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"Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines"
From the dawn of the aeroplane there have been many who have yearned to fly but have been balked from doing so by the expense. The more ambitious built their own machines, treating the work as a labour of love, and thus they avoided the substantial cost of a production aircraft.
However, such a dedicated mortal in not the �man in the street� who perhaps does not have the ability to undertake such a task, he or she merely wants to fly.
Gliding was to many the opportunity to fly less expensively but as this too began to grow in terms of financial demands, the early 1970s saw determined enthusiasts on the west coast of America strapping all sorts of odd shaped wings on to their backs and leaping from sand dunes and occasionally arriving intact on the beach below. Hang gliding was born.
But, as with gliding, the desire to go from A to B at will could not be realised and it was not long before hang-glider pilots who wanted this facility began adding small engines to their gliders. So the Microlight was born.
In the UK as in Malta, once an engine is attached to an aircraft it becomes an aeroplane or �flying machine�, and this requires both pilot and aeroplane to comply with aviation laws which are both strict and complex.
However, by judicious and realistic negotiation in the early 1980s, the Microlight pilot and aeroplane avoided the full impact of the existing legislation and became subject to rules more meaningful to their nature and purpose; that of recreational flying.
Perhaps unique in flying circles is the distinct differences in types of Microlight available to the would-be enthusiast. There are two: the variation is readily identifiable by shape, with the other difference being the form of control system.
The Microlight resembling the delta-shaped hang glider format is controlled by the movement of the whole wing itself. Colloquially this type is known as the �trike�. The other more resembles the traditional aeroplane configuration and conventional controls are used; this type is commonly called a �three axis� machine.
Many pilots fly both types, although the control inputs are entirely opposite to each other. The novice will learn according to the type selected but there is a tendency for those with previous conventional flying experience to opt for three-axis, where they feel more at home. Certainly any change from one to another warrants a pilot undergoing conversion training.
Today the sport has developed beyond recognition, with the availability of aeroplanes which many outsiders doubt are actually Microlights. Indeed, in terms of machines, performance, safety record and sensible control, the UK can be said to lead the world. Malta will soon follow.
here to read further on the subject.
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