Note that the CAA flight hours are minimum requirements, it is possible that your training could take longer than this time.

Though rest assured, your instructor wants you to be flying solo as soon as you are competent and confident!

In addition to the flight experience exercises, there are five written exams which must be taken as part of your Microlight rating :-

• Aircraft Technical
• Aviation Law
• Aviation Meteorology
• Human Performance Limitations
• Air Navigation

..There is also a Medical Certification to be obtained, and although a doctor's signature is required, this is actually a self-certification.

..Most microlight students book one or two lessons a week and finish the course over a period of about nine months.

..Before each exercise is undertaken, your instructor will run through a detailed breakdown of the theory behind each exercise in a pre-flight briefing, and following your hour's in-flight training, a debriefing session will take place to discuss your progress.

For 2012 the cost remains at £100 per lesson - this includes one hour's flight time.

Thus most lessons actually take 1.5 to 2 hours to complete

..Also, one excercise in the Training Syllabus is ground-based inspection, this is at a much reduced cost.

..When it comes to solo excercises, these again are much cheaper than instructor-led flights.

..When compared to the cost of General Aviation lessons, plus the additional cost of buying, maintaining and hangerage such a craft,

it becomes clear that Flexwing Microlights are still one of the cheapest ways to pilot your own aircraft.