"Powered Parachute Commandments"

In the beginning… (You may remember that…) the earth cooled, the dinosaurs came, the dinosaurs ruled, the dinosaurs died. Then Mankind took the reigns of Earth. Mankind – via religious inspirations - then devised a set of rules by which a nation, a society, should live by in order to continue to grow and prosper. Mankind’s humanity & technologies then grew – providing us with the ability to go to the Moon.

Now, somewhere between that first reproduction of a life-form on Earth, and the visit of men to the moon – the powered parachute was created. And since we can look back and see that Mankind’s laws allowed for such incredible growth and accomplishments – mostly by abiding and enforcing those rules – it only follows that to accomplish the same growth and prosperity - the Powered Parachute world should also abide by a set of golden rules. Therefore, by the power of the pen (as opposed to the finger of God on tablets) I propose the following set of Powered Parachute COMMANDMENTS.

Or more simply put: Know why your craft flies the way it flies. Know how your PPC flies without input. Know how it flies in calm air. Know how your craft handles different types of turbulence. Know how to stabilize your flight path through the turbulence. And know how each control, each movement affects your aircraft.

The fundamentals of powered parachute flight are:

Ø While airborne, changes in Propeller RPM directly affect changes in AOA (Angle Of Attack)

Ø Increasing the throttle – drives the cart forward – changing the AOA – causing the PPC to climb

Ø Decreasing the throttle – allows the cart to settle under the wing – changing the AOA – allowing the PPC to descend

Ø Due to the pendulum of the cart under the wing, there is a delay between the throttle (RPM) changes and the AOA changes (usually a second or two)
Note: This delay is far more noticeable when increasing the RPM to move the weighted cart upward against gravity, and forward of the wing

Ø More throttle does not equate to more airspeed. An initial increase in throttle may swing the cart forward, under the wing and through the pendulum curve, but it does not significantly increase the speed of the relative wind over the wing. The weight of the cart is primarily responsible for the airspeed of the PPC. That is why you do not notice airspeed changes when the engine is shut-down in flight.

Ø The Lighter your cart (total weight under the wing)…

Ø The slower your airspeed

Ø The more agile your maneuvers

Ø The slower your descent

Ø The Heavier your cart (total weight under the wing)…

Ø The faster your airspeed

Ø The more stable will be your flight

Ø The more effort will be required for your maneuvers

Ø The faster your descent

Ø There are 3 ways to turn your PPC

Ø Creating Drag on the trailing edge of your wing. This is the normal way of steering the PPC. The usually manner is to press a foot pedal or steering bar with your leg muscles.

Ø Weight shift. Now the powered parachute will not turn ‘on-a-dime’ this way, but indeed it will turn

Ø Via the torque of the engine. Engine RPM’s create propeller torque which will tend to turn the nose of the PPC in the opposite direction. (If your pusher prop turns clockwise, then increasing the RPM will tend to turn your PPC to the left.)

Ø Gross weight of the cart & occupants is the primarily airspeed engine. The drag of the wing is also a strong influence on the airspeed of the PPC.

Preflight
Before each and every flight a thorough preflight should be preformed by the pilot. It is crucial to make a conscientious preflight, your consistent 1st step. And please note that this preflight does not start with the plane. It must start with the pilot. The following is a brief example of a starting preflight check. Note however, that the preflight does NOT end, until the wing is built during your "rolling" preflight, and is always completed before take-off (that’s why they call it a PRE-flight).

Ø PILOT – You – Yourself – the guy or gal that is about to fly the aircraft!

o Awake? Focused?

o Attitude check – how are you feeling – Life is Good – RIGHT!

o Drugs: Eight hours bottle-to-throttle

o Clothes: Nothing lose; nothing that could get caught on the cart

o Accessories: Are they secure – we don’t want anything (gloves, hats) going through your prop

Ø NOTAM’s – (NOtice To AirMen): You did call WX-BRIEF (800-992-7433) and check on these before leaving for the field – right? Be aware that the freedoms of flight over areas that we use to take for granted (before 9/11) are now ‘hot’ zones

o Power Plants

o Reservoirs

o Near Special Events

Ø The WEATHER

o Current Conditions

o Forecast Conditions

o Winds - Are they within your limits? Will they stay there?

Ø The FIELD Condition

o Rocks, gullies, debris

o Wind Rotor obstacles – Trees, Buildings (mechanical turbulence factors)

o Take-Off Options?
You must always maintain a position with options!
And if you have not recently used this field – put on those walkin’ shoes, cause you want to know, you want to be absolutely sure there is not hidden debris or holes lying under the cover of the grass or vegetation.

Now, to da’ plane…

Ø Verify the AIRCRAFT’S SOUNDNESS and its state of airborne readiness

o Mechanical: Nuts, bolts, joints, rivets, welds – make a least one hands-on, one real strong ‘touchy-feelly’ pass around your craft. Do a lot of grabbin’ and shakin’.

o Electrical: Switches, lights, instruments, magentos

o Propeller

· Clean

· Chip Free

· Leading Edge Tape?

o Fluids: Fuel, Oil, Water

o Tires

Ø WING CONDITION

o Fabric clean of debris

o Lines & attachment points; all visible and clean of debris

Ø RADIO CHECK

o LISTEN FIRST! Verifiy that the channel is clear.

o Check that communications with the Instructor are clear?

Ø STRAP-IN (get comfortable)

o Can you still reach all of the controls?

o Could you find all the controls with your eyes closed?

 

A good pre-flight does not have to take a long time; it just has to be conscientious and it should always involve a CHECKLIST! So, the point is:

Now for those of you, who insist on being human, and therefore too lazy to create a personal powered parachute checklist sheet, let me offer a beginning one that contains ten items – which can correspond to fingers - that most of us are still blessed with (unless of course you went through that ‘trial-and-error’ Carpenter course one too many times) to carry with us – all the time!

