Becoming a Microlight Flying Instructor
- Jul 24, 2017
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 24
Becoming a microlight flying instructor turns the judgement you have built as a pilot into something another person can use. You will teach exercises, spot developing errors, explain decisions on the ground and help students become safe, independent pilots.
It is demanding work. You need sound handling skills from the instructor seat, a strong grasp of the ground subjects and enough patience to adapt an explanation when a student does not understand it first time. The route starts with a Restricted Flying Instructor rating, normally written FI(R), before you progress to the unrestricted FI rating.
Contents
1. Check the entry requirements
You do not have to hold your licence for eight months before starting. That former requirement is obsolete. Under the current BMAA route, you need:
a current pilot licence with a Microlight Class Rating
no operational limitations on an NPPL, where applicable
at least 100 hours as pilot in command in total
within that total, at least five hours PIC in microlights
at least five hours PIC on the control type you will use, either three-axis or weightshift
reasonable competence flying the course aircraft from the instructor seat
The five-hour microlight component is a deliberate change from the former 40-hour requirement. The overall 100-hour PIC requirement remains. If your experience is spread across several types, ask the course provider to check your logbook before you book anything.
You also need the appropriate medical status and BMAA membership. Confirm the current administrative requirements with your course provider because your licence type and intended privileges can affect the paperwork.
The pre-entry examination and flight test
Before the course, you must pass a written examination and a flight test with an authorised examiner. The ground paper checks the theoretical knowledge expected of an instructor candidate. The flight test checks that you can handle the aircraft safely and accurately from the instructor seat while maintaining good lookout and airmanship.
The test is an entry standard, not the instructor course itself. It identifies whether your knowledge or handling needs work before you begin learning how to teach. The BMAA route expects the course to start within six months of passing the pre-entry tests, so avoid taking them before your training dates and budget are reasonably firm.
2. What the FI(R) course involves
The regulatory minimum is 40 hours of ground training and 15 hours of flight training. Those figures are minimums, not an estimate that every candidate will finish at exactly that point. BMAA experience indicates that roughly 55 hours on the ground and 20 hours in the air is more typical.
Ground training is practical as well as theoretical. You learn how to structure a long briefing, deliver a short pre-flight briefing, ask useful questions, assess understanding and give a debrief that the student can act on. You also revisit the microlight ground subjects at the depth needed to explain them clearly.
In the aircraft, you practise demonstration and patter from the instructor seat. You learn to break an exercise into teachable stages, recognise common student errors, intervene at the right moment and keep the flight safe while the student is handling the controls. The course covers the exercises used in ab-initio microlight training, so weak areas in your own flying tend to surface quickly.
Providers commonly plan around 18 to 25 training days, depending on continuity, weather, aircraft availability and the candidate's progress. A concentrated course can work well, but only if there is enough time to prepare briefings and absorb feedback between flights.
When comparing providers, look beyond the headline price. Ask who will deliver the ground and flight training, which aircraft you will use, how easily lessons can be rescheduled, and how examiner availability is handled. A visit before booking also lets you judge whether the school's briefing facilities, supervision culture and likely pace suit the way you learn.
3. The final instructor test
The final test is conducted by a Microlight Flight Instructor Examiner. It normally includes:
a pre-flight briefing on an exercise selected by the examiner
airborne demonstration, patter, student-error recognition and correction
handling and airmanship from the instructor seat
an oral examination covering the relevant ground subjects and instructional knowledge
a debriefing after the flight
The examiner acts as the student, so the assessment is about how you teach as well as how you fly. Clear explanations, sensible priorities and timely intervention count alongside accurate aircraft handling. The test can occupy much of a day and is usually charged separately from the course.
4. Working as a Restricted Flying Instructor
Passing the test leads to an FI(R) rating. You can then teach microlight students on the relevant control type under the supervision of an unrestricted FI. The supervising instructor provides the operational framework, monitors your development and retains specific responsibilities while you gain experience.
An FI(R) cannot authorise a student's first solo or first solo cross-country flight. Those decisions must be made by an appropriately privileged unrestricted instructor. This is a practical limit on how a school can roster you, so agree the supervision arrangement before committing to a job or freelance work.
The FI(R) rating is valid for 36 months. Revalidation and progression are related but separate tasks: do not assume that working towards unrestricted status automatically protects the rating's expiry date.
Progressing to an unrestricted FI rating
You become eligible to take the test to remove the restriction after at least 10 months as an FI(R) and at least 100 hours teaching microlights. These are instructional hours, not another 100 hours of general PIC time.
The upgrade test again examines your briefing, airborne teaching and debriefing. Once the restriction is removed, you no longer need direct FI supervision for ordinary instruction within your privileges and control type. Additional privileges or another control type require their own training and sign-off.
5. How much the instructor course costs
Current public prices show why the old advice to budget about £6,000 remains a useful starting point, although it should not be treated as an all-inclusive quotation. In 2026, two microlight course providers advertise minimum-course prices of about £5,000 to £5,150, while a more realistic package is advertised at about £6,000.
Your full budget also needs to cover:
the pre-entry written examination and flight-test examiner
aircraft hire for the pre-entry test
training beyond the 40-hour ground and 15-hour flight minimums
landing or touch-and-go charges
the final instructor test
CAA and BMAA fees
books, travel and accommodation where required
For context, one current provider lists ground training at £45 per hour and flight training at £160 per hour; another lists additional ground and flight training at £55 and £185 per hour respectively. The CAA also lists a separate fee for issuing an instructor rating. Ask for a written estimate based on the provider's typical completion time, then leave a contingency for weather and extra training.
The BMAA instructor information and current CAA licensing fees are useful final checks before you pay a deposit.
6. Work prospects and earnings
Microlight instruction can be a full-time role, a part-time job or a seasonal addition to other work. A current UK microlight vacancy combines experience flights and ab-initio instruction with ground school, aircraft care, airfield operations and outreach. That mix is worth understanding because paid work may extend beyond time in the aircraft.
Public microlight-specific pay information is sparse. As a current wider general-aviation comparator, one UK flying-instructor vacancy starts at £35 per hour, but that is not a standard microlight tariff. Schools may use hourly, freelance or salaried arrangements, and an apparently attractive flying-hour rate can produce uneven income when weather or bookings cancel the day's programme.
Before accepting a role, ask what is paid: airborne instruction, briefings, ground school, experience flights, student supervision, administration and cancelled bookings. Also ask how many flyable hours instructors actually achieved over the previous 12 months. Those answers are more useful than an hourly headline on its own.
Instruction can still be a rewarding way to deepen your own flying, support a school and build a long-term role in the microlight community. The strongest opportunities go to instructors who are dependable, prepared to teach theory properly and willing to help with the wider work that keeps a training organisation running.
7. Build your teaching role with QuizAero
If you teach through a flying school, run one or are preparing to establish one, the QuizAero Flying School Association can support the ground-school side of your students' training. Participating schools can earn commission on referred QuizAero sales, use website or face-to-face referral routes, and follow student progress, practice and readiness through a school dashboard. There are no upfront costs, and the scheme is open to microlight schools.
QuizAero Bitesize is our online ground school, designed to break the theory into manageable lessons and give students structured practice between flights. For a new instructor, that makes it easier to see which subjects need attention before the next briefing. The short video below shows how QuizAero supports the theory work that sits alongside practical microlight training.
Comments