A TYPICAL FLIGHT

We will always start with a safety briefing to make sure that you will be safe around the aircraft. Then we will escorted to the aircraft and we’ll get you securely strapped in, with your headset on. Your instructor will get strapped in, they will review the safety information, then do the ‘pre engine start’ checks and start the engine.

As the engine is allowed to warm-up your instructor will run through the flight instruments and controls with you so that all the dials and knobs have some meaning. We’ll taxi out to the end of whichever runway we are using that day, before doing further ‘pre take-off’ checks. We always take-off into the wind, so if it’s blowing towards the far end of the runway the taxi could take a minute or so.

The take-off in a microlight always feels remarkably quick. Within a couple of minutes we’ll be at or above 1,000 feet with a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. During the flight we will be able to talk to each other easily over the intercom, and I’ll be able to point out some of the local landmarks and show you how the controls work. Don’t forget your camera! If you would like to have a go with the controls then I’ll brief you on the basic ‘up and down’ and ‘left and right’ controls and you will be able to fly us around for as long as you like (within the length of the lesson, of course!).

All too soon, unfortunately, it will be time to return towards the airfield. If the weather and other air traffic allows we might be able to do a low level fly past so that your family and friends on the ground can get some idea of the fun that they are missing. Once we have landed (always very smoothly), we’ll taxi back to the airfield apron, shut down the engine, disconnect headsets and un-strap seatbelts and re-join the others for a well earned cup of tea.