How
Much Will It Cost?
This
will depend on how you go about it. One major cost will be that
of obtaining your licence. Even microlight flying lessons do not
come cheap and are usually in the region of £70 to £80
per hour for dual lessons on a school aircraft. This can usually
be reduced to £40 to £50 per hour if you use your own
aircraft. The actual number of hours required will vary from person
to person and be dependent on age, aptitude and previous experience.
But do not be over optimistic in estimating how long you will need
before going solo. It will take as long as it takes and you will
not be allowed to go solo until you are ready. Unless you have some
previous flying experience it is unlikely that you will go solo
in much less than 20 hours and it could take far longer. Once you
do go solo you will need to do more training under supervision and
pass some exams and finally your general flying test before obtaining
your licence. If you budget £3000 for lessons etc. you should
be in the right sort of area, if you do it for less consider this
a bonus. This may seem expensive but remember that it is a one off
cost.
If
you learn in a school aircraft you will not need your own at first,
but be aware that some schools do not allow you to use their aircraft
for other than dual lessons. This will mean that you will need your
own aircraft before you can go solo. There are various routes open
to you for “owning” your own aircraft, depending on
your preferences and budget. You could buy second-hand, an airworthy
flex-wing can be bought for £2000 - £3000 and you could
reduce this if you can persuade one or more friends to share the
cost and buy a share. You could join a syndicate, shares are often
offered in new aircraft and you could buy a one tenth share in a
£20,000 machine for £2000. You could buy a share in
a second-hand aircraft, these are occasionally offered on the notice
boards of flying clubs or in classified adds in aviation magazines
etc. The cost of such a share will be dependent on the age type
and condition of the particular aircraft. Finally and most expensive,
there is always the option of buying new this can be either a factory
built or kit form aircraft. Costs for these covers a wide range,
from around £13000 to over £40000 depending on type
and specification.
So
you’ve got your licence and your aircraft but unfortunately
that is not the end of it. Where are you going to keep and use it?
The cheapest option is to keep it in your garage at home and trailer
it to the airfield when you want to fly. But this may not be practicable,
especially for a 3-axis machine. Many people keep their aircraft
in a hangar at the airfield but this can cost in excess of £1000
per year. You will want insurance to cover third party risks and
probably want to insure against loss through fire theft or accident.
You will also need to maintain it and an allowance must be made
for this. The actual cost of maintenance will depend on whether
you carry out the work yourself or have to pay someone to do it
for you. The engine type will also influence costs, 2-strokes needing
more work than 4 strokes. Don’t forget that sail material
typically “Dacron” is degraded by U.V. radiation and
unless protected from sunlight could fail the annual inspection
after only 3 or so years. If it does need to be replaced it is likely
to cost a couple of thousand pounds or more. The fixed cost elements
of insurance; hangarage; re-permitting etc. are usually taken care
of on a syndicate aircraft by the levying of a fixed monthly charge
while the variable elements such as maintenance are covered by a
per hour charge for usage.
Fuel
consumption is dependent on engine type (2-strokes using more than
4-strokes) and power output, but will be heavily influenced on how
hard you work it. Like a car if you go everywhere at full throttle
you use a lot more fuel, it takes a lot more power to get the last
few mph. Consumptions can range from 5 to 20+ litres per hour dependant
on the above.
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