Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2006 | Page 32

SPORT & LEISURE

Getting
Started

Howzat!

n

Lessons: The Specialist
Flying School Sandown (Tel:
01983 402402) run a unique
fixed monthly instalment
plan for your flying lessons.
Microlites are £90 pm, fixed
wing £225 pm and helicopters
are £495 pm all plans are 30
months long.

n

Age: You can start to learn
microlites, fixed wing and
helicopters from the age of 14
and you can go solo at the age
of 16.

n

Difficulty: Learning to fly
is not as difficult as one would
believe. However you do need
a certain level of intelligence
as their are exams you have to
sit in order to obtain your PPL
(Private Pilots Licence)

nTime-scales:For

Microlites
you are looking at approx. 25hrs
to obtain the Unrestricted
licence,
(15hrs
for
the
restricted), for fixed wing and
helicopters you are looking at
a minimum 45hrs flying time.
These hours are flexible and are
assessed by the instructor, they
can be more or less depending
on your ability to learn.

n

Hire Charges: Once you
have obtained your PPL you
might want to fly to France
for lunch, if you need to hire
a plane you will be looking
at approx £150 ph + fuel and
landing fees, helicopter approx
£330 ph + fuel and landing
fees, and finally microlites £100
per day plus fuel and landing
fees.

n

Purchasing: You may get
the bug real bad, in this case you
might wish to purchase your
own craft: a two seater secondhand fixed wing aeroplane
£80,000, a small single engine
two seat helicopter £140,000
and a two seat microlite
£15,000.

n

Insurance: Fixed wing
plane approx. £1,000 to £2,000
per year, Helicopter approx.
£5,000 to £10,000 py, Microlite
approx. £1,000 py.

32

Sandown event that
has taken flight...
Island airfield has become a favourite venue for microlight lovers
from the UK and Europe
Over 800 people gathered
at Sandown Airfield for
WightParty 2006 – the
highest attendance ever
recorded for the annual
microlight event.
Three days of hot sunshine made
for the most successful party yet
– with over 430 planes flying in
during the weekend. Things got so
hectic that the pizza van ran out of
ingredients and the karaoke singers
lost their voices. Pilots travelled
from Northern Ireland and Scotland,
and the organising group Spamfield
also welcomed pilots from Germany
and Sweden. Even a New Zealander
managed to hitch a ride over the
Solent to take part!
The event has been running since

2001 when John Moore, a council
member of the British Microlight
Aircraft Association, chose the Isle
of Wight as the ideal location for the
inaugural event.
“I had done my first proper cross
country flight to the Island a few
years before and fell in love with
the place,” says John, who lives in
County Durham. “I thought it would
be perfect for a big gathering”.
He was certainly proved right. The
first Wightparty at Bembridge in
2001 attracted 40 aeroplanes but by
2002 the party was so big it moved
to its current home at Sandown. By
2003, it had become THE party of
the year for microlight flyers and a
marquee had to be erected to cater
for them all.
Despite the large numbers it
attracts, Wightparty has established

an exemplary safety record, even
when there are 10 or more aircraft
in the circuit.
Says John “The skill level displayed
by microlight pil