By : Dennis Davis

At the beginning of the 1980s, in a complete change of lifestyle, I moved to a small island in the Hebrides. Transport to and from the island was by ferry with a field which doubled as a landing strip available for the rich, or medical evacuees.

I envied the pilots of the Islanders, or occasional light aircraft which turned, over our cottage to align with the strip. Then one of our neighbours appeared on the airstrip one quite summer evening rigging a strange flying machine with a seat stuck right at the front under a tiny engine. This turned out to be an early Australian microlight aircraft called a Scout.

Ron attached the wings, fired up the engine, donned a crash helmet and taxied up and down the airstrip a few times before taking off with lawnmower like roar. My first encounter with a microlight!

The next time was at Davidstow airfield in north Cornwall in the capable hands of Ian Stokes when I took a 30 minute trial flight in April 1999.

In the early 1950s I was taught to fly during National Service in the RAF. Later I obtained my PPL at Gatwick when this was still a grass field and pottered around the air of South East England in a Taylorcraft or Tiger Month. The hourly rates in those days were a mere pound 2.50, still a fairly high outlay for an impecunious young man, but well worth it at the time of the sheer joy of flying.

Gatwick was then developed as London's second airport and there was no place for the tiny flying club which ha to cease operations. My flying activities moved to Denham airfield north of London. Rates per hours had gone up a little and there was no Tiger Moth for me to throw around the sky, but the little Austers were an enjoyable alternative.

However, life moved on and marriage loomed. By 1959 I had decided I could no longer justify the expense of maintaining my license and allowed it to lapse,, something I often regretted in the years that followed when I looked at light aircraft buzzing across blue summer skies, wishing I was up there looking down. I bought the occasional I flying magazine, pondered joining the PFA and building and considered the possibility of trying again to renew my license, but each time felt the high cost was unjustifiable.

More years when by, absorbed by work of one sort or another until, having settled in north Devon, I realised that shortly I was going to become an OAP. What better time to take up flying once more? Fortunately Devon and Cornwall are well served by a number of microlight flying schools. I soon discovered that weight-shift microlight controls work in the opposite way to those of normal aircraft so in would be the tape for me. Having broached the possibility of microlight flying to my wife. I was pleasantly surprised when she accepted the idea with enthusiasm - provided I did not expect her to learn too. Which bought us to Davidstow.

Davidstow

Ian showed me around the Thruster while he checked it externally - it did look awfully tiny by comparison with even the small aircraft I had flown in the past. Then he help strap me into the cockpit, headsets were fitted and checked, and the taxied out to the far end of the runway.

After take-off we climbed at what seemed an extraordinary rate of climb to 2,000ft and Ian asked if I would like to 'have a go'. Redundant question! I took tentative control and soon found that I remembered much of what I had been so well taught all those years ago. All too soon Ian suggested that I turned north and there way ahead was the main runway. He took over and pointed us at the ground. At what looked to me to be very near the hard stuff, he gently flared out and we did a neat three-pointer. I was hooked!

Thoughts of flying then had temporarily to go on the backburner while several weeks of other commitments intervened, but towards the end of August it looked as if I could at last arrange some lessons. A trip to Davidstow found my wife and I booked into a delightful barn conversation cottage situated within a 15 min walk of the flying club and me set up for 2h flying each day for the following week!

I booked for Ian's restricted license course as an initial step to see how much I could progress. On the Tuesday morning after Bank Holiday we unloaded the contest of the car into the cottage and I walked across the airfield to the clubhouse. Here I must admit to a surprise for I had assumed that my instructor was to be Ian, but no, he introduced me to the chap seated in a wheelchair and scoffing a pork pie, Gray Bennett.

I think Gray must have wondered what he was stuck with, on seeing an elderly grey-bearded gent sporting a pair of half granny specs on his nose. A quick chat about flying and it was out to the Thruster parked in front of the clubhouses. The first lesson went in a blur of a adrenaline. In fact we overran by 5min, gray claiming because he was having fun, but I guess he says that to all his new students. Mind you, it just may have been true because we overran the afternoon lesson by 10min. On my third day, after nearly 6th of instruction Gray asked me if I would like to go solo. Working on the principal that he must have thought me capable of returning the aircraft in one piece I said 'yes'.

We taxied to the side of the runway so Gary could watch, fingers crossed, while I went off flying on my own for the first time in over 40 years. I taxied back to the centre of the runway, lined up pushed the stick forward and opened the throttle to maximum engine revs. The tail came up almost immediately and I gently eased the stick base a fraction. The speed built up very rapidly flying solo, and I was off.

Stick back to climb away at 50kt; 500ft, ease stick forward and back off the throttle to engine cruising revs. Keeping a good look out to all around to make sure there were no other aircraft about to join the circuit, I tried to make neat right-angled turns; across wind, then over the centre for Crowdy reservoir downwind, keep a look out parallel to the runway. Now a run across the wind again and line up for landing.

Nose down in the correct attitude, speed 55kt and keep everything steady at that. Near the ground the speed dropped off a little, nose down a fraction to compensate. Careful now, not too close to the ground, and being kept straight by the tail-wheel. Taxied back to Gray after my best landing yet.

The remainder of the week went by in a flash of my renewed enthusiasm for flight. While incredibly lucky with the weather, I did not quite manage to complete the 15h flying although the non-flying periods did permit to me pass the theory exams. Back at home it was a question of trying to work while watching the weather and wondering when next I could fit in some flying. In fact, while Hurricance Floyed was about to batter Wilmington, I managed to complete one of the two required navigation exercise involving landing away at another airfield. Then, between another pair of fronts sweeping in off the Atlantic, Ian thought it might be an idea for him to come up with me to check how well gray had been instructing! This resulted in a GFT pass.

Now I have to complete my second navigation trip and the required hours for my unrestricted license. I can't wait. My successful progress thus far obviously owes much to Gray's good humoured (and how he needed that!) and expert instructing-many thanks Gray.

Article reproduced from Microlight Flying