How to become a Microlight instructor or Recreational Flight Instructor

[gerpols]

Ladies, Gents,

I am the holder of EASA CPL FI(A) SP-SE. Night, LAPL,SP-ME, IR-SE,IR-ME,PPL,CPL
My question is : what do I have to do to teach Micro lights ? What do I have to do to become a RFI ?
Although I am living and working in The Netherlands, EASA ruling should be the same wherever you go in EASA territory !
Thanks for your guidance and help.

The flying (non Brexit ) Dutchman...hahaha

[TheOddOne]

I teach SEP for PPL and LAPL. A while ago I got checked out to fly our microlight school's C42, purely for fun and my own pleasure. This involved a checkout and logbook signing by the CFI of the microlight school, which under UK CAA rules is all I need to be able to fly a microlight on my Part-FCL licence. Now, apparently, I can also instruct on microlights on the same basis.

I bought the microlight syllabus out of interest and it seemed to me that although 'flying is flying' there is sufficient detailed difference between how I was taught to teach and some aspects of microlight learning. I discussed this with a couple of microlight instructors and came to the conclusion that if I was going to teach on microlights, to be fair to the students, I ought to go off and do the microlight instructor course, which I've neither the time, money or inclination to do.

So, short answer, my advice would be to go and do the microlight instructor course, whatever the legalities in different places.

TOO

[Whopity]

my advice would be to go and do the microlight instructor course The Microlight Instructor Course was designed around the weightshift aircraft and that accounts for most of the differences. When 3-axis became more common, the Microlight World embraced them and in the main weightshift instructors moved over to teaching on them without any form of instruction on how to do it. For that reason I would certainly advise doing the Microlight Instructor Course if you want to teach weightshift, but I suspect that as a FI already, you already have a better knowledge of what is required than many Microlight Instructors.
Microlight operation and training differs from State to State and has nothing to do with EASA so you need to look at the requirements in the State where you wish to do it.

[excrab]

I would beg to differ, and would also recommend that you go and do the microlight instructors course, but if you are planning to instruct on a three axis microlight do the course on one, with a microlight instructor who is experienced at training instructors on a three axis microlight.
Flying a microlight is very different to flying a conventional SEP such as a C152 or a PA28. A microlight is far more susceptible to the weather conditions. It has less inertia and therefore far less penetration into a head wind in the event of an engine failure. It is affected far more by thermals, crosswinds and head and tailwind components. Microlight pilots are more likely to want to fly from short grass strips, to operate in a non radio environment and want to know how to maintain their own aircraft to the limits that legislation allows.All of the training you give them will be like teaching someone to fly a conventional SEP with all of the gyroscopic instruments covered up, you cannot reference to the attitude indicator because they probably will not have one, or a direction indicator, you have to teach everything by looking out of the window at the horizon. It doesn't matter if you have a CPL or ATPL, it doesn't matter how good you are at drawing pretty pictures on a whiteboard or using a power point presentation. You need to know about grass roots aviation, about how to clean a spark plug, and how to service a rotax engine, not about frozen ATPLs and how many instructional hours you should do to make the airlines want to hire you.

[gerpols]

All good comments guys, thanks, anybody else who wants to enlighten my question ?

[Whopity]

Flying a microlight is very different to flying a conventional SEP such as a C152 or a PA28 Differences or perhaps familiarisation training.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Ladies, Gents,

I am the holder of EASA CPL FI(A) SP-SE. Night, LAPL,SP-ME, IR-SE,IR-ME,PPL,CPL
My question is : what do I have to do to teach Micro lights ? What do I have to do to become a RFI ?
Although I am living and working in The Netherlands, EASA ruling should be the same wherever you go in EASA territory !

Microlights are Annex II - so they are not EASA aeroplanes. Hence each country does their own thing.

Here in Britain any EASA instructor with microlight differences can teach on microlights, or there is a dedicated microlight AFI/FI route available to holders of both national and EASA licences. Both routes are viable, but with an EASA CPL + FI, you just need microlight differences and enough experience to be competent.

But the rules will be different in each country, so you need to find out what they are in the country in which you wish to instruct.

Whopity is quite right that microlight operations are different, and you do need that experience - but there is no certificate for it.

G

[Whopity]

Microlights are Annex II Which became Annex I last year.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I suspect that like "group A" and "rule 5" that is terminology which will far outlive its formal role.

Non-EASA !

G

[la4180]

Ladies, Gents,

I am the holder of EASA CPL FI(A) SP-SE. Night, LAPL,SP-ME, IR-SE,IR-ME,PPL,CPL
My question is : what do I have to do to teach Micro lights ? What do I have to do to become a RFI ?
Although I am living and working in The Netherlands, EASA ruling should be the same wherever you go in EASA territory !
Thanks for your guidance and help.

The flying (non Brexit ) Dutchman...hahaha

Legally, 1 hr approx differences training with another instructor already familiar with microlights and you're all set.
The microlight syllabus is similar but missing the instrument awareness. Download it, and if teaching on a microlight use it.
The BMAA will recognise your existing qualifications, so once you are competent in the training aircraft you're ready. Join up and you will get more info.
The LAA may also add you to their coaching scheme once you have some types that you are proficient on. Again join the Light aircraft association.

