Mike's Blog

Mike Calvert: microlight pilot, BMAA aircraft inspector, motorcyclist, home brewer and all round tinkerer!

Where has the time gone?

Just as I settled down today with my sunday morning coffe, Facebook chucked up a memory from five years ago: That was me on my first formal flying lesson! 11 months later I’d passed all the ground school exams, passed the GST (General Skills Test), completed the solo navigation flights, and had my shiny new…

August 31, 2025
I’m a qualified Microlight Pilot!

Where did the time go?? Last blog I wrote was about training for this, and that feels like an age ago, although granted, December IS a while ago! What followed then was of course a 3 month lock down that meant no flying. Once the restrictions were lifted enough for flying to start again in…

August 9, 2021
Still working towards my NPPL(M)

After a 3 week break from flying thanks to poor weather I finally got back up at the weekend, twice in fact. Saturday the weather was glorious – as the pic above shows. Sunday was murky and cloudy and we were restricted to 500ft max to keep below the cloud base – sometimes just 400ft.…

December 2, 2020
Aviation – weather forecasting..

While writing my thoughts on Learning to Fly, it did occur to me that this is more of a new world than I’d ever really anticipated, possibly naively. Anyway, that’s not a moan, just an observation – but there are some things that persist in that world despite the world moving on. Take the world…

November 19, 2020
Costco – take a bow of shame

Sexual Discrimination should be long gone from business, but let’s consider a major and rather unfair problem facing a newly married woman.. Identification. That is to say, changing your surname. Just under 2 months ago we got married, so Sharon has spent much of her time since we got back from honeymoon jumping through all…

July 11, 2017
VUK 2016

You meet the nicest people on a Honda… It may be a line from an old Honda advert, but this weekend at least, it was true. Step in the UK Varadero forum having a get-together in North Yorkshire. I’ve been a member on the forum for a few years – mainly for the occasional question…

September 26, 2016
Ireland, October 2015

Ireland – land of Guinness and Leprachauns? Yes, and, well, I’m not superstitious! Home of the Dunlop motorbike road racing dynasty? Absolutely. AirBnB – Bed and breakfast without the breakfast? Not this time. Accommodation on the cheap? Nope, well, certainly good value, but definitely didn’t feel cheap! Luxury? Yep, well, certainly felt like it! Going…

October 27, 2015
Rua Reidh

The one thing about planning trips in Scotland is that you simply can’t rely on the weather. That’s not a moan, it’s just a fact of life. For a weekend that involves mainly outdoor activities this means you need the right clothing, or it’s highly likely to be a miserable experience… Back in Feb/March this…

September 1, 2015
Building a Keggerator/Keezer – Part 1 – Temperature Control

For a while now I’ve wanted to convert a chest freezer into what is basically a fridge for kegs – a ‘Keggerator’, or ‘Keezer’. Having the nice flat, sturdy bottom makes the chest freezer ideal for beer kegs, but they can’t be left as a freezer since frozen beer is no good. To get around…

August 7, 2015
Motorbike tour, France 2015

I’ve rented cars and driven in France quite a few times, where I often rapped my knuckles against the window as my left hand automatically sought the gear lever which of course was on the, er, wrong side… but I’ve never taken my own vehicle abroad, and certainly not a motorbike – at least with…

July 11, 2015