The Beginning

In 2005 I went to Sandy to find Bedford Microlights : I was fulfilling my dream of learning to fly. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, there was a field and a PortaCabin that had seen better days. Entering the PortaCabin I met a nice lady who made me some tea, I thought this is nice. The tea lady asked if I would like "An experience flight" I said that I would and she said ok finish your tea and let's go.......

We walked out to the "aircraft" which I now know to be a Thruster T600N, this particular example was known to club members as "The Yellow Peril".The Thruster is not impressive to look at, it doesn't look like a Light Aircraft or , to be truthful, any other aircraft I had ever seen: It should be noted that I had spent the first part of my career working for British Aerospace in Flight Test so my opinion was not without a level of technical domain knowledge.

I had a great time .....

 

 

So what is a Thruster T600N ?

It is a Microlight Aircraft, the definition of a Microlight Aircraft in the UK is that the Maximum Weight is 450Kg and that the Stall Speed is less than 35 Knots. The Stall Speed is the minimum speed at which the aircraft can fly (slightly simplified explanation).

To be fair, the Thruster is actually a very good aircraft...it is not fast ..it is not pretty...it is not comfortable..but it is fun :-) and it is forgiving...especially the undercarriage which is handy when learning...oh it is (or rather sadly was as it is no longer manufactured ) also Made In Britain.

So is it powered by a Lawn Mower engine?

No! it is powered by a four stroke 2.2L Aircooled Jabiru 2200 85HP aircraft engine. Interestingly the engine is mounted externally above the cockpit, uncowled and open to the elements. It has a two bladed Warp Drive carbon fibre propeller.

Learning To Fly

So I was hooked and I planned to start my lessons. As it happens the Flight Instructor I had (lets call him "Chris")  was great fun and had some great patter. So, for example, if you were a little low over the lake that is on final approach on Runway 17 at Sandy he would say "Standby  for Splashdown!"

One day Chris said "I have had had enough!...", we sat on the runway and he said "OK you have a go one circuit and bring in back, ideally in one piece" - he then got out of the aircraft: It was time for my first Solo!

The first solo is a unreal experience: It is a really strange feeling being alone in the cockpit without the weight and constant commentary of your instructor. I was told to do a single circuit (take-off, fly in a oval, and then land) which at Sandy takes all of 5 Minutes..... I was, in a number of ways, very happy when I landed!

The Microlight Training Syllabus

Familiarisation Exercises and Foundation:

Although microlighting is fairly relaxed, there is a formal training syllabus and exams! The syllabus is listed below for your "entertainment" and general delight.....

Ex 1 Air Experience - The First Lesson

Ex 2 Aircraft Familiarisation

Ex 3 Preparations for Flight

Ex 4 Effects of controls

Ex 5 Taxying

Basic Flight Manoeuvres:

Ex 6 Straight & Level Flight

Ex 7 Basic Climbing & Descending

Ex 8 Performance Climbing & Descending

Ex 9a Turning Flight

Ex 9b Climbing and descending turns

Slow Speed Handling:

Ex 10a Critically Slow Airspeed

Ex 10b Stalling & Spin Avoidance

Take-off, Landing & Circuit Flying:

Ex 12 Circuit Training

Ex 13 Advanced Take-Off and Landing Techniques

Advanced Handling:

Ex 14 Advanced turning

Operational Hazards, Emergency Procedures and Unexpected/Unplanned Occurrences:

Ex 16a Forced landings

Ex 16b Precautionary landings

Ex 16c Operations at Minimum Level

Ex 16d Action in the event of fire

Ex 16e Systems failures

Solo Flight Training:

Ex 17a First solo

Ex 17b Solo Circuit, Local Area Consolidation & General Handling Consolidation:

VFR Navigation:

Ex 18a Pre-Flight Planning

Ex 18b En-Route Navigation, Departure & Arrival Procedures

Ex 18C Navigation at Minimum Level and/or in Deteriorating Conditions

Ex 18d Unsure of Position & Lost Procedures

Preparation for the General Skills Test and Ground Oral Exam:

Ex 19a Dual Revision for GST

Ex 19b Revision for the Aeroplane Technical Part 2 (Ground Oral) Exam

Ex19c Document Review

Then there are the dreaded Ground Exams.....

-Human Factors

-Aero technical

-Air Law

-Aviation Meteorology

-Navigation

All went well in my training except that I was working away a lot, typically Monday to Friday... The weather for flying is limited by visibility and by wind.. the conditions where training is sensible or allowed are limited so you need to plan for twice the number of bookings to allow for this. Sometimes if things conspire so that you do not fly enough to maintain your skills levels decay. After some time I was getting close to my taking my General Skills Test (GST) then the regime at the airfied changed and I had a new instructor.

The new instructor (lets call him "Alan") was great but he did enevitably make me repeat some of the syllabus but eventually I was ready for the GST....

On the day of the test I checked over "The Yellow Peril" and then sat nervously in the cabin waiting. The weather was good and my examiner was friendly (his name was Graham) what could go wrong? I had practised all of the test elements and was ok on all of them. We got into the Yellow Peril (Getting two people into a Thruster is "amusing" : you have to be comfortable sharing your personal space) it started easily (a bonus) and we taxied towards the runway and then Graham said stop he grumbled about the aircraft a little (he was a previous owner I think) pulled of some loose trim , opened his door and threw it out onto the airfield: "Continue" he stated, so I did albeit a little more nervouse than before. The test was going well until we got to the "forced Landing" (we call this Practise Forced Landings - PFLs) where the examiner simulates an engine failure by closing the throttle. You then have to demonstrate that you would be able to successfully land the aircraft by selecting a suitable field and demonstrating an approach down to 500ft when the examiner will tell you to climb away. Graham said that my PFL was ok but I could be a bit more aggressive - he the took contol and demonstrated a PFL: I assummed that I had failed but nevertheless we continued with the GST. After landing and taxing back, he said "that was ok - you have passed!"

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