Beginners, make your dream come true!
Young pilots, you are the future of this world of ours, and it is our duty to warn you of what awaits you, namely pleasure and dreams... but what kind of dream?
Microlighting is a sport for all ages, but each age has its own way of approaching the discipline. Of course, you may find yourself dreaming of flying those top-of-the-range machines that are increasingly filling our fleet, but the reality of this passion that you are now discovering is quite different, so take on board a few well-chosen principles that will make two parties happy at once: you and your wallet.
Microlighting is a passion and is lived as one
The microlight world is not a hypermarket. You don't go in to do your shopping and come out with a full trolley. On the contrary, you go in to enrich yourself, because above all it is an adventure that is as much mechanical as human. You enter through a small door that opens onto a parallel world of infinite possibilities: you will experience another physical dimension, altitude, and take in a new human dimension based on shared experiences.
An entry ticket: your first aircraft
Yours, the club's, a friend's, it doesn't matter. I'm not talking about the aircraft you will fly your first flights in with an instructor, but about the machine you will look after entirely and with which you will discover every aspect of the discipline.
You learn everything on your first aircraft: the basics of aviation, navigation rules, mechanical monitoring, engine maintenance… and above all, you spend your time listening, applying and discovering. Because learning this world, through sharing knowledge and experience, is never done alone: there will always be someone along the way who can support you and help you progress towards mastering your aircraft and trusting your own expertise.
The pleasure of a simple aircraft
Steer clear of complicated machines and top-of-the-range models. Leave that for later. Choose a simple, inexpensive, sound machine that will give you great pleasure through its ease of use and upkeep: an accessible airframe and engine, cheap maintenance, no-surprises handling... This is the key to enjoyable, effective instruction.
A weight-shift microlight such as the GTE or Biplum, or a 3-axis in the style of the Weedhopper, AX-3 or Wallaby, are immediately accessible sources of learning and wonderful companions for a beginner pilot.
The safety of a sound aircraft
The models mentioned above are known to all of us for a good reason: they have proved themselves! Besides the fact that at every aerodrome or club you will find a pilot who knows this aircraft inside out (a not inconsiderable asset for your wallet), you will benefit from the safety of an easy-to-fly aircraft that can land and take off short, forgives many mistakes and is tolerant of your first crosswinds. And if there is one notion you must take on board before anything else in aviation, it is safety in the face of the potential dangers of our activity (let us rightly remember that in microlighting, danger can go as far as death).
The peace of mind of a controlled cost
Who said a simple, accessible machine would deprive us of strong experiences?
I have just come back from the 2018 Tour ULM. Nearly 140 aircraft, more than 2 000 km of navigation. My mount? A 20-year-old Air Création GTE Kiss 450 weight-shift microlight powered by a Rotax 582 engine.
- Purchase cost: €5 000
- Wing overhaul: €900
- Rescue parachute overhaul: €1 000
- Trike overhaul: €450
- Engine overhaul: €850
- Total: €8 200
It's true, I started among the first and finished dead last, but for less than €10 000 I got a machine ready for hundreds of hours of use, won the respect of all the participants and enriched myself with an adventure as gruelling as it was unforgettable.
Because indeed, don't forget: the key to this discipline is passion and the flame that drives it. And the magic of this world is that the intensity of the sensations is certainly not measured by the size of the bill, far from it…
