Please help with info..

[BobberM]

Greetings all. Newbie here.

Some time ago I stumbled across a story about a very small aircraft that was a single place trainer. This particular model of plane was built in the UK, and was used by individuals to "self teach" themselves to fly. Smallish airplane with what appeared to be a 25' or so wingspan, tricycle gear, and a bubble canopy. The article talked about an individual who had clipped a fence and did some landing gear damage when he came to stop in a ditch.

Now please don't laugh, as i am sure the story was not a hoax. It did appear to have very real pictures!

I am trying to find information on the type of plane and its designer.

thanks in advance!

[cumulusrider]

The description of the aircraft sounds like a Tipsy Nipper. The only possible use I can think of it for training would be post solo on a qXC.

[Jan Olieslagers]

But the Nipper was conceived as a low-cost acro plane - I have never flown one, but it seems obvious to me it is little use as a basic trainer.

Come to think of it, how could a basic trainer ever be a single seater? The slowest of microlights could, perhaps perhaps perhaps... if one is not too much attached neither to life nor to the investment, however modest.

[flarepilot]

really, the only single place trainer I know of was the WRight Flyer...orville and wilbur taught themselves (and the world) how to fly

[Humaround]

There are no 'single-seat trainers' legal in the UK. You are not allowed to teach yourself to fly solo!

[Heston]

It sounds like a Minimax to me (a microlight, or ultralight). It certainly has been the case that single seat flying training on microlights was legal in the UK (under supervision and instruction nevertheless), and in the very early days not even licencing was required.

[ShyTorque]

The description of the aircraft sounds like a Tipsy Nipper. The only possible use I can think of it for training would be post solo on a qXC.

Oh, I don't know - you could always do a bit of spin training...

[BobberM]

Thanks for the replies. It sure does look similar to the Tipsy Nipper.. The story was quite old, possibly from the 1960's era. I'll keep looking, as I'm sure I'll eventually find it. There was a picture of a gent eating against the wing after a failed lesson.. Quite interesting to say the least.

again,
Thanks!

[Unusual Attitude]

Used to own a Tipsy Nipper, quite a twitchy little thing with low inertia so would suggest its not the sort of thing you'd want to try to self teach on even if it was legal, which its not..... wingspan is just below 20' but they were indeed built in the UK for a while by Slingsby.

[xrayalpha]

Humaround,

You ARE allowed to be taught solo - to fly a microlight!

Yes, it is on the syllabus.

It is a hang-over from the early days where people strapped small engines on to hang-gliders, so - to be fair - they often used to know how to fly the hang-glider first.

But you can still do it now. And you can even do you GST solo too! (although you have to get a dispensation for that now).

Hang-gliding, when I learnt, was also taught solo. It may be now that many people learn dual thanks to aero-tows.

(Learning solo is probably why, going back in the mists of time, that there is still no requirement for dual hours for licences!)

[S-Works]

You can also fly a single seater during the solo hours of a PPL course.