What Is A Microlight And Should You Fly One For Your Business?

A microlight is a very small aeroplane popular amongst hobbyists, but for people who are trained to fly and have access to an easy-to-build aircraft hangar, it could potentially have use for your business as a versatile and rapid delivery vehicle.

Because they are both relatively affordable by aviation standards, easier to learn to fly in them and cost less to maintain, microlights are a popular option for hobbyist aviators, but there are ways in which they could become useful for businesses.

In the early days of the computer industry, small aircraft were flown to business meetings and to deliver software before digital downloads made it less of a necessity, but there are still business areas where being able to travel more quickly than a car is vital.

Accommodating microlights is a simple matter of having a small farm strip or landing area suitable and appropriate for the plane, a hangar to store them in with tools for repairing and tuning them, and alternative travel arrangements if the weather is not in your favour.  

What Is A Microlight?

A microlight is the smallest category of two-person aeroplanes, which has a landing speed of less than 45 knots and a maximum weight of 600kg.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, whilst they can be flown solo, they are limited to two seats, must adhere to Visual Flight Rules (VFR), cannot be flown at night or under cloud cover, and cannot turn with a wing angle higher than 60 degrees. This means no acrobatics or spinning.

They cost around £5000 to learn to fly and between £50,000 and £100,000 for a new plane, although decent used aircraft can cost as low as £20,000.

Because of all of these factors and the fact they can easily be landed on grass, they tend to be the most popular planes for hobbyist pilots to fly in to learn the Skyway Code, and most small hangars will contain microlights and similarly small planes.

Can You Use Microlights For Your Business?

If you have a business located in a relatively rural area and have employees and members of staff you know to be pilots, setting up a hangar for microlights can be an effective way to meet their needs and the unique needs of certain business operations.

If you have a use for a private jet but do not want to put the financial investment into one, there is a strong likelihood that a microlight would be able to serve many of your needs.

The most common use for private planes for business purposes is as a company-owned rapid delivery system; most businesses need to quickly travel to customers, clients and stakeholders, either to deliver products very quickly, make quick updates or attend meetings.

As microlights are very small and there are strict weight limits for take-off, they cannot be used to carry particularly heavy loads, but they can be a very useful way to get specialist staff and equipment to hard-to-reach locations.

If you have multiple premises, make sure each of them has a hangar installed and some kind of landing strip, and bear in mind that the small nature of microlights means that they cannot fly in all weather conditions.

There will be situations where a microlight cannot meet VFR regulations due to bad weather, so ensuring you have a place to store it is essential to make it worthwhile. Your hangar may also need temporary rest facilities as well in case there are no alternative travel options.