More than a flight of fancy?

If you thought owning your own aircraft was "pie in the sky" then perhaps you were mistaken

If you thought owning your own aircraft was "pie in the sky" then perhaps you were mistaken. Paddy Comyntakes to the skies in a plane that costs as much as a Range Rover.

You are flicking through the Range Rover brochure for the third time in as many years. Perhaps this time you will go for the black leather, because the cream leather was murder to keep clean the last time.

You have read the reports about so-called gas-guzzlers, but there is no way you are going to sit in Dublin's agonising traffic in anything less than the most opulent comfort you can find. Perhaps you will go for the new Porsche Cayenne instead. But is it a bit too flash?

You should be excited, but you are not. While once owning a nice SUV or indeed sports car was the reserve of the few, they are becoming more commonplace than ever and let's face it, where can you drive it? If only there was a way to avoid it all . . .

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Well, perhaps there is.

To coincide with today's Ireland versus Slovakia game in Croke Park, the Yeoman Light Aircraft Company is launching its Slovak-built Dynamic in Ireland.

The notion is that many people assume aircraft ownership is well out of their reach, but with this particular machine costing under €100,000, it is very likely that there are some Irish buyers who are simply fed-up with the joyless nature of Irish driving and want another way to commute between business destinations, or just to have fun.

So that is why I am in Weston Executive Airport in Co Kildare, about to meet Nick Marley, managing director of the Yeoman Light Aircraft Company, and the man behind this bid to make aviation something that more people can sample.

But I won't just be having a chat about the Dynamic - the plan is that this rank novice will, by the end of the day, be taking the controls too.

Strictly speaking, the Dynamic is a microlight, meaning that it has a maximum take-off weight of not more than 450kg, and a stall speed of not more than 35 knots and while that does conjure up images in my mind of Airfix models controlled by bearded men in anoraks, my initial fears are eased when G-DYNA comes into view and lands delicately in front of the Weston tower, looking every bit the real thing.

While regular microlights were traditionally made of a tubular construction with canvas wings (or anything else found lying about) the use of carbon fibre, combined with modern engine technology, has allowed this plane to be made within microlight limits.

The Dynamic is offered with the 80hp Rotax 912 UL engine as standard. A sportier, but probably unnecessary, 100hp version is available too. This aircraft has a range of more than 1,200km and has a cruising speed of 220km/h.

From the cabin of the Dynamic, Nick Marley emerges, closely followed by pilot Bill Sherlock. Marley's enthusiasm alone for his pet project would make you go searching for your chequebook.

A British management consultant, Marley was in the telecoms business and was working with O2 in Ireland when he spotted an article on a new Czech microlight, the ATEC Zepher.

A keen pilot himself - Marley gained his private pilot's licence aged just 17 - and having spent a period of time working in the Czech Republic, he set off to try the aircraft himself. While this plane would turn out to be unsuitable, the Dynamic eventually caught his eye because "it looked like a proper aeroplane".

Marley spills over his own words, such is his eagerness to tell us all about the Dynamic. The fact that the Dynamic has been given A1 approval by the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK and that orders are flowing in have him beaming. With Irish-type approval just a rubber stamp away, the order books are now open for Ireland and Marley is hopeful of success.

"We have set aside some slots on our production especially for the Irish market. We are hopeful of seeing several aircraft reaching these shores this summer," he says. Marley waxes lyrical about the benefits of making an entrance such as he and Sherlock just have, and within minutes being through the other side of the airport and on to whatever business or pleasure awaits.

"So many people are sick of commercial airlines and airports and this allows complete freedom. So why not buy it as an alternative to a high-end luxury SUV or sports car?"

Unlike the UK, where this type of plane can be flown after an intensive nine-day course, the situation in Ireland remains somewhat different.

A private pilot's licence (PPL) is required for the Dynamic and, while there are many domestic operations instructing in this, many Irish are electing to go to places like Florida, which offer cheaper, faster and warmer instruction.

With the sales pitch over, it was time for your novice test pilot to climb onboard.

I have never been a nervous flyer, but then again I don't usually sit so close to the pilot and climb aboard a plane that weights less than most Texans. My confidence in Bill Sherlock, my pilot and instructor, is high: a seasoned pilot and test pilot, he has the nonchalant attitude that you normally associate with surgeons and, er, airline pilots.

Squeezing my 6'2" frame into the seat takes a second or two, but it really isn't bad in there. I am struck by how simple the layout is. Sherlock runs me through the instructions. There are the usual gauges that tell you when to start praying, a control stick between my legs which operate the deflectors (these move the plane up and down) and the ailerons (these tilt and turn the plane).

At my feet are the rudders and these turn the aircraft right or left. This is called yawing. The rudders, in conjunction with the ailerons, make the aircraft turn smoothly. The blue grip to my left works the brakes, the green one the trim and the black one works the flaps.

Suitably confused, we set off.

Quite how quickly this aircraft takes off is amazing. Sherlock had earlier told me that it takes just 100 yards to take off, but in what seemed like much less, we were up and away.

Forget everything you have ever thought you knew about flying until you have sat this close to the action.

Like a much more consequential fairground ride, your stomach scrambles to catch up with the rest of your body.

Within minutes, Sherlock is offering me the controls and suddenly I feel like a nervous child. I am way too desensitised to the majesty of a nice car, so to get such an adrenaline rush was intoxicating.

Under Sherlock's watchful eye, I was instructed to circle a farmyard. I could not believe how delicate and responsive the controls were. They needed just the faintest breath.

Once your heart rate comes back into double figures you can start to enjoy the experience and it truly is an amazing one.

Watching the Friday afternoon traffic below clogging up you can see why this is regarded, by many, as the ultimate escape.

I had taken 90 minutes to get to the airport today but I could fly home in just 20. There are no angry drivers, no road rage, no speed cameras and no limits. Am I hooked? You bet I am.