microlights/group a
 

carnt find the answer to this question. what is the highest max weight you can have as a microlight in the uk ? and also what is the lowest weight in the uk for it to be classed as group A ie suitable to gain hrs towards the cpl . i am wondering if i can build hrs on an aircraft classed as microlight for cost reasons to get the hours up. thanks !

Hi,

Worth reading on, but you won't like the first bit.

Microlight hours count for very little, and for a CPL count for nothing!

(basically, if you have a microlight licence you can get some hours off an initial PPL/NPPL, and if you want to be a microlight instructor you'll need some microlight hours, but that is that)

The maximum permitted take-off weight for a microlight is 450kgs, but many microlights have a lower maximum weight than that - for instance my Quantum has a max weight of 409kgs.

Now, there is no minimum weight for a light aircraft - it just has to be registered as such.

So a Tipsy Nipper is a light aircraft, but weighs well less than most microlights.

Even stranger are things like the Kitfox.

A Mark 2 can be either a microlight or a light aircraft, for instance. Some of the microlight ones were built as and registered as light aircraft, but got reregistered as microlights when the tough JAR medicals came in. Some of them then got re-re-registered as light aircraft when the lighter NPPL medicals came in!

So, you could buy a microlight - but only certain ones - and re-register it as a light aircraft. But if you don't re-register it, then the hours won't count for your CPL!

No-one actually does this, however, since the microlight versions tend to sell at a premium to the light aircraft ones for some reason.

Have a look through the PFA (LAA) magazine and you'll find a world of kit-built light aircraft that will do the job for you, and pop in to Strathaven to have a cup of tea!

Very best,

XA

I once owned Monnet Moni which although all metal, weighed in at 330lb empty. This put it in the microlight weight band, but the wing area was too small at less than 10 sq. m. for it to be classed as a microlight under the rules in those days (mid '80s).

Tipsy nippers and the like usually fail on wing area, stall speed ect, and even if they did tick all the microlight box's they were registered as Group A before the microlight category was introduced. Another anomoly used to be the Slingsby T31m. It used to be classed as Group A or SLMG depending on how you registered it. Now they have all been reclassified as TMG's. You can keep your SEP rating valid by flying one with a TMG rating, but not if you only have a SLMG rating. I think you can count only 70 TMG hours towards CPL which is just as daft as there really isn't any difference in skill required to fly say a Grob 109 or C150.

SS