The UAS Storm Buggy

my second microlight

Having sold the first Microlight that I had built myself, along with plenty of help from David Cook, Ray Watering and Mick Starling. I made contact with Nick Wriggerly who at that time was living in Wales. The UAS Buggy was his own design and I was one of the first half a dozen people who bought one from Nick. It was a great machine that used a three bladed plastic propeller. Compared with my very small 160cc Velmet engine machine that I had built, this felt more like a high powered tractor. I had some great flying in this machine once at the famous first Isle of White meeting. Where I might add a few decisions were thrashed out between early members the BMAA. One being the name the "British Microlight Aircraft Association", although some members had wanted the "British Minimum Aircraft Association" and others the "British Ultralight Aircraft Association. During a British Hang Gliding meeting held at Mere in Wiltshire I met up with Nick and a couple of his friends who were all flying UAS Buggys and we all flew off to one of the stately homes in the area. Must admit we all had great fun flying around the house while trying to look into the bedroom windows. However, while returning to Mere Nick had to make an emergency landing down wind and in doing so broke an axial on one of the back wheels when it went into a rabbit borrow. Therefore we all landed in to the same field to help Nick. As Nick had landed first he had time to give us a wind direction before we all attempted our landings. Any way all is well that ends well, we helped him strap up the axial with a temporary repair and then returned to Mere. That to me sums up Microlighting it the early day. A group of us would fly off for the day and if problems arose we all joined in to help. Such a shame its not like that today. It must also be noted that the British Hang Gliding Association although being wind purists tolerated the powered side of the sport and allotted a temporary take off and landing area away from the main Hang Gliding Competition area. This is also the same machine that I test flew from Ipswich Suffolk although the first attempt ended rather early when a weld broke on the exhaust system. One week later with a fresh weld on the exhaust and I was away. I think I opened a few eyes that day, even my own.

 

 

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Barry Brackenberry from Framlingham Suffolk sponsored me that year and here you can see his logo on my sail

This photo was taken at Rodney Blois small air strip near Yoxford Suffolk. Rodney had obtained the agency to import and assemble the American Rotec Microlight and had asked David Cook and Chris Tansley to assemble them inside, of his Stately home I might add. They also started up a school on the air strip to teach would be buyers how to fly them. On this particular day it was Rodney's first flight and knowing that he was very nervous David asked me to accompany him on a circuit around the air strip. Unfortunately he had a very bad landing, ending up in a ditch with a severely broken leg. Broken Microlight, Broken Leg, Broken Pride and Broken dream