Microlight Flying in Malta!

Strategically situated right in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, the little island nation is largely remembered in the UK as the most bombed much beleaguered fortress of World War II. Six decades after the British armed forces left the island, thousands of ex-servicemen together with their relatives and descendants visit as tourists, rekindling a spirit of friendship that never really departed from the hearts of most Maltese.

Many will recall that Malta is actually an archipelago of six tiny islands of which the largest (Malta) is 17 miles long and 9 miles wide covering a superficial area of about 96 square miles. The archipelago is situated about 60 miles south of Sicily (Italy).

The second largest is Gozo (Ghawdex) with an area of approximately 26 square miles. Comino (Kemmuna) is only about 2 square miles and lies mid way in the 4 mile channel that separates the two major islands. The other three islands Fifla, Kemmunet and St Paul�s are in reality uninhabited out crops.

Apart from being one of the most densely populated places in the world, the Maltese islands rightfully boast of a history spanning over six thousand years brimming with a wealth of civilization that is probably second to none. The strategic location of the islands made it inevitable that nearly all the major civilizations of their respective time made Malta their pride possession from where they controlled the maritime traffic plying the Med. They have all been here - Phoenicians from the East, Carthaginians from North Africa, the Romans, the Byzantine Greeks, the Arabs, Spanish medieval feudal princes, the Knights of St John, Napoleon the Emperor and finally the British Crown with a presence of lasting nearly 180 years. The UNESCO protected neolitical ruins comprising of free standing temples and underground hypogea are thought to be older than Stonehenge. Recently there have been serious research pointing the Malta might have indeed been part the famous lost �continent� of Atlantis! Today�s Malta is a modern cosmopolitan island-city with an economy skewed towards tourism, light industry such as electronics and financial services.

But for a segment of the population it is the last 80 years of history that matter most. In fact for the past eight decades many Maltese have learned to embrace, love and live with aviation. Realizing the importance of Malta as a fortress base and as a staging post to the east, the British sought at their time to bring to the islands their most modern machines of war. In fact by the early twenties, the first biplane fighters arrived in Malta onboard Royal Navy aircraft carriers. While at Malta, the planes disembarked on a rudimentary landing ground located in the south-west of the main island (later developed as RAF Hal Far). From this moment onwards aviation became engrained in the Maltese way of life.

Quickly many Maltese found employment as riggers, technicians and ground crews in the young Royal Air Force. This development continued unabated and by late 1942, when the siege of Malta was lifted, the tiny and crowded islands incredibly hosted five aerodromes and one seaplane base on Malta and another landing ground on Gozo. This association with the Royal Air Force continued until March 1979 when the last RAF Nimrod left Malta for good.

Following the departure of the RAF, initial half hearted efforts made by some individuals during the late eighties and early nineties to introduce micro-light aviation in Malta were resisted by reluctant authorities who perceived micro-lights as a petty nuisance. All initiatives were suppressed until 1999 when two young Maltese army pilots, Captain Mark Said AFM and Captain Alex Dalli AFM, conceived the idea to form the Island Micro-light Club (IMC).

Their objective was simple from the start - to bring an affordable and safe flying solution to avid aspirant pilots. It is now almost four years since the two started their uphill task to form the club and to convince local aviation authorities of their competence to properly and professionally run the club. In doing so they applied to the full their flying experiences (over 4000 hour of flying in military helicopters and aircraft), their military background, infinite energy resources and boundless family support.

Initially the local authorities were hard to convince. Unfortunately since the departure of the RAF, a nonchalant allergic feeling towards aviation was manifest in some quarters. So much so that the fine airfields of Hal Far and Ta� Qali (each with 6000 ft runways) were lost for good, victims of the so called industrialization.

Nonetheless both Capt Said and Capt Dalli managed to convince the Director of Civil Aviation to allow micro-light activities out of a large field - a remnant of RAF Ta� Qali aerodrome, not far from the Museum of Aviation. Immediately upon inception the club became a member of BMAA and Brian Cosgrove gladly accepted to become the patron of the club. The club had by then acquired its first micro-light - a Thruster - which in the opinion of founders of the club is ideally suited for both training and leisure flying. The Luqa airport ATZ was decisively out of bounds for micro-light flyers.

After some months of operations, the field at Ta�Qali clearly revealed that it was not well suited but beggars can�t be choosers! Luckily the local Civil Aviation authorities quickly recognized the fact that the club was being professionally run and the membership of the Club in the BMAA helped in no small measure for the DCA to concede what was a few months ago the unthinkable���since November 2001 the Maltese micro-lighters became probably unique in the world to enjoy the privilege to operate out of a 12,000 ft runway of the International Airport at Luqa!! It is not uncommon to spot the club�s replacement Jabiru powered Thruster Sprint waiting its turn for take-off after an Airmalta Boeing 737, slightly preceding an Alitalia MD-80.

Last year the club grew further when two members purchased two Ferrari Tucano ultra-lights from neighbouring Sicily. After the usual initial hurdles were successfully overcome, both Tucanos are regularly flown from Luqa. All three aircraft are night parked in a large hanger at Safi, just outside the Luqa airport perimeter. However, the club is waiting the necessary permission to erect a shed within the confines of Luqa airfield to ensure smoother operations. The club is fully supported by a qualified ex-RAF engineer and has become the adopted infant of the Malta Air Traffic Control services.

Today the fledgling club has over 25 members who fly and meet socially regularly. Members come from all walks of life in the form of a motley collection of bankers, nurses, doctors, teachers, customs officers, soldiers, businessmen and university students. The first batch of seven student pilots earned their wings in March 2002. The second class of six students are at an advanced training stage and will under take their GFT in Spring, while the third batch of another seven students, including the first female, is fast catching up with the second class and are expected to gain their license in Summer. Capt Said is now an �X� Examiner.

Lately, most club members were one way or another working on the Club�s small but functional clubhouse. The need for a central meeting and administrative centre had been long felt but other priorities had to be attended to before. Other plans include the acquisition of another micro-light to meet the increased training demand.

Micro-light flying over the Maltese islands is a truly enchanting experience. The fine clement weather gives a lot of flying opportunities, especially during Spring and Summer when the days are dry and long. Winters are mild and short. At Malta there are about 300 days of good weather annually and the archipelago of honey coloured islands rising out of the sea offers a fantastic back drop. The place is ideally suited for training courses or refresher camps. In fact the club has during the past summer accommodated its first foreign students. For continental micro-light flyers Malta now offers more than just sun, sea and sand.

The Club is looking beyond borders to grow and seek strong affiliations with other micro-light clubs outside Malta. Through its efforts a large �squadron� of about 25 ultra-lights (mainly Tecnams) crossed over from Sicily to Malta during the 10th International Luqa Air Show held during the last weekend of September.

The future looks very bright indeed���

Written by Roderick Abela.

The Island Microlight Club (IMC) is a non-profit making organization that may be contacted on Telephone (+356) 21372798 / (+356) 9949 8898 / (+356) 9945 7493

Email alexander.dalli@gov.mt or microlightclub@yahoo.com