Originally Posted by
Fearenside
Having reached my mid forties, and having had a lifelong dream of learning to fly, I’ve decided that now is the time. However, due to financial reasons the normal route - joining a club, paying for lessons by the hour etc - isn’t an option, and probably never will be. So I’ve started investigating ways of getting into the air by my own efforts.
Welcome to PPrune - I'm also in my mid 40s, an aeronautical engineer, although I've also been flying since I was 19, and yes - it's a fantastic hobby and occupation.
The advantage I have is that I work in aerospace, so I do things like aerodynamics, structures, stability and control etc on a daily basis. This will help greatly with any self-design / self-build option.
As do I, and yes it'll help a lot. But do not underestimate the big gaps in your knowledge base. I don't believe that any non-pilot can really understand handling qualities adequately, and there will also be lots of detail design / maintainability issues that were inadequately covered in your engineering degree(s).
However if I’m going to avoid the costs of training or licensing or registration, while still staying legal, then I’m looking at a foot-launched microlight, i.e. <60kg fully fuelled, <10litres fuel, <35kts stall. As I understand it, this category contains (almost exclusively) paramotors and powered hang gliders. However for various reasons those things have never appealed; my intention is three-axis control - I’m imagining something similar to the Mike Sandlin airchairs with a paramotor engine (like the "Bloop" aircraft but 3-axis instead of 2), but much lighter, foot-launched (obviously), and in a form that can be folded to fit on a roof rack. Would something like that still satisfy the legal definition as long as weight, stall etc were within limits?
Don't, don't, don't, don't avoid flying training. However you do it, find the time and money to train with a suitably qualified instructor to at least PPL level in something whether that's a PPL in aeroplanes or microlights, or the equivalents in paramotors or gliders. The doctor who treats himself has fool for a patient, and pretty much the same applies to anybody teaching themselves to fly. The Wright brothers had no choice, everybody else since has had that choice.
If so, I already have some ideas in that direction, which I’m currently working on.
As well as the technical challenges, I also need to figure out where I can fly from. I live in a very crowded (and hilly) corner of South-East England - plenty of greenery, but no wide flat spaces where you can just turn up and do what you want without someone else’s say-so. We do have some long stretches of beach nearby, and if you walk far enough along them (with a 60kg bundle on your shoulder!) you’ll find long, deserted stretches - could that be an option? I also see paragliding / hang gliding on the South Downs - though I guess those areas are rented by or otherwise exclusively reserved for certain clubs, who wouldn’t take kindly to someone just turning up with a three-axis home-built? Alternatively I could bribe a farmer with suitable field... Seriously though, what are the limits on just driving into the countryside and picking a spot to fly from?
DO IT PROPERLY.
Use a flying school to learn to fly.
If you're going to learn to fly, flying schools already have sites to learn at.
If you're going to engage in flight testing a prototype, your test pilot needs to be operating in a known environment.
If anyone has covered this ground before (existing designs, viable locations, etc) then I’d be grateful for any advice.
Cheers,
F.
A copy of Pooleys or the AFE flight guide will tell you where all the airfields are - there will be far more than you think. For mucking about safely and privately, there are many disused airfields in the UK, they're marked on the CAA charts.
There are loads of existing designs. You could do worse than buy a set of plans from Mike Whittaker, the ex-BAC aircraft designer who designer the MW4, MW5, MW6T, MW6S and MW7. Last I spoke to him he was happy to sell a full set of drawings for any of his aircraft for £150 or so.
To learn to fly - go to a flying instructor.
To learn how to flight test an aeroplane - go to a test pilot.
The country has hundreds of the first, and dozens of the second. The vast majority will not ask for stupid money to share their skillsets, just enough to justify their time as they are almost to a man and woman passionate about flying and want people like you to succeeed.
Designing and building your own WILL cost more than buying a cheap and airworthy second hand microlight of course - the reason to design and build your own is because you want to, not to save money, because you won't.
The amount of time you don't spend in hospital unable to work will pay for the flying training.
G