British Young Pilots · Air Law · Module AL-10.6INSTRUCTOR
A driver needs a driving licence. A pilot needs a pilot's licence. The UK has its own simpler one called the NPPL: the National Private Pilot's Licence. It comes in versions for aeroplanes, motor gliders, microlights and helicopters, and it is normally used in UK skies on UK-registered aircraft.
The best news: you do not need a licence to start learning. A student pilot trains under the supervision of a flight instructor. The licence is what you earn at the end.
Try it: hands up if you thought you needed a licence before lesson one.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.171 and p.152.
A microlight is a small, light aircraft built to carry no more than two people: you and one other. A two-seat land microlight may weigh no more than 450 kg in total. Microlights come as single-seat or two-seat, and as three-axis or weight-shift types.
The microlight version of the NPPL is a great first rung on the ladder because the list of things to do is short and clear. Once you have the licence, it lasts for life.
Try it: point to the person you would take in the second seat.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.172.
Three numbers carry you to a full microlight licence:
There are flight tests too, and a medical step called a medical declaration. For the aeroplane version of the NPPL the book gives ages: 16 for your first solo and 17 to hold the licence. It prints no separate age for microlights, so ask your instructor for today's rule.
Try it: count the five exam subjects on one hand.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.171–173.
Wings is rung one. Every rung above it is a short, clear job. Which rung are you looking forward to most?
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.172–173 and p.152. Rung 1 is the BYP starting point, not a Pooleys fact.
Alongside the Part-FCL licences sit the UK's own national licences. A UK PPL has no expiry date, but the rating you want to use must be kept valid with a Certificate of Revalidation. Its privileges are set out in Part A of Schedule 8 to the ANO 2016. One difference to remember: the holder of a UK PPL(A) may not fly out of sight of the surface unless they hold an IMC Rating or an IR.
The National Private Pilot's Licence (NPPL) arrived in 2002. It is administered by the Light Aircraft Association under authority delegated by the CAA, and is available for aeroplanes, motor gliders, microlights and helicopters. In general it can be used only in UK airspace on UK-registered aircraft, unless another country's aviation authority has specifically agreed otherwise.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.170–171.
A simpler licence than the Part-FCL PPL. Minimum requirements for issue:
Limits: day VFR only, UK airspace, no more than 140 kt IAS maximum continuous cruise, no more than 2,000 kg maximum take-off weight. More than 4 persons on board, retractable undercarriage or a variable-pitch propeller each need differences training signed off in the logbook.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.171.
Microlights are classed as single-seat or two-seat, three-axis or weight-shift. They carry no more than two people, with a maximum authorised total weight of 300 kg (single-seat landplane), 450 kg (two-seat landplane), 330 kg (single-seat amphibian or floatplane) or 495 kg (two-seat amphibian or floatplane). Wing loading is limited to 25 kg per square metre and/or the stalling speed (VSO) to 35 kt calibrated airspeed.
Microlights operate on a Permit to Fly, and the only aerial work permitted is instruction. Syllabus and flight test details are published by the BMAA.
STRETCHThe aeroplane rating asks for 9 exams, 22 hours dual and 10 solo; the microlight rating for 5 exams and 25 hours including 10 solo. What does each extra requirement buy the pilot in terms of what they may fly?
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.172–173.
The NPPL itself is valid for life; its ratings last 24 months. To revalidate, either pass a General Skill Test, or log 12 hours of flight time including 8 hours as PIC, 12 take-offs and landings and 1 hour with an instructor, with 6 of the hours flown in the 12 months before expiry. A microlight rating is kept valid in the same way as the SSEA/SLMG rating.
Minimum medical for UK licences: UK Medical Declaration for the NPPL(A) (SSEA, SLMG or Microlight), the UK PPL(G) and the UK PPL(BA); Part-MED Class 2 for the UK PPL(A) and PPL(H); a Part-MED certificate for the NPPL(H). A Part-MED LAPL, Class 1 or Class 2 certificate is valid in place of the Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD).
Licence rules change. These are the requirements in the captured edition of Pooleys; check the current CAA and BMAA requirements before advising anyone.
Source: Pooleys Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.172–173.
Licence rules change. These are the requirements in the captured edition of Pooleys; check the current CAA and BMAA requirements before advising anyone. Every number on these cards (16, 17, 25, 10, 15, 7, 8 miles, 5 exams, 450 kg, 24 months) is the book's figure, not a promise about today's rule.
Ages, handle with care: the 16 (first solo) and 17 (licence issue) appear in the book's NPPL aeroplane (SSEA/SLMG) section. The microlight section prints no age at all, and the book gives no minimum age for starting lessons. If a child asks "how old to fly a microlight solo?", say the book does not print it and that you will check the current BMAA figure.
Misconception 1: "you need a licence before you can have a lesson." No: a student pilot trains without one under a flight instructor. The licence is the finish line, not the entry ticket.
Misconception 2: "25 hours and you are done." It is a minimum, and the exams, flight tests and medical declaration sit alongside it.
Props: your own licence and logbook passed round (cover personal details); five fingers for the five exam subjects.
Hook: "Who here has already started their pilot training?" Every hand should go up: Wings is rung one of the ladder on the screen.
Delivery tip: keep it reachable. 25 hours is about one full day and one hour. Let the class work that out themselves rather than telling them.
Wings delivery: Week 4, sign-off 3.3 (how to get a pilot's licence), alongside the "Big Goals" slide. Project the four Foundations cards in Present mode (about 8 minutes), finishing on the ladder and asking each child which rung they want most. Then run the "Licence ladder sort" game on the projector with thumbs up or down votes (5 minutes). Total about 13 to 15 minutes.
Instructor copy only. Sources: Vol 2 (17th ed.) p.170–173 and p.152.
Tap a card to flip it.
One statement at a time: is it on the ladder to a full NPPL microlight licence, or not? Tap to sort it.
Enter class names, one per line. Roll picks a student and a concept from this module for them to describe. Delete a name to exclude them; "Pass to a friend" keeps the concept and picks a new student.
Build the link to hand out or put behind a QR code. The student page physically contains no instructor content.
Class code (optional, enables progress tracking when the collector is live):
Mode:
Content layers are the Foundations / PPL / Technical row above; all choices stay on this device only.