Not surprisingly, this is one of the most common questions we get asked - how much will it actually cost me to get my licence, and how long will it take? Equally unsurprisingly, there isn't a one size fits all answer - and please don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise!

The legal requirements to obtain your unrestricted National Private Pilot's Licence (M) as stated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (who regulate the sport) are as follows:

• Minimum of 25 hours total flight time under instruction
• Minimum of 10 hours solo flight time
• Minimum of 5 hours navigational training flight time
• Minimum of 3 hours navigational flight time
• Pass five ground examinations - namely Meteorology, Navigation, Aviation Law, Human Factors and Aircraft Technical subjects
• Pass a General Skills Test with an authorised examiner, to include an oral exam on aircraft type

So looking at that, you can do a quick calculation about how many hours you need, cost per hour, cost per exam etc and work out a cost. However, in the real world it isn't quite as straightforward as that.

The crux of the matter is that we are training you to get to a certain standard of flying ability and safety. Realistically speaking, you are highly unlikely to get to this standard with only the minimum 25 hours of training. There are a number of variables that will impact the hours you will need.

• Availabilty - how often are you able to attend the airfield? How much spare time do you have free to devote to training? How regularly do your finances allow you to fly? The more regularly you can fly, the quicker you will pick progress. Gaps in training can lead to students having to re-learn previous lessons before starting new ones - skill fade is very much a thing in this sport!
• Weather - the good old British obsession! There are weather limits that the aircraft are able to operate within, as well as limits within which the student can operate. Safety is of utmost importance, so if the weather is outside of limits we'll stay on the ground. A prolonged period of bad weather can be intensely frustrating, but it is part and parcel of microlight flying (and aviation in general).
• Age - unfortunately, it is a fact of life that the older you get, the longer it takes to learn new skills. Youngsters can suck up knowledge like a sponge, so will usually progress more quickly. 
• Natural aptitude - again, its a fact of life that some people have a better natural aptitude for flying than others. Whilst we have never come across someone who simply can't do it, some people just take longer than others.
• Experience - paramotoring, gliding, hang gliding, all these can help as you will already have established a certain amount of airmanship and knowledge that can be transferred. To most people, the air is an alien environment, so any experience you have will be useful. We also find that motorcyclist, skiers, mountaineers and many other people involved in what may be termed adventure sports have a good aptitude for the sport.

So, all that being said, you still want to know the cost. Well, in our experience, a good ball park figure is around £6000 - £8000, with the course taking in the region of two years. We usually estimate that if you allow one hour of flying training for each year of age, you shouldn't be too far off (i.e. a 50 year old will need approximately 50 hours) . However, if you are fortunate enough to be able to attend the airfield 2-3 times a week regularly, then you will progress significantly more quickly.

Be advised that many schools advertise block courses for the 25 hours minimum, but be prepared to dig deeper when the hours are up. As a school, we don't offer block booking options - we charge per lesson as each lesson is flown, meaning you always know exactly where you are with your finances (often the biggest to people learning to fly).

The most important thing about learning to fly a microlight, and the way to get the most out of it, is to enjoy the training. Don't think of it as a chore that has to be done - enjoy the experience of developing new skills, enjoy the learning, meeting people with similar interests, and get used to obsessing over weather forecasts!