To travel long distance by microlight aircraft is sometimes harder to organise logistically than to carry out. It took me nearly three months to sort out the route and obtain the necessary permits for my four-month microlight flight through West Africa. The most obvious essential is to fit the journey to the prevailing winds; travel is hard enough without wasting fuel in headwinds. My best advice about winds came from the locust control unit, whose London office has extensive reference wind charts. The Met Office in Bracknell was also helpful.

The second controlling factor of the route was the terrain, which had to offer plenty of open landing areas; we had no back-up ignition system. Our fuel tank size was increased to 49 litres, and we used an average of 12 litres per hour in flight. We were fortunate that Mobil sponsored us and agreed to stash sealed jerrycans for us at intervals along our route. The alternative of using a support vehicle would mean following roads.

When route and timing are known you should apply for flight clearances. This is done by letter, fax or telex to the CAA or relevant authority of each country en route, and in due course they should each give you a clearance number. While travelling you must put that number on all flight plans. If the country is a military state or dictatorship, you also need a military clearance number. Although I had received mine for Nigeria, I was arrested on arrival because the number was not on government-headed paper. It took 24 hours to sort out.

Nowadays one can use a clearance agent to arrange all these details. A recommended one is Overflight International (tel 01624 842311). For those who wish to organise their own clearances, there is excellent free advice and access to addresses from AIS (part of NATS- National Air Traffic Services Ltd). The telephone number to call for advice or to arrange a visit so that the pilot can access the documents they hold is 020 8745 3470 (Barry Davidson) or 020 8745 3440 (Doug Ferguson). Visits can be arranged at any time, but weekdays during normal office hours is most convenient as, at these times, there are staff available to assist with finding one's way through the maze of documents. They prefer a couple of days' notice of a visit but, if pushed, this can be arranged at short notice.

Pilots can request copies of bulletins to be faxed or posted on AIS' 24-hour number (tel 020 8745 3464), but the staff on that number are not in a position to provide much detailed information. Bulletins are split into four basic types: en route, aerodrome, navigation warnings, and 'low-level navigation warnings'. These categories are something of a misnomer as AIS covers all sorts of activity at all sorts of levels, including gliding, kites, parascending, parachuting, pyrotechnics, lasers, etc. - in fact, most things, apart from firing and military exercises. AIS is now only able to assist with overseas clearances where a diplomatic clearance is required, although it can provide information on addresses, telephone and fax numbers.

If pilots wish to use AIS's services for a flight outside Europe, it is best to start the planning well before the departure date (six to nine months) as there are considerable delays along the way when it comes to dealing with foreign government departments.

I would recommend that microlight pilots carry ELT (electronic locator transmitter) and navigate with GPS (global positioning system). GPS didn't exist in West Africa in my days, but I am assured there is now world coverage. We did have an ELT disaster signal but an inquisitive person pulled out its pin the day before the journey began, leaving it exhausted.

When flying in ultra-inhospitable regions (as I found out mid-Sahara), one is obliged by law to have or hire a support vehicle, and the aircraft must carry fuel and water for a minimum of about five days.

In parts of Europe, the regulations against microlights have recently tightened and they are banned from certain major airports. It would be simpler to enter such a country by road with the microlight in tow and assemble it there. This requires only a courtesy call to let the authorities know that you are a visitor asking to fly in their airspace, plus a copy of your flight plan. For all advice on procedures, contact AIS (above) and also the very helpful Department of Transport, whose international aviation section (tel 020 7890 5803) is run by Huw Hopkins.

If a microlight does not have the fuel capacity to reach an international airport in one hop, you can get permission to stop and re-fuel, and to check in with any immigration and customs post, but remember to report to the local police chief.

The type of fuel at roadside petrol stations was very low octane and in remote places was contaminated by transportation in unclean containers. In the mountains of Cameroon, petrol was being sold in old Coke bottles.

As to the practical side, it wasn't until we began our journey in Cameroon that we learnt that our compass was calibrated to northern latitudes and unusable in the tropics. The only tropical compasses for sale were brass maritime heavies. Even the most basic things have a way of growing complicated. Luggage, camping gear, tools of lightweight aluminium and spare parts were loaded into panniers strapped outside the cockpit, plus spare wheel and spare propeller, while water cans and oil were stowed under the seats and sleeping bags were securely tied to the trike's mast.

If things fall off, they usually get sucked into the propeller. I remember Mik Coyne saying when they threw cereal packets out of a microlight for promotional photography, the packets were drawn into the propeller and chipped it badly. Our propeller had chunks torn out of it on several occasions, usually by sticks and stones whirled up on landing and take-off. But we glued the chunks back into place, or refilled the gap with wood carved to shape. I also had to stitch patches on the wing when it was torn by thorns. Others have trouble from thorns in tyres, for which Richard Meredith Hardy recommended putting strips of carpet between tyre and tube.

My microlight was a standard Pegasus XL, which has an all-up weight capacity of 390 kg, inclusive of trike, wing, two people and everything. When we overloaded by 30 kg we had a total engine failure at 15 metres while taking off, and we fell to the ground like a stone. But nothing broke. At normal full weight there were no adverse effects, except for heavier fuel consumption (up to 19 litres an hour in take-off) and a longer take-off and landing run. Perhaps it made us more stable in the air, though on occasions when we were tossed about the stress was appalling and I was surprised that nothing snapped. It was a sturdy machine.

In fact the dangers were few but, naturally, we had a lot of narrow escapes, particularly when landing on roads with unforeseen traffic. Our worst was a steeply banked road where we landed after dark with no lights, only to find a truck with no lights driving towards us. Sandstorms were not much of a problem, you can usually jump over them. They grow bigger as they approach, but you can judge their size. Our standard type was just over one kilometre wide and 600 metres tall. Flight rules say that when storms blow up you must land and secure your aircraft, but often it would have been too dangerous to land and there was nothing to tie the wing to, so we stayed airborne. One time a storm grew so big we couldn't find its top and at 1,200 metres we were being pushed backwards by the strength of the wind. Wind speed increases with height, it was futile to go higher and we decided to try flying low down in the storm; it wasn't fun.

Thermal pillars used to start bouncing off the desert by 11 am. By midday they were uncomfortable. The only practical times for flight were a few hours morning and evening. If you arrive at an airport after sunset, approximately 6 pm, you will be charged for landing lights, which tend to be expensive.

When taking off near towns or villages with no airstrip there is a danger of causing harm to people. In their delight, the crowds go crazy and, not wanting you to leave, they dash forward to try and grab your moving wing-tips, or rush behind the propeller where a whirled-up stone can kill. Sometimes it is worth asking the local police or headman to hold crowds behind the aircraft. Don't allow people to form a corridor during take-off because they will run into your path.

The horrors were equalled by moments of pure joy; I loved the aerial perspective and being able to see how things fit together. We could pick out the shape of tombs and ancient fortresses that would be invisible from the ground, and we were free to land anywhere looked interesting. Some weirdly eroded rocks turned out to house caves with wall inscriptions and some bone fragments led to the discovery of a dinosaur skeleton. It all combines to make a memorable way to travel.