A microlight is basically a weightshift-controlled wing (similar in design as a hang glider) from which the engine, landing gear, pilot and passenger are suspended in a tricycle type undercarriage hence you will often hear these aircraft simply referred to as trikes. This type of configuration is very stable and offers impressive performance with short take-off and landing, exceptional climb rates, sporty handling, comfortable two-place tandem seating, quick pack-up/set-up, portability, ease of storage, low maintenance and an affordable price tag. As a result microlights have become the fastest growing form of sport aviation in the world today.

Gawler Microlights operate a full time flight training facility at the Gawler Airfield. Our instructor Rob Hatswell is one of the most experienced pilots in Australia, with training experience both here and abroad. We are qualified to take you from your first trial flight right through to instructor level if you so desire. See our page on flight lessons to find out just how easy that first step is!!

A Little History

For centuries one of Humankind's greatest dreams has been to fly like the birds. To soar freely in space without the restrictions of gravity and to go wherever one's heart desires without having to navigate a pre-chosen path.

It was only in the 20th Century that the Wright brothers finally achieved the dream of sustained and controlled flight, 'freedom from gravity', with the use of the internal combustion engine. However, there was still much refinement necessary for true ease-of-movement through the air.

Powered flight continued to progress and came to incorporate many of the technological developments of the new century. Interestingly, at the same time that powered flight was being developed, non-powered flight development continued from where Lilienthal had left off.

The Delta Sail Wing was first used by Jan Lavezzari, at De Berek in France in 1903, Very little is known and to date only one photo has appeared of this aircraft.

Jan Lavezzari, 1903 France

W.D Wanner patented the wing design in 29 Jan 1948 as a toy kite using an airframe that consisted of a keel and crossbars that held the leading edge taught while allowing the trailing edge to billow. Francis Rogallo who had patented another kite design that had no rigid components on 23 Nov 1948 and had the same curve in the leading edge and trailing edge.

As part of the Gemini space program Rogallo began experimenting with a combination of these two kite designs in an effort to find a way of returning space capsules to earth. After spending many millions of dollars this program was eventually abandoned due to the high failure rate of the Para Wing deployments.

Rogallo was aiming to combine a boat sail, minus spar and mast, with a parachute to make a completely flexible wing, Paraglider.

An Australian, John Dickenson eventually was shown a photo of one of the Rogallo Para Wings. John was at the time designing a safe alternative to water ski kites and seeing the photo allowed him to simplify his project that at that time he was basing on Bat Wings.

From 1963 to 1966 John built a series of aircraft and eventually ended up in a deal with Mike Burns at a company called Aerostructures, to produce the wings commercially. Eventually Both Bill Bennett and Bill Moyes purchased Dickenson Wings from Aerostructures and took this little Aussie aircraft to the rest of the world leading to the boom in hang gliding and ultralight aviation that continues to this day.

John Dickenson flying the Mark III, 1965, Grafton. Photo Copyright 1963 Rod Fuller

This now placed flying well within the reach of every person. Here the pilot hung from a pivotal point under a delta-shaped wing and used his/her own body weight to manoeuvre the glider in flight - simple and practical. By 1967 John Dickenson and others began experimenting with adding motors to their hang gliders.

Tricycle undercarriages were experimentally hung from hang glider wings with small engines supplying power. These craft were found to be extremely manoeuvrable and incredibly enjoyable to fly, and this together with the very simple yet amazingly robust construction, made these 'trikes' very attractive to those passionate about flight - as well as being affordable.

And so, while those who followed the path of the Wright brothers now sat 30,000 feet above the Earth in monstrous 'flying control rooms' with countless systems to operate and monitor, the Dickenson stream of flyers were having a different experience altogether. They now flew like birds in their trikes, above green fields and between high mountains, with the sunset in the background and the smell of fresh air all around them. They waved down at the casual spectators on the ground that they could see clearly below them as they flew by. They saw the people on the ground look up and wave back and they felt the longing of the gravity-bound folk to join them in the skies above. They recognized the yearning looks in the eyes of the people below. Most of them would feel the strong urge to fly, but would let it pass. Some of them, however, would never be able to forget the feeling they had when they saw these little craft fly by, and would go to great lengths to join these 'riders of the skies' and to chase the horizon over the hills.

As we enter the 21st Century the trike is now at a high point in its technological development. The wing is no longer a converted hang glider wing, but rather a super-engineered, super-efficient product of years of aerodynamic advancement in the field. The 'trike' undercarriage unit is as strong as ever, being able to carry a passenger, supplies and extra fuel for long-endurance expeditions into untamed territories. The power unit is specially designed and developed for the purpose and incorporates 100 years of aircraft power experience. Since all of the necessary advancements have been accomplished to allow safe flight to be undertaken, it is now the creature comforts and conveniences of the pilot and passenger as they wing the skies that rest in the minds of the trike designers. Every possible feature that can make the flyers more at ease in the air is provided. The idea behind the trike is that nothing impedes the pilot's experience of the ultimate sensation on Earth... FREEDOM!

Thanks to Graeme Henderson

Further Reading

• Airborne - Australian manufacturer of Trikes
• Aerial Pursuits - excellent information on how Trikes work

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