Is it worth Microlighting?
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Greater London, UK
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For what its worth I think I'd only consider 3 axis micro's. The main reason being purely that they are the closest to 'real' enclosed aircraft as you can get. A flex wing, in my un-learned opinion, is purely a hanglider with a engine.
Anyway after all of this I dropped off at Oxford airport today and was oh so very nearly persuaded by a skillful salesman/instructor to forget microlighting and pay to finish off the PPL in a PA28. Oh so tempting.
Yours,
Confused, of Oxford.
Anyway after all of this I dropped off at Oxford airport today and was oh so very nearly persuaded by a skillful salesman/instructor to forget microlighting and pay to finish off the PPL in a PA28. Oh so tempting.
Yours,
Confused, of Oxford.
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: UK
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For what it was worth, I was in much the same when I graduated a bit over ten years ago - in my case I'd done the equivalent of about half a PPL with a University Air Squadron. I wanted to keep flying, was short on cash, so went the microlight route.
I started 3-axis for the same reasons you describe, got the hang of it after a little and got my license. Wonderful, and cheap, flying (for the first couple of years in a club syndicate).
Then I had a yen to own my own, and realised that I couldn't really afford a whole 3-axis aeroplane, but could afford a flexwing. So I went and did the conversion - and without doubt the first few hours scared me silly. After a little bit I got the hang of it, and after a dozen hours I felt comfortable. My first aircraft, with about 250 hours on it was a 2-seat flexwing costing me £3,600 in 1997 and it's given me years of cheap and happy flying. Without doubt flexwing flying feels utterly unnatural at first, but once you've got the hang of it it's incredibly good fun. Mind you, so is 3-axis microlight flying, you've just got to expect to shell out at-least £6k for a half decent 2-seater.
But, let me set your mind at rest on one point - flexwings are as safe and as strong as any other aeroplane, and once you've got the hang of them just as good in strong winds (unless you're flying straight into one to be fair). They are slower, but you can trailer them off places with you (or recover them easily by road if you get weathered in somewhere). Swings and roundabouts really, but both are great.
And a bit like the chap mentioned above, my group A license was a doddle after flying microlights for a few years.
P
I started 3-axis for the same reasons you describe, got the hang of it after a little and got my license. Wonderful, and cheap, flying (for the first couple of years in a club syndicate).
Then I had a yen to own my own, and realised that I couldn't really afford a whole 3-axis aeroplane, but could afford a flexwing. So I went and did the conversion - and without doubt the first few hours scared me silly. After a little bit I got the hang of it, and after a dozen hours I felt comfortable. My first aircraft, with about 250 hours on it was a 2-seat flexwing costing me £3,600 in 1997 and it's given me years of cheap and happy flying. Without doubt flexwing flying feels utterly unnatural at first, but once you've got the hang of it it's incredibly good fun. Mind you, so is 3-axis microlight flying, you've just got to expect to shell out at-least £6k for a half decent 2-seater.
But, let me set your mind at rest on one point - flexwings are as safe and as strong as any other aeroplane, and once you've got the hang of them just as good in strong winds (unless you're flying straight into one to be fair). They are slower, but you can trailer them off places with you (or recover them easily by road if you get weathered in somewhere). Swings and roundabouts really, but both are great.
And a bit like the chap mentioned above, my group A license was a doddle after flying microlights for a few years.
P
