newbie

Hi P1lts. There are a number of factors that will help you decide. Microlighting will most likely cost more. It used to be that you could not rent a microlight, so for lessons you had to have your own (or a share in one). That may well be out of date information now though (my brother Neil was working on his Microlight licence in the mid 90’s and went halves on a Weight Shift with my Step-father). He loved it but unfortunately the running costs and weather turned against him and the Navy sent him off to sea just before he could take his GFT.

As mentioned, gliding required a club, mainly because it takes more than one person to get the glider airborne.. then there is the need to push the aircraft into position and recover it after landing.. of course, there are motor-gliders which are a lot of fun.

At the end of the day, you should go with the path that excites you the most (within the funding limits you set).

Learning to fly was one of the best things I ever did. The type of aircraft you fly is not important really. The important thing is just getting up there. It will change you and you will never be the same again. Go for it. I know you will not regret it.

That is assuming one is only flying with a view to getting a PPL to fly ‘conventional’ light aeroplanes. There are of course many people who prefer to fly microlights than their bigger brethren. Whether you can count the hours or not I would have no idea these days as I am too far away from this part of the system to be able to say however my raison d’etre (where’s the circumflex when you need one) when I flew GA was to fly the slowest and most unusual machines I could find rather than lust after exotica.

Thank god we don’t all crave the same thing!

I must confess that microlighting was a the top of my list

However that still leaves two options. Namely 1. Weight shift or 2. 3 axes machines.

I would imagine that the 3 axes machines would be the most beneficial as they follow the same principles as larger machines if that is the way I wished to later develop. As always there is a down side as these machines appear to be considerably more expensive.

Again your views would be appreciated.

Thanks

If I was starting again I’d seriously look at the microlighting side of life. They still seem to have the pioneering spirit that other forms of aviation lost years ago. Gliding is great but no use if you have serious family commitments due to the massive amount of time you need to give it if you want to progress.

If you have the luxury of time I’d suggest gliding is probably the way to go. Because it is all very clubby you do seem to end up devoting virtually the entire day in return for the opportunity of a few flights. But the lessons you learn in gliding will apply later if you decide to convert to powered flying so nothing is lost.

There is no real financial saving to doing an NPPL as opposed to a PPL. Though the (minimum) hours requirements are lower, the chances of toddling along to a group with a pfa aircraft, waving your thirty-something hours NPPL and being welcomed with open arms are negligible.

Whatever you do though, get airborne as soon as possible 🙂

Moggy

Don’t forget that you can spread the cost over a long period, it takes quite a while to build up your hours.

It is horses for courses really, most gliderists and microlighters seem to fall into 2 camps, those who want to be that one step closer to nature, and the others that revel in how cheaply they can get/remain airborne.

There is a middle way….do your NPPL then fly PFA type aircraft, Real flying for less!

If I think about the amount of money that I have spent on RC in the past 10 years, I could have easily got my PPL back and racked up quite a few hours by now!

Why don’t you go and have a trial flight at all three? Each has its plusses and minuses. Doing that will, not only, give you a feel for the sport/hobby, but will also give you an idea of what the other people are like who partake.

RE: newbie

Welcome!

RE: newbie

Eh up Kane! – we’ll have to get some MSN details as you and i could have quite an iteresting convo. I’m from Yorkshire (Bronte Country if u wanna sound posh, about 10 miles from Bradford if u wanna drag me down!!), but i’m often visiting, and have just come bak today from Ipswich – down the road. I’m only 17 but still remember the days of RAF Bentwaters, Honington, Woodbridge, Alconbury as a kid, a still visit Lakenheath and Mildenhall now and again along with Wattisham and its helos.

Further up u’re way on visits i’ve passed Norwich – used to b real dead!! and North Denes which i used to like as we got so close up to the a/c!

RE: newbie

Hi Kane,

Welcome to the forums mate. Always good to get new members on here. Dont worry about the new part I am fairly new and remember we were all in that position at the start. enjoy

RE: newbie

Welcome to the forums mate, and enjoy your stay.

RE: newbie

Hiya Kane, i to am a newbie, so your not alone.

RE: newbie

Nothing wrong with USAF jets 🙂 . I see a few USAF F-15’s flying over my university (Loughborough).

RE: newbie

Hi,
Thanks for your replies and Wysiwig I’m from Lowestoft on the suffolk coast so the only planes I see are US Air Force jets or the odd early morning stream of planes from STD/LHR.

My flight will probably be full, typicall the day you thought it would be empty it’s full ahhh the irony.

RE: newbie

Hello and welcome Kane. You never know with these things, a trip I took with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Los Angeles (A330) was half full on the outbound and full on the way back, likewise a Continental flight my girlfriend took from Glasgow to Newark in May was half full both ways (B767).

RE: newbie

Greetings silverton228, always great to see a new member to the forums.
To answer your question, many airports see a reduction of up to 30% in their traffic during the Christmas and New Year period as many people choose to travel before or after the festive periods. I would of thought, therefore, BA probably are running fewer flights on the day because of the reduction in passenger numbers. However, many people trying to get a cheap deal will fly on New Years Day because of fewer travellers, consequently there are less expensive tickets around. As a result I would think your flight could be less full than normal although I think there will still be a fair few passengers.

Also, Orlando is a busy all year round destination so one would think your flight could still be rather full.

RE: newbie

Welcome kane…usualy flights from UK to USA are very much full.

RE: newbie

Welcome Kane, great to have you on board. Your posting is a great way for us to get to know you. I presume from your post you live in the UK, which part? Regrettably I don’t know how busy your BA flight will be as I don’t know if BA have been trying to give incentives to encourage people to fly on what you would think should be a relatively quiet day. When I used to wotk for Virgin we were always surprised at just how busy their New Years Day flights were.