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| Island Microlight Club Forums > Articles > The conception and birth of Island Microlight Club |
| Posted by: admin Feb 4 2004, 16:13 |
| Chapter 1 It was an early spring morning in 1998, the sun was shining, the fresh northerly wind was blowing and the sea was as calm as ever at the Strand in Sliema. Peppijna was two months old, I had her bag stuffed with bottles, diapers� you name it and it was there. I was to meet Mark and his son Andrew, aged three, at 10:30am and we were to go for a coffee and a short walk together to discuss an idea that Mark had come up with recently. �Alex�, said Mark, �Why don�t we do something constructive with our lives?� �Like what?� I questioned. �Let�s buy a microlight, form a club, and teach people how to fly!� he said, full of boyish enthusiasm. �Mark, but what�s a microlight?� I asked. �Small plane that comes in two shapes, fixed wing or flex wing weight shift�, was his quick answer. Chapter 2 We sat down and started planning our operations a week later, luckily enough we were to fly an Islander to Malta from the UK, and we decided to take this opportunity to get our licences for microlights settled then. Mark had been in touch with some schools before. He had also been in contact with Mainair and Pegasus and he showed me some brochures. I saw a photo of a microlight for the first time and it looked like an exciting little machine. Here I could see how much Mark wanted this to happen and how much together we could arrive where we wanted. We split the departments into three, I was to handle administration, Mark operations, and his wife Marisa was responsible for finance. During the whole of summer 1998 we met on a regular basis, maybe once a week. We met at Mark�s house, at Marisa�s mother�s summer residence in Bugibba and in local bars and pubs around the beautiful sea front. We were receiving letters from flight schools and the one that seemed that most ideal for us was the one owned by Ian Stokes. Ian was a great man, he wrote us back immediately. He answered all our questions and was the perfect man we required on the other side of the phone to supply us with useful information. All we needed to do was to go to his place, sit down to take the written exams, fly around with an instructor and then take the general flight test with an examiner. Easy it seemed and easier this it was. Both I and better still Mark were pilots with a good number of years� worth of flying experience on our shoulders, and flying a tail dragger microlight was not only a piece of cake but bags of fun. I wouldn�t say the same for the weight shift though! Davidstowe Moor Airfield was chosen and all plans and preparations were made in this regard. �We�re looking forward to flying with you� I said. �See you next week!� were the last words said by Ian Stokes prior to our departure to the UK. Chapter 3 Sunday evening of the first week of September 1998, Mark, Marisa, Andrew and I were on a flight to London on our way to Camelford. Ian had booked us in pub called Mason�s Arms. It took us five hours from London to Camelford and half way we stopped at a travel lodge for the good old four S�s � Sleep, Shit, Shower and Shave. Early next day we arrived at the Mason�s Arms where we met Jo, one of the owners. After settling in we went off to try and find Ian�s Flying Club. On our way we could see numerous wind generators! �A bit windy�, exclaimed Mark. �Yeah, the ideal place for microlights!� I replied. �Let�s hope for the best and wish for some good weather.� We found the place and were impressed with the beauty of the aerodrome, the old RAF hangars and cattle, sheep and ponies that ran around making the place look like a paradise on Earth. We got out of the car and I stepped ankle deep into freshly prepared cow shit. After a quick scrub on the grass, we walked into the club house. No one was in. �Is there anyone home?� I shouted. �Hello, hello!� we heard. It was the voice of Gary Bennet, emerging from underneath his car. �So, you�ve finally arrived. I�ve been waiting for you, let�s go to the club house and stick a cuppa tea!� We went down to the club house and spent the next five days there. We flew, we ate, we made tea, and we observed and wrote down all the tricks of the trade. Gary was one of the most energetic people I had ever met. Although a paraplegic after suffering a back injury in a gliding incident, he was a very skilful pilot. His talents were evident, especially after witnessing him flying a tail dragger in a 15 knots crosswind and low visibility. We also flew with Ian Calleghan and took our flight test with the boss, Ian Stokes. Once all was over we packed all our documents, wrote a cheque and sent everything off to the CAA. The first hurdle had been overcome! Chapter 4 Telford annual general meeting was held in the first week of December. Back in Malta, Mark and I prepared to go there so as to decide on the aircraft to buy. Ian Stokes booked us at the Fox and Duck Guest House and we planned to meet him on the Friday afternoon prior to the commencement of the AGM. We flew Air Malta to Heathrow and after collecting the prepaid rented car from Buget we started our journey from London to Telford at around 9:00am. We arrived at Telford round about 1 o�clock in the afternoon, and since there was still ample time left to meet Ian, we went for a short walk at the main shopping centre. Marisa had booked her Christmas presents from Littlewoods over the phone from Malta, and we had time to go there and collect the stuff. We asked a pedestrian for directions, and this was what we got: �Just turn right as you reach this corner, walk by the pond where you see the ducks, up the stairs and there it will be just before you.� �Let�s park and walk�, I said to Mark. We walked and walked and walked and walked but Littlewoods was nowhere to be seen. At long last we found the place. It was about 1km away from where we had parked the car. We got in and picked up the order, five bags full of presents. We made our way back to the car, swearing, cursing, and offending the man who had given us directions telling us Littlewoods was just round the corner. Saturday and Sunday we spent at the fair, going round the aircraft one by one seeing what would be the best one for us. We also met Brian Cosgrove and spent some time talking to him about our venture over a cup of tea. The exhibition area at Telford seemed like a heaven to Microlighters. Ian Stokes had his X-Air on show and we were very interested in this aircraft. In our opinion it was the ideal aircraft for training. Being a side by side, dual command aircraft, it made the perfect platform for flight training. Telford broadened our knowledge about microlights. We had now met and seen the companies at work and our choice of aircraft was now getting short listed drastically. Our aircraft was to be either the X-Air / Thruster , or a Mainair / Pegasus as flex wing. On our arrival to Malta we found that the CAA had processed our papers and we had obtained the PPL(A) Microlights. Another hurdle overcome! |