Not afraid of heights? Always envied birds? Ali Bracken goes microlighting, and discovers it can be both thrilling and terrifying.

'A cheapo version of flying" is how Richard, our enthusiastic microlight instructor, describes the aviation adventure we are about to embark upon.

One by one, we voluntarily take to the skies above Co Armagh in a two-seater aircraft with a jovial man whose face you can trust, but whose actions, I soon discover, you cannot predict.

"Do you like roller coasters?" he inquires casually, moments after take-off.

With the high altitude clearly blurring my senses I answer affirmatively without considering the consequences. No surprise then, that I've made my first mistake.

As the microlight takes a swift nosedive I try desperately to express that I've changed my mind. But with all my screaming, his laughing and what I perceive to be the noisy failing of the engine, my words are lost. No matter though, because pretty soon the plane is guided upwards as we proceed in the promised roller-coaster fashion. Moments later, when we're flying horizontally again, I regain my composure and begin to enjoy the flight.

Microlight flying developed in the 1970s when a group of hang-gliders had the novel idea to attach engines to their gliders. The result was affordable aviation for thrill-seekers who began to create makeshift microlights in their droves. The sport quickly earned a dangerous reputation as anyone with a patch of grass, a hang-glider, a lawnmower engine and a lot of nerve could take to the skies in a DIY aircraft. Some years and far too many fatalities later, the sport has been regulated, and modern microlights are very different, and much safer, than early designs.

Although variations exist, there are essentially two types of microlights: weight-shift and three-axis. Weight-shift is based on the original hang-glider design with an undercarriage, seats, engine and open cockpit suspended beneath the wing. If it's particularly windy, weight-shift microlights can't take to the sky - which is the case when we venture to Kernan Valley Flying Club in Tandragee, Co Armagh. So instead, we go for a spin in the three-axis microlight.

This type of microlight is much more like a conventional aircraft and looks like a mini-plane. Performance is better in a three-axis, says my instructor, and speeds can reach as high as 160mph.

Relaxing into the 20-minute flight, I take in the idyllic view and begin to enjoy this intimate flying experience. On an hour-long flight, he says, you can be flown as far as Lough Neagh and the Mourne Mountains to take in the scenery. A half-hour flight cost £40 (€58) and cross-country flights can also be arranged.

Microlighting is an adventure sport not for the faint-hearted, but if you're up for trying something a bit different that isn't too expensive, it's well worth the trip across the Border. Microlighting in the Republic doesn't seem to have taken off yet in quite the same way. At the moment, only a few clubs provide microlight training - Ultraflight Flight Training in Co Longford and Skywest Aeroclub in Co Galway are the most prominent. Both clubs only offer three-axis microlighting while most clubs in Northern Ireland also provide weight-shift aircrafts. While the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) govern microlight-flying schools in Northern Ireland, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) governs microlighting in the South.

Back in the skies above Armagh, my instructor shows me how to use the joystick and foot pedals and then momentarily hands over control of the aircraft, which I swiftly hand back.

Chattering away as he flies at a 90-degree angle, my instructor tells me that microlights have flown from London to Sydney, around the world and most recently over Mount Everest. Those who really take to it, he says, can undertake flight training at Kernan Valley Flying Club and eventually take a test for a microlight licence.

As the aircraft approaches solid ground I'm visibly nervous but soon pleasantly surprised by a relatively smooth landing. I thank Richard as I bundle out of the microlight and onto solid ground. "What did I tell you," he says. "You can't beat a cheap thrill like that, now can you?"