I was originally interested in learning to fly cesners and things like that, but chose to pot out due to costs and fees. However after seeing some really cool microlight videos I thought this could be just as fun. Does anyone know how much it is for a course to ppl qualification in the uk for a microlight?

i just managed to find one near my that does £85 per lesson and £2300 for full course (Excluding examinations) Not bad indeed. I guess you gotta learn to walk before you can run so the micolight is the place to start

Don't forget that once you are ready to go solo though, many microlight schools expect you to provide your own microlight 

Still looks cracking fun though! Plus, once qualified, & with your own flexwing you can fly for a minimal cost

TSC.

If you're going to invest in flying, atleast invest in a real PPL, that way it has some practical uses

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WHY? In England a microlight is an aircraft with a max take off weight of 450Kg. The Jabaru J400 is a four place microlight costing £39,000 new! inc engine and in the comparison with a Cessna 172 comes out a lot better. Running costs are less, J400 burns 15Ltr/hr, how much for a 172 ? Also the medical for a microlight is the same as an HGV medical. Only 25hrs instruction for the NPPL M @ £85/hr. NPPL A 35hrs @ £130/hr. With a microlight you can fly over Europe, but with the NPPL A you can only fly a "G" reg plane in UK airspace. A PPL A is 45 hrs and the medical is harder.
I am disabled and would love to fly and I think the microlight is far better than the restrictions a NPPL A will impose, Iam fit to fly a microlight but might not pass the medical for a PPL A
At present prices the microlight licence can be around £4,000 cheaper!
I hope this doesn't come across as a rant or "having a go" at you, But I would like to hear how the PPL A has more "practical uses" 

Micro and ultralights are a blast for just flying, but if your plan is to train in them, maybe buy one, and then transition to "real " airplanes like Cesners- er, I mean Cessnas, in the end you will spend a lot more on training.

If you ever want to actually travel as a pilot, you'll need at least a Light Sport category aircraft. And even LSA pilots are quite limited in where, how, and when they can fly, although it seems a very popular option right now.

As far as rich airplane owners go, you might be surprised how many options there are for ownership: living in an "airpark", joining a flying club or partnership, etc... sure it costs more than keeping a little "kite" in your garage, but it's not as outrageous as you might think. Even having a strip on your property is not reserved for the super-wealthy: some people have a little strip and an old 150 in an old barn next to a house that could use some paint, and drive to work in an old beater,  and for the same money some folks have a big nice house, a pool, two cars, etc...
As an example, I will be joining a flying club in the next few months: $5K to get in (which is high for a club but worth it- and fully refundable plus interest); $90/month dues, and about $90/hr wet tach time, not Hobbs time, on four IFR-and GPS-equipped Cessnas.
there are about 45 members in the club, but only half are active at any given time. that figures to 5 members per plane, roughly.

So, assuming I only fly, say, five  tach- hours a month... over the course of a given year, not including the deposit, I'll spend about $5500, with the ability to fly almost any time I want, from an airport 15 minutes from home, holding the plane for a week if I want to (for long trips).
No out-of pocket expenses for storage,maintenance or insurance, and a pool of pilot-friends to share trip costs when desired, not to mention a club pool of CFIs (I plan to do my IR training through the club). And oh yeah, everybody pitches in to wash and wax the planes a few times a year...

I make an average of about $50K a year, no family, cheap rent, crappy car... so that's easy for me to afford. Even over 100 hours a year would not beat up my wallet too much. right now the only thing holding me back is scraping up the deposit to pay that all out in one lump.
Tough, but not as bad as forking over a similar down payment then being saddled with several hundred dollars a month in payments, plus all the other stuff that goes with sole ownership.

  Not as sweet as walking out to my own hangar by my house to go flying on a whim, but pretty damn close, and cheaper.

It'll do until I buy 20 acres in the woods somewhere, a tatty old Champ, and a double-wide...

Hi rottydaddy, in good old England the power that be are not as kind to GA flying over here to land at any airfield/airport all planes pay landing fees. This seems to work out at about £25- £30 with handling (aprox $50-$60)   The price depends on the size of plane and airfield/ airport.
A microlight can land anywhere with the land owners pemision.

Look at this http://www.jabiru.co.uk/aircraft/aircraft_range.htm  Look at the J400 scroll down and click on the comparison betwwen the J400 and Cessna 172 Which would you chose?
Doh!! I got it wrong only the Calipso is a microlight

zeberdee wrote on Jan 18^th, 2007 at 6:55pm:


Well, that's not terribly civilized...   
Or maybe it's too civilized...
It's a fading world here in the Colonies, but there are still no-fee public-use airports.
There are  even myriad little private airports everywhere... and some day I'll have one of my own.
  With a flak gun to deal with uninvited transients.


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That's more like it.


Look at this http://www.jabiru.co.uk/aircraft/aircraft_range.htm ; Look at the J400 scroll down and click on the comparison betwwen the J400 and Cessna 172 Which would you chose?
Doh!! I got it wrong only the Calipso is a microlight [/quote]

The only reason to pay for a 172 is to get the utility (speed, range, 4 seats, IFR flight, good useful load) along with the fun.
For raw fun and nothing else, or to make very slow epic x-cs for bragging rights alone, an ultralight or microlight is definitely the thing to get.
The Jabirus are very cool, but not very well-supported over here yet. those engines have been pretty popular in the USA for a while, though.