Most of our students do their trike licence in about 30 hours, but it would be great to have just one licence, and add ratings to it as you go. PPL (A) for aeroplane, PPL (H) for helicopter, and PPL (M) for microlight. They keep only one file for you at CAA in any case, and it would take most of the grey and frustration away, I think. Obviously, you are going to find the best trike instructor you can to give you that rating, and the best helicopter instructor to do helicopter training, and the best taildragger instructor...Weg wrote:FF I seem to remember someone saying that even trike training requires close to 40 hours, so is there any point in a microlight licence (as opposed to a PPL) at all then? Why do people bother to do a microlight licence at all when they can still fly a trike with a PPL, especially if microlight school charge more than PPL schools?
Perhaps we should just have one licence and then get rated on whatever type of aircraft we wish to fly.
But the reason they do not do this, is because Microlight flying is not regulated by ICAO, so they try to keep it seperate for 'hour building' and stuff. But as far as I am concerned, flying experience is flying experience, and it should be respected as such. No 'higher' or 'lower' licence.
One of my old trike students has just finished her helicopter licence, and she out-performed everyone, and although she is very bright, I think a lot of that is because of her air experience as a trike pilot.
Putting similar skills into even more similar boxes sounds just plain stupid
) 
should be for PPL's only