Touch The Sky With An Affordable Microlight Airplane

Almost everyone has seen and has flied with a standard light airplane or a helicopter. These vehicles are cool and fast - but when you fly you are enclosed in the cabine and can't feel the air. And sadly, if you want to own an airplane you need really big money!

Now imagine you could have all the following at once:

your own aircraft for cheap

staying in your garage

flying for the same price as driving your car

flying like a bird and feeling the wind surrounding your face

This all is achievable with a microlight! It's really a flying in the way it has to be and the best of all - it's affordable.

So what exactly is a microlight?

No kidding, It's an aircraft. Some microlights look exactly like an airplane - these are known as fixed wing vehicles. Some of them are closed just like any other airplane, while the other's cabines are open and you can fly like the Wright Brothers.

Others, called flex wing aircrafts - also known as ultralight trikes - look more like a motorcycle with wings or a motodeltaplan (which actually they are). Their cabines are always open.

By definition - which of course varies depending on your country - a microlight aircraft is considered an airplane not exceeding 390kg including pilot's weight and fuel. Often it is messed with the ultralights [more about the ultraligh airplanes], but in general they weight more.

So cool... and safe

The statistics are pretty clear - proportionate to the number of hours they fly, the microlights are one of the safest airplanes. It's not more dangerous than driving your car. Stop worrying.

And affordable

Affordable? I would even say cheap. Some of the new microlights are not as cheap actually - they may cost more than $20,000. But if you look at used machines offered in various classifieds sites, you can find airplanes sold for $5,000 - $6,000!

The flex-wings and the various hybrids can be even cheaper. A new one is often sold for about $10,000 - $12,000 and you can find a second hand aircraft for as low as $3,000.

The microlight airplanes use standard motorcycle or car fuel - 2-3 gallons per hour at cruising speed. So they can be even more economical than your car!

Storage fees? Do you have a garage? It's a perfect place for your flex-wing. A fixed wings aircraft may need a bigger place though - depending on how large your garage is.

There are some additional fees like license and various club fees - which depend on where you live - but rare exceed $100 - $200 per year.

The requirements

In the old days of the microlight aviation these airplanes were unregulated. Nowadays you need to have your plane registered and own a pilot's license.

The licensing of a microlight is much cheaper and easier in USA than in Europe. But in both continents it's easier than getting an ordinary airplane license.

Building one yourself

Well, there are a lot of kits for ultralights and some for microlights [read more about the aircraft kits]. You can even find microlight helicopter kits. If you are an engineer you can build one yourself from scratch. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The microlight aviation is the most exciting and affordable way to fly - for the ordinary people.

If you liked this article subscribe to our Free Newsletter

Post Your Comment Add to del.icio.us

User comments:

gorgan at Feb, 19 '07 21:03
i need pictures
Reply to this comment