News

Keith Thompson achieves his GST!

Arnie Fumegall makes the occasional pilgrimage from Galway to Newtownards for flying lessons and on 6th April after 11 hours under instruction achieved his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. He is already on the lookout for a Thruster when he gets his license. Arnie’s wife Emma’s   aspiration is to have her own horse and of course a family deal has been agreed.  So anyone with a horse and a  Thruster Microlight for sale should contact Arnie. Congratulations Arnie.

Peter McCloskey has an elaborately equipped home flight simulator with a prominent Reset button in case things go wrong during a flight . His First Solo flight on 3rd March in Thruster G CGFZ at Newtownards Airfield went perfectly, which was fortunate because the reset button appeared to have gone missing. Congratulations Peter

Billy Millar has an agreement to buy and share a Microlight with his friend Ian Walsh. As Ian passed his GST last month and Billy passed his GST at Newtownards today (15/2/23) the only problem now is deciding what aircraft to buy. The pair are checking out the current availabile Microlight types but seem to be leaning towards a Foxbat . Billy is an Electronics engineer and Ian is a Mechanical engineer so maintenance should not be a problem. Congratulations on passing your GST Billy.

Exactly a year ago Jamie Sheridan was looking for a meaningful hobby to help overcome residual lockdown depression and decided becoming a Pilot more than fulfilled that objective. So on 11th February when the instructor offered him the opportunity to fly a solo circuit he displayed no reticence whatsoever . Twenty minutes later Jamie taxied Thruster G CGFZ back to the apron having completed a circuit of Newtownards airfield as his First Solo flight. Congratulations Jamie

Josh Davison has a very clear life plan with the ultimate goal  of becoming a Commercial Airline Pilot. Passing his General Skills Test on 6th January in Thruster G CGFZ is the first major step on route to his final objective for Josh who now plans to commence a modular Commercial Pilots course later this year with Atlantic Aviation. Congratulations Josh and we hope you enjoyed the first step in your career journey.

The first Pilot to qualify for his Microlight Pilot’s License in 2023 is Ian Walsh.  Just 7 weeks after completing his First Solo flight Ian  successfully passed his General Skills Test on 2nd January in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Ian.

On 7th December David Mowat took advantage of the calm clear and crisp conditionds at Newtownards Airfield to undertake his First Solo Flight in Thruster G CGFZ. David recons that as early Christmas presents go a First Solo Flight will be hard to beat. Congratulations David.

Ian Walsh only started leaning to fly in mid September but has taken every opportunity that the weather and his very busy work schedule has provided to make progress in his Flying thereby amassing a total of twelve hours under instruction. On 19th November Ian took the morning off work and the weather gods smiled upon him, so, after a brief session in the circuit with the instructor Ian embarked on his first solo flight. It was a textbook circuit and landing. Congratulations Ian

Retired  electronics engineer Billy Millar has been on the cusp of a first solo for  over a month but strong gusty cross winds always seemed to anticipate and thwart his aspiration. However on Sunday 2nd October there was a relatively mild cross wind which Billy mastered with consummate ease to complete his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Billy has already had a look round several group share  aircraft based at Newtownards as he intends  to be up and flying as soon as he passes his GST. Congratulations Billy

Aided by sheer determination,  a pair of swimming shorts and the excellent natural air conditioning system built into every Thruster Sean Devlin overcame the sweltering heat on the hottest day of the year at Newtownards Airfield  to pass his GST on 13th August Sean now plans to buy a share in a local group with a   Skyranger  Swift. Congratulations  Sean.

Darren Harper is a key member of Northern Ireland’s Search and Rescue Organisation and his work has recently been recognised by the award of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. Darren only started learning to fly in late January this year but by April he had made his mind up  and bought his own Thruster. On 6/8/22 Darren  achieved another major milestone when he undertook his First Solo flight in the school’s Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Darren you can now look forward to completing the course in your very own Thruster G CBXG.

Passing his GST in Thruster G CGFZ on 4th July is just part of Paul McBride’s preparation for his move to live and work in America late next year. Paul will be working in America as  a  Specialist Computer  Programmer and intends to relax by flying some of the vast range of Ultralight Aircraft they have over there. In the meantime Paul will be taking a share in one of the Microlight groups based at Newtownards Airfield in order to hone his Flying skills in preparation for his move to America. Congratulations Paul on passing your GST.

On Sunday 26th June Dr Derek Hrabovsky was busy saving lives on emergency call outs in Northern Ireland’s HELIMED 23, and on Monday 27th June he was again gainfully occupied in passing his General Skills Test in Thruster G CGFZ. (Some people just lead very busy and satisfying lives.) Congratulations Derek . We hope you aways continue to enjoy both your work and your chosen hobby.

David Norwood has surely and steadily been working towards gaining a Microlight license over the last couple of years and Friday 3rd June was the final pay day when he passed his GST in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations David you can now spend your hard earned cash on that share in the local Skyranger group you fancied. .