In the five years I have been covering Popham, there has never been bad weather. Pouring rain on the Friday threatened to spoil the first of the new century and Saturday was wet and foggy for most of the country. But the usual human sacrifice on the temple of the weather gods did the trick, and apart from a slippery parking lot on the Saturday morning, this was vintage Popham weather.In the five years I have been covering Popham, there has never been bad weather. Pouring rain on the Friday threatened to spoil the first of the new century and Saturday was wet and foggy for most of the country. But the usual human sacrifice on the temple of the weather gods did the trick, and apart from a slippery parking lot on the Saturday morning, this was vintage Popham weather.

Numbers attending seemed a bit down, perhaps put off by the weather or the close proximity of Easter, but those who stayed at home missed one of the more exciting shows as this was the year the 450 kg rule change really came into effect, with more heavy metal on show than you could shake a stick at. The performance of these superships outstripped anything seen before, and while few of them have jumped all the bureaucratic hoops to become fully fledged SLAs, they gave a taste of things to come in the very near future.

How about the 100hp 912S-powered Zenair CH701, for example, which with one person on board took off from a standing start in fact calm with a ground roll of 15 m…or the electrifying CT Design being imported by Pegasus in which your editor (purely out of a sense of duty, you understand) watched the ASI climb to 275 kph (170 mph) in a low pass down the runway.

This wasn't a case of one or two star performers, either. Zenair had two models on display which are being proposed for SLA-dom, Pegasus had the CT Design, there was the high wing Ikarus C42, and the lowing Eurostar joining the now-familiar Jabiru on the flight line.

'But these aren't microlights' I hear you mutter. Well, they may not be traditional microlights, but microlights they most definitely are, and by actively supporting them, your Association will grow in numbers and political clout, which will be good for all of us. Hear endeth the lesson.

The fact is that the traditional microlights, sedentary ones that don't require bottomless pockets, were left somewhat in the shade by these exotic new arrivals, but they were there, with some interesting developments of their own. Gordon Pill from Thruster was demonstrating his Jabiru-powered T600N. Still under test, it nevertheless looked a very capable machine. The Rotax 582 has transformed the performance of this aircraft (see test on page 30), and the Jabiru promises to give even more sprightly takeoff and climb, combined with the relaxing drone of a direct-drive four-stroke - and probably a significantly reduced fuel burn.

Also Jabiru powered is the Jabiru aircraft. Now fully cleared as an SLA, the demonstration machine was kept fully occupied all weekend by people wanting to sample its quiet, efficient performance and sleek lines.

The Shadow stand sported a modified D series decked out in a very smart yellow and red colour scheme and fitted with matching engine cowls and a gleaming stainless Sigmax exhaust. David Moore tells me that it has been possible to upgrade their classic design to the full 450kg with minimal changes, and this will mean the possibility of other power plants, and considerably increased fuel load.

Gracing the Mainair stand on the Sunday was Colin Bodill with his 100hp 912S-powered Blade, in which he should be (as you read this) circumnavigating the world. Fitted with a monster avionics box, it looked solid and quite capable of taking on the world. Jim Cunliffe of Mainair tells me that they are offering the 100hp engine as an extra option to the Blade range - the first production flexwing with 100hp.

When Colin took off, two up with a full tank, you could see the attraction - it leapt into the air like the proverbial homesick angel. The ground roll was miniscule and the rate of climb sensational. Jim assures me that because the wing climbs at 60 mph, an engine failure in the climb isn't particularly dramatic - there's sufficient energy for it to nose over to a normal glide angle without a problem.

Both Mainair and Pegasus flexwings were fully occupied giving trial flights over the weekend - proof that there is still plenty of interest in this method of getting your feet of the ground.

On the Medway stand, Chris Draper had both the EclipseR, with its Jabiru four-stroke engine, and the Rebel, with the 2si 70hp two-stroke. This model is now fully approved, and one flew in on the Saturday evening. The engine sounds very smooth, and we hope to have a full flight test on this machine in the very near future.

