights versus light aircraft. If you want to fly a 737, then they are both completely different! You said you wanted a NPPL (M) first, because CPL is only a dream.
If CPL by 2018 - or whatever - was the target, then I would say go straight to a EASA PPL, get a Class One medical from Gatwick and go on the Guild of Air Pilots aptitude tests day:
https://www.airpilots.org/career-mat...ptitude-tests/