Learn-to-Fly.co.uk is a flex-wing microlight school at Popham Airfield, near Winchester in Hampshire. Popham is one of the longest-established microlight airfields in the UK, with two grass runways and a café and viewing area, and it’s also home to the Charles Church Spitfire Flying Club. The school moved here in 2023 after a short spell at Lee-on-the-Solent and has been training pilots for more than 24 years. It’s one of only a few dedicated flex-wing schools in the south of England.

The chief flying instructor, Ian MacAdam, has many thousands of hours on microlights. Training is on a PulsR and a GT450, and you can also learn on your own aircraft. To get the NPPL (Microlight) you need at least 25 hours of flight training with a CAA flying instructor, five ground exams and the General Flying Test. The school says its average course takes almost half the national average time.

If you’re not ready to commit, there are trial flights, a longer coastal flight and a half-day landaway course to the Isle of Wight. Gift vouchers can be personalised with your own message. The school can also come and train you at your own airfield, with the owner’s permission and with travel costs on top.

Popham is about 30 minutes from south-west London and handy for Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester. Ring or text when you arrive and they’ll meet you at the café.