Nick - the new importer for the UK

What inspired you to start flying?

Ever since an American Airlines captain let me sit in the right seat in the cockpit of a 747 during a flight to the USA when I was a child, I had wanted to be a pilot, but financially, this was always out of reach. Fast forward to my late twenties: I booked a trial flight with John Bradbury at Cheshire Microlights and was hooked instantly. John was a fantastic and patient instructor, and I will be forever grateful to him for getting me through the course, as it has become not just my hobby, but my passion and also a career.

Do you remember your first flight and your first solo?

My first solo was an eye-opening experience. I had just landed after a couple of “OK” circuits when my instructor asked me to taxi back to the hangar. When I did, he got out of the aircraft and told me to do the same thing again, but without him. I remember the feeling well: the nerves beforehand, followed by the exhilaration and the commitment it took to take off, followed by a radio call on the downwind leg to my instructor saying, “What do I do if I can’t land?” to which he replied, “Go around and try again! But one thing is for certain—what goes up must come down, so try and do it how I taught you to do it!” I still play that conversation back in my head now.

My landing was actually pretty good. I taxied back to the hangar completely full of adrenaline and laughing happily to myself. My instructor was very pleased with me, too, which also gave me a lot of satisfaction.

What brought you to the Czech Republic to explore Ellipse?

I love aviation. I have spent the past 9 years running my own aircraft finance brokerage and building a YouTube following for my flying adventures. I was looking for a new aircraft, and I was already aware of Ellipse, as I had helped them initially by introducing them to the UK BMAA (British Microlight Aircraft Association) to start the process of obtaining their UK CAA A8-1 factory approvals.

I had looked at various other brands at the time, but none did everything I wanted. As well as this, I just completely fell in love with every aspect of the aircraft, including the way it looks, which, in my opinion, is the most beautiful, elegant aircraft in its class. I proceeded to spec up my dream Ellipse on the configurator, and Martin Nemec reached out to me. I then discussed my intentions with Martin and told him about my YouTube channel, etc., and we got on extremely well from the beginning. I offered to help finalise the UK type approval so I could get my hands on one of these wonderful machines, and things just snowballed from there.

From the first minute I arrived at the factory and saw how professional and well-run it is, I just knew that this was the aircraft I had always longed to own. The way that everyone works together to craft these hand-built dream machines was an incredible thing to witness. The quality control was another aspect that completely blew me away. Each part of each aircraft is assigned its own QR code that tells you when it was made, who by, and even how much it weighs. Fast forward to now, and I find myself in the privileged position of being the exclusive dealer for Ellipse aircraft in the UK, with a brand-new Ellipse in my hangar at my airfield.

As a pilot/instructor/seller, what will pilots love most about the Ellipse?

I am not what you would call hugely experienced—I have around 500 hours, so I am probably just your average pilot in that respect. However, the “average” pilot is just as at home in an Ellipse as anyone else. The aircraft's design is incredibly innovative. Everything has a purpose: the slots in the wings that give you superb low-speed handling, the simplicity of the locking “quadrant”-style throttle that oozes quality, as well as that frankly stunning elliptical wing and T-tail design that not only stand out as truly stunning features, but also work in harmony together to give the Ellipse what I consider to be one of its best characteristics: its ability to cut through turbulence and rough air unlike anything I have yet flown in the 600 kg category.

My first flights in an Ellipse were in 30-degree heat, in the middle of the afternoon, high up in the mountains, with upper winds exceeding 25 kts, and the aircraft felt sturdy and strong. The way it cuts through the bumps is seriously impressive—a slight wag of the tail and a bump or two, but no real noticeable effect on the controls, which gave me a lot of confidence in the aircraft. Many aircraft I have owned, in these types of conditions, would be snatching the controls out of my hand, rolling, yawing and pitching excessively, with lots of concentration required to maintain altitude. But not the Ellipse. The way it makes you feel as a pilot is special.

What are your plans for launching Ellipse in your market?

We plan to attend all of the major UK shows with the Ellipse this year, as well as some of the smaller ones. The plan is to get it in front of as many pilots as possible to show off how wonderful this little aircraft truly is. We aim to have a huge social media presence, showing off the Ellipse in all its glory. I will also be documenting all of my flying adventures in my Ellipse on my YouTube channel, “Let’s Go Flying,” where I will document all aspects of owning an Ellipse. It will be an open and honest account of ownership that will give any potential buyers a unique perspective. I have spent a lot of time building up my YouTube channel and have earned my viewers’ trust, so I will not be trying to use this platform to sell aircraft to people. Honesty and integrity are key, and those that fall in love with the Ellipse in the same way that I have are more than welcome to come and speak to me with my “Ellipse dealer hat” on.

Additionally, I am working on a way to give access to these wonderful aircraft to more people throughout the UK without them having to be part of the exclusive few who have the cash in the bank to buy and own an aircraft outright on their own. Without giving too much away, I have confidence that we can develop this relatively quickly.

Tell us about your home airport. Why should pilots visit you there?

I am basing the aircraft between two places. The first is called Sleap (EGCV) and has long tarmac runways and is open 24/7, 365 days a year, which will make flying in the wetter months much easier. It has a café on site, and a huge number of people are based there. They also hold a fly-in festival every year called “Sleapkosh,” which hosts everything from live music and aircraft on display to air displays. It is a “bring your tent” kind of thing.

The second base is called Hawksview, which is located in the Manchester low-level transit corridor between Manchester and Liverpool airports. It is a tricky and busy piece of airspace too. Hawksview itself is a small grass strip that is very close to my heart and that I will be using throughout the spring and summer months. There are many people from my flying club based there, and it is a wonderful place to be based. The owners, Steve and his wife Carol, are lovely people and true supporters of aviation.

They are two very different airfields representing both sides of general aviation in the UK—perfect for an Ellipse that is as much at home on a big tarmac runway as it is diving in and out of small strips. This gives me the ability to demonstrate the Ellipse in both environments. We have a BMAA instructor and inspector that we work with very closely, who will be providing support for our Ellipse pilots from either of these bases or even at their home base, should they need it.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Martin, Jan and the rest of the Ellipse team for all of their hard work and determination to get my aircraft built and work towards the type approval for the UK market, which is notoriously difficult and very stressful at times. Everyone at Ellipse Aero has been absolutely wonderful to deal with throughout this entire process, and I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I am in.