Also on his stand was Sky Science with its powered parachute. They have teamed up with Medway to certify and import the machine featured on the latest James Bond film. Certification is said to be progressing well, and they hope to set up a school east of Swindon. We will keep you in touch with progress. With the WW Air powered parachute on display on the next stand and also progressing towards certification, this branch of microlighting will get a much overdue shot in the arm.

Of course attention focuses on the trade stands, but a trip across to the aircraft park usually reveals some surprises. It was good to see John Hunt's prototype Huntwing re-engined with a BMW R1000. John's had considerable trouble with cooling, but the installation is coming right. I spotted Brian Milton giving it a thrash round the block - perhaps his next round-the-world trip will be BMW-powered?

It was good to see a couple of Mainair Kolb Twinstars parked next to each other. However, your editor was delighted to see a brand new Sherwood Ranger in the line. This 582 powered two-seat biplane is reported by test pilot Eddie Clapham to have a sprightly performance, and we are looking forward to carrying out a full flight test as soon as possible. Designer Russ Light's untimely death was reported in the May-June issue, but it's hoped that a supply of kits can be arranged for this excellent and practical design.

But whatever your opinion on the nature of microlighting, your eye kept creeping back to that glamorous heavy metal, and I managed to get airborne in three of the new machines. It's important to remember that none of these three is currently cleared as an SLA, and before selling the house or the wife in order to buy one, you should wait until all the pieces of paper are in place.

First flight was in the Zenair CH701. This all metal heavy hauler was designed in 1984 and there are hundreds flying worldwide, including Israel (basic trainer) and Africa (poaching patrols). It has a high-mounted twin-strutted thick wing with leading edge slots and can be fitted with Rotax 582, 912 or 912S. The Czechoslovakian registered demonstration aircraft (fitted with the 100hp 912S) had been flown from Czechoslovakia after only 15mins test flight, and arrived at Popham with 2h fuel on board, having topped up in Belgium! The angular airframe and huge tundra tyres should give you the clue that this isn't designed for speed, but it will get in and out of the shortest, roughest strips you can imagine. Cruise speed (depending on engine fit) is 75-85mph, and the stall is around 30mph, although the nose is so high before this happens, you'd have to be amazingly distracted to let it happen accidentally.

This particular aircraft was fitted with two wing tanks in addition to the main fuselage tank, but it may not be possible to carry full fuel with two reasonably well-padded occupants in a UK registered SLA. However, it's spacious, very tough, and will handle the roughest strips you can throw it at. My trip with Chip Irwin, CEO of the Czech factory where they are built, showed the controls to be light in roll, heavier in pitch and heaviest in yaw (as it should be). All controls were powerful, and the power-off stall was very straightforward. Visibility is good with a generous roof panel, although the very high nose attitude restricts the view of the runway somewhat.

Visibility is great in all directions except straight down (which is a little obscured by the wing) and there is masses of headroom, a huge parcel shelf behind the occupants and more storage in the wings. Cruise speeds of up to 120mph are possible with a 912 fitted, and the controls, as on the 701, are powerful and well- harmonised. Incidentally, there are no aileron hinges; the upper wing skin simply bends! The system has been thoroughly tested at the factory and works fine provided the throw is kept small. While take-off isn't in the 701 category, it's still capable of operating from short strips.

Two other kit-built aircraft also being put through SLA certification were there. Also manufactured in Czechoslovakia is the EV-97 Eurostar. Like the Zenair CH601, it is a low-wing side-by-side tricycle under carriage machine of all metal construction.

It is rather further through the certification process, the first British example being cleared for test flight. UK agent is Cosmik Aviation in the person of one Nigel Beale, well known for importing Austrian engines.

