The trials and tribulations of owning a 20 year old microlight...the storey begins!
This is going to sound very strange to the un-insinuated but I pretty much love my Shadow.
Bearing in mind that it is 20 years old this year and has been flying most of those years it is an absolute thing of beauty and is in pretty good condition, mechanically sound but to be honest now requiring a bit of cosmetic TLC.
I started learning to fly a 3 axis microlight (which my Shadow is) back in the summer of 2006 and was fortunate enough to pass my general flying test (GFT), think driving test but in 3 dimensions and with lots of serious exams to go along with it in July 2007.
As my learning period was staring to come to an end I needed to think what to do next. Unlike in general aviation circles under the present rules you are not allowed to hire a microlight. You either have to buy your own machine or take shares in another. That had been the option I was going to go down until Keith my instructor mentioned that he had heard that his old Shadow (G-MVCC – CC for short) might be up for sale.
This is going to sound very strange to the un-insinuated but I pretty much love my Shadow.
Bearing in mind that it is 20 years old this year and has been flying most of those years it is an absolute thing of beauty and is in pretty good condition, mechanically sound but to be honest now requiring a bit of cosmetic TLC.
I started learning to fly a 3 axis microlight (which my Shadow is) back in the summer of 2006 and was fortunate enough to pass my general flying test (GFT), think driving test but in 3 dimensions and with lots of serious exams to go along with it in July 2007.
As my learning period was staring to come to an end I needed to think what to do next. Unlike in general aviation circles under the present rules you are not allowed to hire a microlight. You either have to buy your own machine or take shares in another. That had been the option I was going to go down until Keith my instructor mentioned that he had heard that his old Shadow (G-MVCC – CC for short) might be up for sale.
After a number of telephone calls and a bit of routing out CC was exposed to daylight for the first time in about 18 months.
No one really knew what we were going to find and I think we were all presently surprised when CC came out in pretty good condition. No mould, no funny stains and everything looking pretty OK. What was even more impressive was that it started on about the 5th pull.
Well to cut a potentially very long story short I ended up buying CC and starting the long and laborious job of getting her permitted (permit to fly). A very long winded version of the MOT for aircraft. Well eventually it all got sorted. The engine was partly rebuilt, various bits and pieces replaced and the check flight safely completed. The next was my conversion from the Thruster Sprint to CC. I’m not sure who was looking forward to this the least me because obviously I wanted to get cleared to fly my “own plane” but was worried by the whole process and Keith because he had to squeeze in the rear…its not called the “dog kennel” for no reason! Fortunately the test flight went well and after only about an hour Keith jumped out and I was off on my own.
Those first few flights were very scary and a massive learning curve. As luck would have it all my mistakes were pretty minor (thanks to Keith’s great teaching) and with lots of luck and I suppose some reasonable judgement I was able to survive my first month or so off on my own.
Most of us have flown in one spam can or another these days so are use’t to seeing the earth from above. That said cursing along at 35,000 feet in isolated air conditioned luxury is far removed from circulating the skyies of southern England at 1750 feet in a microlight. You are far more connected to and aware of your environment. The overall level of visibility is high, you can feel the air rushing passed (and into) the aircraft and you can certainly hear the engine working away behind you.
Those first few flights were very scary and a massive learning curve. As luck would have it all my mistakes were pretty minor (thanks to Keith’s great teaching) and with lots of luck and I suppose some reasonable judgement I was able to survive my first month or so off on my own.
Most of us have flown in one spam can or another these days so are use’t to seeing the earth from above. That said cursing along at 35,000 feet in isolated air conditioned luxury is far removed from circulating the skyies of southern England at 1750 feet in a microlight. You are far more connected to and aware of your environment. The overall level of visibility is high, you can feel the air rushing passed (and into) the aircraft and you can certainly hear the engine working away behind you.
Flying in a Shadow microlight is definitely involving. Unless your lucky enough to be able to keep it fully rigged in a hanger then each time before you go flying you will need to complete the assembly i.e. wings & tail-plane. This usually takes about an hour but can take much longer by the time you have stopped for a cup of tea and a quick chat with whoever is about etc friendly people micolighters. Microlights and 20 year old Shadows in particular need quite a bit of loving care and maintenance i.e. at least 30 – 45 minutes on the ground for every hour you get in the air which is great for the engineers and mechanics out there but a bloody pain for the rest of us!
After you have put everything together, fuelled up and carried out your pre flight inspection (PFI) and had a quick PFP (work it out for yourselves) you then have the fun of getting into the thing. If your lucky enough to be the pilot it’s not too bad (as long as your comfortable dislocating your shoulders to get the harness on) but if your in the dog kennel it’s a whole different ball game. Ladies be warned if you’re offered a ride in the back seat of a Shadow never ever be tempted to wear a skirt no matter how long it is!
OK your in and its time to go flying…well almost. Early model Shadows like CC have a manual pull start system…think lawn mower but with a much longer and heavier pull. The passenger usually gets asked for assistance at this stage by covering the heel brakes, it is very possible to run yourself over if you’re not careful!
Well after that we are pretty much ready to go off flying. Quick call on the radio to let people know your initial intentions i.e. taxi to the designated runway holding point. At the holding point another slight delay as you carry out your pre-flight checks. All OK so final call on the radio to let the traffic know that you’re lining up.
All lined up, final, final checks all OK, full power and your away on another “mini” adventure!!!
After you have put everything together, fuelled up and carried out your pre flight inspection (PFI) and had a quick PFP (work it out for yourselves) you then have the fun of getting into the thing. If your lucky enough to be the pilot it’s not too bad (as long as your comfortable dislocating your shoulders to get the harness on) but if your in the dog kennel it’s a whole different ball game. Ladies be warned if you’re offered a ride in the back seat of a Shadow never ever be tempted to wear a skirt no matter how long it is!
OK your in and its time to go flying…well almost. Early model Shadows like CC have a manual pull start system…think lawn mower but with a much longer and heavier pull. The passenger usually gets asked for assistance at this stage by covering the heel brakes, it is very possible to run yourself over if you’re not careful!
Well after that we are pretty much ready to go off flying. Quick call on the radio to let people know your initial intentions i.e. taxi to the designated runway holding point. At the holding point another slight delay as you carry out your pre-flight checks. All OK so final call on the radio to let the traffic know that you’re lining up.
All lined up, final, final checks all OK, full power and your away on another “mini” adventure!!!
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