Ray Wilkinson - Flying Instructor

Flying Instructor

Class Rating Instructor

STOP PRESS: Easier and cheaper to add SEP rating to a microlight NPPL.

Under the new regulations (1st October 2025), it's now cheaper and easier for microlight pilots (NPPL holders) to add an SEP (single-engine piston) rating to their NPPL. There's no test to take, just differences training, and it allows holders to fly aircraft up to two tonnes and up to four people on board — that's aircraft like the PA-28, and Cessna 152 and 172. Not only that, but you won't need to fly in a large aircraft to revalidate every two years — your microlight hours will count towards revalidation of all licences, and you can now do your hour with an instructor in a microlight. If you are in Hertfordshire, Essex or North London, you can train with me for just £160 an hour, plus landing fees and CAA charges. Actual number of hours required will vary according to your experience, but typically about four hours will be enough. Interested? See this document for further information.

I qualified as a Class Rating Instructor in early 2025, training with OnTrack Aviation at Wellesbourne (see link below). A CRI can't train someone if they haven't got a licence, but our role is to train for a number of different scenarios. I have a microlight rating as well as a PPL, and that's quite unusual in the microlight world. I charge £50 per hour for training in your aircraft (I don't charge just for signing paperwork), and can travel up to 50 miles each way if required (further by arrangement with expenses to be agreed). I can train you for the following:

Revalidation of a licence: If you have a PPL, LAPL or NPPL, you normally need to revalidate your licence every two years (may be slightly different for LAPL at the moment). You need to have one hour's refresher training with an instructor, who will check that you have met the other requirements for revalidation. This is an opportunity to train on something you feel needs review, but it is not a test — the instructor cannot fail you (though that may change in the future), although if there are major concerns they may suggest a need for further training. There is also a new requirement for training on partial power loss, which your instructor will probably want to cover. The instructor will then sign your licence, and send in the relevant form to the CAA to confirm this for PPL and LAPL (the CAA do not need to be informed for NPPL). Note that if your licence is out of validation (even by one day), then it cannot be revalidated, and must be renewed. Renewal of an expired licence requires you to take a General Skills Test with an examiner.

Differences training: Your licence gives you privileges to fly certain aircraft types, but some variants require differences training. For example, if you want to fly an aircraft with a retractable undercarriage, you must train with an instructor and have the differences training signed off in your log book. The same applies to aircraft with constant-speed or in-flight variable-pitch propellers, and some other features. I can provide both of these. In other cases, familiarisation training is needed, such as a pilot who is flying a different aircraft from the model they have flown so far. This involves familiarising yourself with the aircraft you are intending to fly, usually by studying the pilot's operating handbook (POH), and noting that in your log book. No formal training is required, although for most it's a safe and sensible option to fly with an instructor anyway.

Check flights: If you haven't flown for a while, or if you are joining a syndicate, then it's usual to take a check flight with an instructor such as me, even on a type you have flown before. Most syndicates require this, and many have recency requirements — if you haven't flown the aircraft for 30, 60 or 90 days, depending on syndicate rules, then a check ride is required. Check flights can also be useful to become familiar with a new airfield and its operating procedures.

Conversion from flex-wing microlight to 3-axis: Again, differences training is required. I will fly with you until you show you are competent, and this may include some solo flying. Microlight differences training is a log book entry by the instructor.

Adding a microlights to a PPL, NPPL or LAPL: Microlights are a different type from other SEP (single-engine piston) aircraft, so you need microlight differences training in order to fly them. I will fly with you until you are considered competent, then sign your log book. A microlight rating is no longer required under the new regulations.

Please note: the above represents my understanding of the new regulations as they stand, but this information may be corrected in future as the details are assimilated. please don't rely on the information given without checking independently.

More about microlight aircraft

When they first appeared, microlights were flimsy, slow and unreliable. Most were flex-wing aircraft — basically a hang-glider wing with a trike and engine hung beneath it. They were powered by two-stroke engines, and were noisy. Today's microlights couldn't be any different. Three-axis aircraft (i.e. with conventional aeroplane controls) are the most common, and a recent regulation change has brought many smaller light aircraft into the microlight category. The latest types are very capable. It's worth saying that the world record holder for the youngest person to fly solo around the world did so in a microlight aircraft — at 180mph! The aircraft in this case is called a Shark, and it has retractable undercarriage, constant-speed propeller and a reliable and powerful Rotax engine. See www.shark.aero for more details. Even in my more-modest Ikarus C42 (below), I flew to France and also into regional airports like Southend and Norwich. I've often described the C42 as everything the Cessna 152 should be but isn't. The key point is the hugely reduced operating costs, both on fuel and maintenance. I currently have an Evektor Eurostar, which could be registered as a microlight but is actually on the Group A register, though I still fly a C42 (and others) as an instructor.

What should I fly?

Choices to make before training

NOTE: This is a précis of a more-detailed explanation available here.

The licensing regulations changed on 1st October 2025. The changes can reduce the time and cost of training, and introduce a more-progressive upgrade path through the various licences. The advice below has been updated to reflect these new regulations.

Before you start training, it's important to choose what aircraft you want to fly in the future, with full information on the options. Flying is expensive, and it's easy to make choices that are financially unsustainable. You may intend to fly a four-seat light aircraft, such as a PA-28, but that impacts on both training costs and future costs. In my first 1,000 hours of flying, I never took more than one passenger at a time, though for others it may be very different. Staying with a two-seater gives a range of cheaper options, including microlight aircraft. A lot of people assume all microlights are like flying motorbikes, but most microlights these days are like conventional aircraft — see the section below left. The best advice I can give is to try both microlights and light aircraft — only you can decide which is best for you.

If you go to a typical flight school and ask how much it will cost to learn to fly, they will probably assume you want a full PPL, and an honest answer would then be £15,000. Getting a microlight licence (NPPL) would cost in the region of £7,000. Flying costs once you get your licence are startlingly different as well. A budget of £5,000 per year will get you the following (at 2025 prices):

Hiring Cessna 152: £159/hour, no monthly fee = 31 hours
Hiring Cessna 172: £219/hour, no monthly fee = 23 hours
Share in a PA-28 or Robin DR400: £120/hour + £100/month = 32 hours
Share in a SkyRanger microlight: £30/hour + £45/month = 150 hours
Own a Group A or microlight Eurostar or Eurofox: £20/hour + £3000/year = 100 hours

I have left out the initial cost of buying the aircraft or a share, although the cost of a share can be quite low, depending on the aircraft value and the size of the syndicate. So the question is: do you want to do a lot of flying, or fly bigger aircraft? Remember that if you train on a microlight aircraft, you can always do more training towards a PPL. However, one of the best-kept secrets is that you don't need to PPL to fly a PA-28 or a Cessna 172. If you have an NPPL, you can add a rating (which was called an SSEA but is now the SEP, Single-Engine Piston) to it and fly an aircraft up to 2 tonnes and with no more than four on board. This is much cheaper and quicker, and gives most of the privileges, provided you don't want or need extra ratings, such as night or IMC. It's also now easy to upgrade from an NPPL to a PPL if you decide you want these privileges.