The front-opening canopy makes access very straightforward, and the view is superb. Performance looks similar to the CH601, with a cruise of 100mph with a 912 and fuel capacity of 50 litre giving over 4h of flying. We look forward to a full flight test as soon as certification is complete. Price of the inclusive kit is around £ 25,000.

Meanwhile the Ikarus C42 is a German built high-wing aircraft with more microlight-ish aluminium tube fuselage and ladder wings (à la Rans, Thruster et al) and with similar cruise performance. Currently being evaluated by Fly Buy Ultralights, based in Cranfield, you can see a brief review by our German correspondent in the Sep-Oct 1999 issue.

One more supership was seen parked, having flown in from Waterford, Eire, although the importer wasn't present. This was the Lambada, the Czechoslovakian (surprise, surprise!) all composite motorglider. Fitted with the 912 or Jabiru it promises cruise speeds of 100-125mph, depending on wing option.

And then there's the CT Design. Seen (and admired) by many at the Telford show in December, a German-registered example was available for test flights. This example differs from the SLA version by being considerably heavier and with more features (including ballistic parachute). Nonetheless, it gives a fair idea of the way the UK version will be.

It looks like an oversized version of the Jabiru, with its all composite construction, high wing and slender tail. It will only be offered ready to fly, with a price tag of around £ 40,000. Its larger size means that the cockpit is truly cavernous by any standards, with wide doors that make getting in and out utterly straightforward for even the most ungainly passenger. The windscreen seems a huge distance away.

Unlike most other microlights, the controls are all hidden out of sight. There are two conventional floor-mounted sticks, and a central console housing a bank of levers and knobs that would make a 747 jockey feel at home. Dominant on this console is the flap control, which matches its very important role in flight. The electrically operated flaps occupy a large majority of the trailing edge, and go from 260 down for landing to 80 up for the cruise.

Firing up the 912S generates very little noise in the cockpit - hardly surprising, since one is so far away from it - and the kick from 100 horses gets you off the deck very smartly. Take-off and landing roll are short enough for most strips, but I imagine that most owners of this type would prefer to eschew the cowpats and bumps of the fields being used by the lower orders.

The 100hp also ensures one's at circuit height in very short order, and then we can do what this aircraft does best - getting from A to B. Move the flaps to -80 and cruise speeds of 135-150mph are quite feasible. Anyone upgrading from today's generation of microlights would need to get familiarised with this - you can get lost three times as quickly as before! It's pretty stable in the cruise, with powerful controls in all senses. The ailerons are spring-centred, so the weight can be adjusted. Flaps up, the stall is very benign, but there was a marked left wing drop with flaps down, which might cause problems at low altitude. Maximum level speed is 275kph indicated (175mph), which Heinz, the factory pilot demonstrated at low level down the runway…

Landing appears pretty straightforward, although management of flaps and speed will be completely new skills to all but a select few microlight pilots - indeed many GA pilots, brought up on Cessna 152s and PA28s, would probably need retraining before jumping in this very sophisticated machine.

There is 95 litres of fuel capacity in the wings, requiring steps or a chair to refuel. Once filled, it's supposed to be possible to fly non-stop from London to Madrid, although I shouldn't like to make accurate judgements using the surprisingly primitive sight glasses in the wing roots. Microlight pilots should realise, however, that this aircraft will only just squeeze into the SLA category weight-wise, which means that with two 86kg pilots on board, you may only be able to carry an hour's fuel (at full throttle).

There may also be issues that need to be resolved in the flight test programme, but no-one can doubt the German factory's total commitment to this project, and it plans to have the first UK airframe through the certification process in time for Cranfield. I certainly hope so.

This was one of the more memorable Pophams for me. But as a footnote can I add a plea for these high performance aircraft to have more sexy names? The Lambada's great, but who wants to tell the wife they've hocked the family jewels for a CH601, CT Design, CT42 or even Eurostar?

"Reproduced with permission from Microlight Flying Jul-Aug 2000 Issue"