At Over Farm Microlights we provide training on the Flexwing/Weightshift type of microlight for your National Private Pilots Licence (NPPL) and are governed and overseen by the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The first thing to do is book a trial microlight lesson with Rob or Neil to see how you like the experience; if you go on to take lessons the trial flight counts towards your licence.

Dual lessons

Having flown in a microlight on a trial lesson you may decide you wish to start training in order to get your own licence, or you may decide you want to learn to fly a sub-70.

The training follows the BMAA Syllabus. Each lesson typically involves a ground briefing/debriefing and an hour’s flight. The syllabus starts with aircraft familiarisation, proceeds through the effects of controls, climbing flight, turning flight, navigation and the art of landing the aircraft safely in a variety of conditions.

There is no rush to get a licence as the dual hours you will fly do not expire from your log book. A few people with plenty of spare time and no financial restraints could achieve a microlight licence in under a year, but the average time to do this is 2 years. 

Over Farm Microlights is fortunate to be able to offer students flying courses in southern France which, in the past, has been very beneficial. The UK’s often windy weather can be very frustrating when you are learning. Therefore a week in a place where the winds are usually light, can usually result in 10 hours flying, and much faster progress can be made in these conditions.

Going solo

Once your instructor is happy that your flying skills are good enough, the moment will arrive when he will get out of the aircraft and let you fly solo! This is an exciting experience you will never forget; the first time, alone in the sky!

At this point you should have decided what aircraft you intend to fly, once you have gained your licence. As you need to fly a minimum of 10 hours solo, it makes sense to fly these hours in an aircraft you own or share, whatever it might be.

Cross country

There is no point in being able to fly if you can’t find your way safely to other airfields, so the syllabus includes dual cross-country training with your Instructor; if time allows this can be a chance to visit other airfields and maybe have a coffee or lunch in their cafe. Once your Instructor is sure you can navigate well then you will need to do two cross-country solos landing at other airfields which is another significant milestone in your journey.

Finishing the course

When all the exercises in the syllabus have been completed and the student can fly them to a good standard, a flying exam called a General Skills Test (GST) must be taken.

Exams

As well as passing your GST and completing the solo navigation tasks you will need to pass ground exams in five subjects; Aircraft Technical, Meteorology, Air Law*, Human Performance and Navigation**. There are books to help you with these subjects, and your Instructor will be happy to organise lessons for you, if required.

*We require you to pass Air Law before you fly solo.
** We require you to pass Navigation before you fly solo out the circuit.

Licence

Once you have passed your GST, completed your solo navigation and passed the ground school you can apply for your licence. Once you have your licence in your hands you can take your friends flying and join in with club fly outs which are organised through the summer.

If you want to grow your skills and confidence after gaining your licence the BMAA Wings Scheme provides a host of options, and there are national competitions where more experienced pilots will happily coach you in the various flying tasks that are organised.

How long will it take?

Their is no easy answer to that question, it will depend on how often you are able to commit to training, how easily the skills come to you (and everybody is different), your capacity for taking in information, and what the weather is like!

Perhaps the best way of thinking about it is to view training as a journey, not a destination, and set out to enjoy the process of learning as after all flying either with an Instructor or on your own is still flying!