The difference between microlights and light aircraft is often just a bit of paper. Oddly sometimes the microlight version was heavier than the light aircraft version! Jabiru 430 light aircraft vs 450kg microlight. Other times the microlights are just overweight - take the C42 -typically weighs 290kg empty so pilot weight is critical to legally stay before the max weight. With 2 x 86kg pilots 15 litres of fuel is the limit ! So one hour plus 10 minutes for reserve yet they often do much longer flights.

Yes there is normally less inertia than in a cessna, But other than that not much difference.

Great fun to be had in 3-axis microlights as the power to weight ration is good. Just quite limited if you really stay legal. If the UK increases the limit as per the rest of Europe some manufacturers and kit suppliers are already ready to approve an extra 50 or more kg.

[excrab]

Whilst there may be very little difference between a C42 and a Cessna 150, but you are making an assumption that our SEP instructor will be instructing on a modern microlight, but there are still plenty of older microlights still flying, what happens if a student comes along who wants to train in a CFM shadow, or worse still a Thruster.

I started instructing on microlights 30 years ago, at which point I’d done about 1500 hours instructing mainly on C152 and PA28, and had about 100 hours of tailwheel time. Maybe I’m crap, but it took me about 15 hours, mainly of circuits, before I felt happy to instruct on a Thruster, which has the inherent gliding ability of a pile of bricks. Conversely I once had a total engine failure on take-off in a CFM shadow when the crankshaft broke at 350 feet, and was able to fly a circuit and land on the runway I’d taken off from, and we used to train students to do so before solo.

Imstructing on microlights is great fun, in my mind far better than standing there in your pilot shirt with a power point presentation talking about turn coordinators (and I’ve done plenty of that too), but microlights vary immensely and you are far more likely to end up flying out of short grass strips and working at a more basic level.

I stand by my first post, microlights vary, probably more so than different “group A” aircraft, and I think it is wrong to suggest that an instructor who instructs on conventional SEP will know more than most microlight instructors. They may know more about gas turbines and radio aids and climatology from their 14 EASA ATPL exams, but most of that knowledge is totally irrelevant, they’d be better off absorbing “flight without Formulae”.

[la4180]

Getting competent on the aircraft in which instruction is to be given is normal to avoid winning a "darwin award". Just like the instructor wouldn't expect to go from his Cessna 150 to a Cirrus SR22 without being adequately converted. The fact remains - He's already legal to instruct once he has been checked out on a microlight by any instructor legally entitled to fly one! Even microlight instructors have to learn how to cope with different aircraft types. The thruster TST instructor would not be safe to teach in a BanBi, or Dynamic WT9 without proper conversions and experience gained - But he doesn't need to redo the instructor rating!

The light aircraft instructor already has a broader range of aircraft in which he can legally instruct before looking at microlights, some of the aircraft land just as slow as a microlight. Some have very similar "lack of" inertia.

The sensible pilot would want to gain currency in any aircraft before taking a passenger never mind a student.

Why should a light aircraft instructor who is already qualified to teach in a light aircraft C42 redo an instructor rating course to teach in microlights. He legally only needs a check out and conversion sign off to teach in the virtually identical microlight C42.

[beamer]

Whilst on the subject, what is the licencing process for a PPL holder who wants to start flying modern type microlights ?

[Whopity]

In the RAF a CFI was invariably trained to teach on a basic trainer however; once a CFI then always a CFI. My first Skipper was the Sqn CFI on a 4 engined bomber, but he had been taught to teach on a Jet Provost. Once you have been taught how to teach then there is no point repeating that skill on another type however; there is a need to understand the differences likely to be encountered on any aircraft that you fly or indeed teach on whether that be one hour or 20 hours.

Regarding a PPL holder flying Microlights in the good old days you could just do it, but now you need a Class rating, unless you still hold a licence issued in the good old days. Again differences training is essential especially with some of the tempramental older types which originally were flown without any licence at all.

[la4180]

Beamer, PPL to fly microlights:

If licence is the OLD style CAA licence from pre JAR days, then you're already legal to fly microlights, of course a check out being recommended.

If you have a modern licence, EASA Part FCL with SEP privileges, then ANO Article 150(6) states: "A Part-FCL licence with single-engine piston aeroplane privileges is not deemed to be rendered valid for a microlight aeroplane unless the holder of the licence has undergone differences training in accordance with Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 8, appropriate for a microlight aeroplane class rating."

So get checked out by an instructor and when he is satisfied have your logbook signed accordingly by that instructor and you're all set.

[Jhieminga]

My question is : what do I have to do to teach Micro lights ? What do I have to do to become a RFI ?
Although I am living and working in The Netherlands, EASA ruling should be the same wherever you go in EASA territory !
As already mentioned, microlights are non-EASA types, so you're definitively not dealing with EASA regulations. In this case, the following legislation applies:
https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0021240/2015-05-08
https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0010629/2018-11-01

And most likely some other bits that I haven't found yet. I would suggest speaking to a knowledgable RFI/RFE about this, have you asked your colleagues at ZV? (Or have I perhaps confused you with someone else...)

[l10fly]

I have a NPPL plus an EASA PPL with FI(A) rating. I completed microlight differences training in 2016 so can instruct on microlights on my EASA licence. BUT to put a microlight class rating on my NPPL I need to pass a microlight GST & (Part 2) Oral Examination. Go figure.