Today I took a lesson on how to fly an airplane, but getting it done turned out to be a lot more challenging than just doing pilot things.



I set out in the morning for Chatteris Airfield. England is covered in WWII airbases, and while this one wasn't one of them, it definitely felt old, with a collection of buildings and trailers surrounded by overgrowth. The place was in the middle of nowhere. The road kept getting narrower and rougher, and eventually just turned to gravel. On top of that, during my drive, a heavy storm began. This was maybe not the best day to be driving the XKR, but I've done worse.

The rain had mostly passed by the time I arrived at the airfield, and to my relief, the grass runways weren't badly affected by the storm. I wouldn't want my first lesson to be canceled.

Chatteris Airfield has five runways intersecting like a pile of dry spaghetti dropped on the floor. It's shared by a flying school and a skydiving school, and seems very casual; I could just drive right up to the flight line.


I moved the car after taking the pic

I had previously taken some flying lessons in the United States in a Cessna 172 from a paved runway. This would be very different. The flying school uses Ikarus C42 aircraft. They're in the microlight classification which is sort of an overgrown ultralight. In the US, they're in the light sport category. They're about half the size, in all respects, of even the small Cessna. They have a Rotax engine that makes all of 80hp. At no point during the flight did we exceed 80 knots (92 mph, 148 kph).



Despite doing a lot of things I had never done before (new country, new plane, grass runway), things went well. The instructor seemed pleased with me. I was too busy to take any pictures from the air, but it would have just been flat British farming country.

I've always wondered why there wasn't more crossover between car guys and plane guys. Money could be one factor. A one hour flying lesson cost £145, and it takes 25 hours minimum to get a microlight license. A Cessna license would require even more. Ouch. Still, I'm thinking of continuing lessons, though me being American probably will complicate things with licensing.

A great day out overall. A trainer plane probably won't be as fast as your Jag, but it's a much different experience. If you've never flown in a small airplane, a lot of flying schools offer a quick lesson just to try it out.

 

My toy and my wife's toy. Mine goes faster, hers goes higher

 

Go for it while you can!
Ten years ago I signed up for helicopter flight lessons (been fascinated with rotary winged craft since high school and finally had the time and money). Fate played a cruel trick on me and dealt me a detached retina a month before lessons were to start. Emergency surgery to repair the retina, and months of recovery put the kabash on those dreams.

 

Your wife's Piper looks to be similar fabric wing construction as the Ikarus I flew.


If the issue is medical certification, the FAA offers other licenses with lower requirements. If you can medically qualify for a driver's license, you can qualify for a Light Sport license. There are even a few helicopters in that category.

 

It is. We just put new fabric on -- we complain about finding people to work on our cars, but it is even harder to find people who do fabric for planes.