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Every time Sean Devlin booked a flying lesson the weather would inevitably be horrendous, but on Saturday 7th May the Weather Gods relented and Sean grabbed the opportunity to complete his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Sean .

Despite a significant crosswind on Saturday 16th April eighteen year old Joshua Davison’s dream job of becoming an Airline Pilot got one step closer when Josh completed his First Solo flight in C CGFZ. Congratulations Josh on a very impressive First Solo

After commencing his Flying Course and completing his First Solo on the school’s black Thruster Dimitar Ivanov decided to buy his own yellow Thruster to complete his training. On 23rd January Dimitar passed his GST in his own Thruster G RAFH which accounts for the beaming smile on his face despite the fact that he is being attacked by an angry looking shark. Congratulations Dimitar on gaining your licence and an interesting looking aircraft.

Derek Hrabovsky is the Consultant Anesthetist at The Ulster Hospital and regularly volunteers his expertise as the Doctor on board the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance (Callsign HELIMED 23). Normally Derek is too busy with the patient to enjoy the flights in HELIMED 23 so he decided to learn to fly himself. On 18th January Derek successfully completed his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Derek and in recognition of your achievement we have now put a first aid kit under the Thruster’s seat and changed the Callsign to MICROMED 23.

According to the BBC the third Monday in January (Blue Monday) is the most depressing day in the year. Paul McBride totally disagrees with the BBC but that is probably because on Monday 17th January he embarked on his First Solo Flight in Thruster G CGFZ. After his first landing and a well earned coffee Paul again took to the sky and completed a further twelve solo circuits. Congratulations Paul

Mark McGuiness has an Aeronautical Engineering Degree from the University of Carlow and consequently has a detailed knowledge of aerodynamics. On 11th January the weather was perfect for flying and Mark took full advantage to put theory into practice by undertaking his First Solo Flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Mark.

Professional Racing Motor Sports engineer Keith Thompson has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of engines and  mechanical systems  so the Microlight Technical exam was a piece of cake for him . On 28th December Keith also proved that he has the skills to operate all the systems on Thruster G CGFZ  to achieve his First Solo  flight after just 10 hours of instruction. Congratulations Keith .

Microlight Pilots celebrate Wings Night 2021at the Ulster Flying Club. Brian Blakely, The Anh Loughran, Brian Ashworth, Jack Toner, and Paul Bradley, received their Ulster Flying Club Wings in recognition of their success in achieving their Private Pilot’s License.

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Nathan McIntyre took his first flying lesson on 10th September and has put in a lot of time and effort reading the syllabus, text books and preparing for each flying lesson. On 31st October Nathan’s efforts and commitment paid dividends when with just over 7 hours of flying lessons under his belt he undertook his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Nathan was fortunate to have picked a day with near perfect flying conditions and light circuit traffic but perhaps that was only nature’s way of rewarding him for his commitment. Congratulations Nathan on your much deserved achievement.

On Saturday 16th October David Norwood’s lifelong ambition of learning to fly took a giant leap forward when he completed his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. David’s next step is to pass his GST after which he plans  to initially join a locally based  Skyranger syndicate and ultimately to take a share in the 600kg Sting also based at Newtownards Airfield. Congratulations on your First Solo David and your admirable forward planning.

David McGuire was the holder of lapsed Australian and New Zealand Sports aviation licences but needed a current and valid licence in order to fly in Ireland. Fortunately the BMAA’s Aaron Bliss was able to advise David on the requirements to convert lapsed foreign licences into a current NPPL (M) and on 31st August David fulfilled the conversion requirements when he completed the Navigation exercises and passed his GST in Thruster G CGFZ. David has already brought his old Airbourne Flexwing back from New Zealand and has just bought a Danish registered Foxbat. In addition David has built his own little Airstrip next to his home in Galway. If Aaron is as fast and efficient in processing David’s licence application as he was in providing the Licence conversion requirements David will be flying from his own runway next week. Congratulations David on passing your GST.

Bulgarian citizen Dimitar Ivanov is currently in the UK helping us through the crisis caused by the acute shortage of articulated lorry drivers. Dimitar has decided to learn to fly during his rare days off work and on Sunday 29th August achieved his First Solo flight in Thruster G CGFZ. Congratulations Dimitar on your First Solo flight and thanks for helping us keep our supplies moving.

The Anh Loughran was awarded the BMAA James Nichols Memorial Bursary earlier this year and quickly progressed by going solo in under 9 hours and then on 19th August 2021 passing his GST in Thruster G CGFZ. Unfortunately The Anh has been unable to take his car driving test due to a horrendous backlog of learner drivers and a shortage of Examiners, so, The Anh is now pacing out his school’s playing fields to see if they are long enough for him to fly to school in September to start his A level studies. Congratulations The Anh. James Nichols would have been proud of your achievement

SOLO AT 16. The Anh (Tiang) Loughran started taking flying lessons after lockdown ended in mid May and has progressed rapidly to the point where he did his First Solo flight on 1st July after less than 9 hours under instruction. The Anh has already passed his Air Law and Aircraft Technical exams and is well on the way to having his own Pilot’s License at the age of 17. Congratulations on your First Solo The Anh.

THE LIFE OF BRIAN:           (The Second  Coming). (Monty Python fans will recognise the Quotes).

Brian Ashworth likes Microlights, and on  17th May 2021 passed his GST in Thruster G GGFZ. However Brian has spent  a considerable part of his  life drooling over the RUTAN Long - EZ and, as Brian “Always looks on the bright side of life” he has already bought a Long EZ and is busy fixing it up ready for its permit and gaining his own Pilot’s Licence. Brian has worked out that the most cost effective way of getting a licence for the Long EZ is to get the Microlight NPPL and then do the conversion course for NPPL SSEA  at Bournemouth with Derek Davidson (see Derek’s Advertisement about the Conversion course in the Microlight Flying Magazine )." Although Brian is" a very naughty boy" for not staying with Microlights he will always have  a very positive response to the question “What did the BMAA ever do for us ? " Congratulations Brian. Enjoy the conversion with Derek and then whizzing around the sky at 200+knots.