Please note, that the last 3 items (last 3 fingers on the right hand) are done
during the rolling preflight.

Avoid complacency – Stay Aware!

NEVER underestimate the Weather. Be able to work with the wind or leave the flying for another day! Never overestimate the amount of gas you have left. Never assume a clean field ahead. And don’t let the simplicity of flying a PPC lull you into the dangerous position of complacency!

This commandment also means not to be distracted while you are flying the aircraft. Don’t let your mind wonder too far from the controls and the flight path ahead by things like…

the beauty of the landscape below

the incredible wildlife that just came into view

the conversation with your 2nd-seat ‘student’

the troubles you left behind, on the ground

Note: As an instructor, complacency is usually my biggest fear. After two weeks of flying a powered parachute, a new student no longer "thinks" to fly the craft. By this point in his learning, the new PIC (Pilot-In-Command) just looks at an object, and the intuitive nature of the PPC then just seems to take-over, and the craft automatically moves the pilot towards his focus. It is usually at this point that those "invisible, sneaky, evil seeking" power lines get their chance to approach your aircraft unnoticed. Stay diligent! Stay aware. And always, always maintain a flight path with options!

Because of the nature of the human beings on this planet, Instructors need to persistently enforce strong, solid, safe habits on new students – especially in creating a stable wing. A ram-air wing needs to be shaped into a perfect wing each time (before take-ff) from that ‘bed-sheet’ that lays behind the PPC. Everytime, everytime before the wheels leave the ground a wing LOC (Lines are clear and unrestricted, the cells are all Open, and the wing is Centered) must be verified. Why would a PPC pilot ever want to assume that their wing is built and it is safe to go airborne without visual verification?

I have no idea! But I see it at every PPC event – I see it way too often! And not just by new pilots – but by, UFI’s, BFI’s. What is the deal people? Do we really need another immediately gratification (to be airborne) that we cannot take 3-seconds to scan our wing? This is why the majority of accidents occur during the take-off of a powered parachute. And yet still I hear immediate full throttles during the take-off roll, from startup to lift-off. Without that throttle pause, that reduction of RPM’s during the rolling preflight, that allow the pilot (and craft) to stay on the ground long enough to look up, and verify that the wing is built correctly (i.e., verifying a wing LOC).

Once the wing is built properly, loaded and the PPC leaves the ground, we get to fly perhaps the safest aircraft ever invented. But you have got to build that wing FIRST – before you leave the ground.

During your ROLLING-PREFLIGHT – get a wing LOC before EVERY take-off.

L: Lines clear and unrestricted

O: All the cells are Open, and

C: Wing is Centered overhead

[I have stated this enough yet. If you promise me that it is now in your head forever and that before every take-off you promise to verify that wing, then I promise to move on…put this horse to rest, so to speak…just as soon as I finish this one more related thought…]

Remember, this wing verification includes Touch, Taxi & Goes (TTG’s). That why these are not just ‘touch & goes’ (TG’s) for powered parachutes. Every PPC landing, every time those cute little wheels under your ram-air wing of yours touch the ground you MUST verify that LOC of the wing before going airborne again! But why? - You ask naively. Because if you touch down in a crosswind or land a little harder than your usually ‘greased’ landing then you risk the chance of losing that loaded, cleanly inflated wing of yours. So please, take this advice from this ‘ole’ man and check your wing, verify you have wing LOC before you go airborne each and every time. THANK YOU.

 

Know your limitations

When I say "know your limitation", what I mean is don’t guess at them. Don’t think you can perform a specific flight maneuver until you – KNOW YOU CAN! FEAR the thought, "I think I can". Until you "know you can"-- DON’T, just don’t! And yes, you will hear that little thought, you will hear that little devil sitting on your one shoulder say "I think you can do it". As soon as you hear that voice, STOP! And then reposition yourself and the aircraft to take another flight path option.

There is NEVER a need for an EMERGENCY TAKE-OFF!

Adhere to your THREE "GO / NO GO" points - don’t pass ‘em! "Three ‘GO / NO GO’ points - What are you talking about", you say. Well then, let me explain.

"GO / NO GO" point #1: If anything feels "wrong" during your preflight, whether is starts with a ‘gut-feeling’ or you are unsure if you have a friction knot in your lines during your initial wing inflation, or anything in-between then SHUT-IT DOWN! You can always go fly another day. Your preflight is done just for this reason. Give your preflight the respect it deserves. If an area of the preflight does not pass standards, then it is a NO-fly situation.

Please let me expand a little on this "feels wrong" thing in the first line of this paragraph. It has always amazed me that your species (humans) have such an incredible ability to sense trouble. Call it intuition or ESP or whatever it is that allows Mankind to sense uneasiness during or previous to an event, and yet you ignore this tremendous gift. But just take a minute and question yourself – how many times have your felt this way before doing something – but you did it anyway – something goes wrong - then you tell yourself afterwards – "I knew I shouldn’t have done that". Even if you think these thoughts are "silly" – would it cost so much in time and energy, to just verify everything is OK – just one more time? Or perhaps just rethink all of your intentions when you get that ‘uneasy’ feeling in your gut.

If in doubt – don’t go out! You know the saying, "Better for anyone to be on the Ground - wishing to be in the air, then in the air and wishing to be on the ground!"

"GO / NO GO" point #2: During your preflight you should mark a mental point on the field that you pre-determine that by that point, you should be airborne for a safe take-off. Then during your take-off roll – after you have completed your rolling preflight – and you give ‘her’ full take-off power, make sure that you have not passed that mental point where your wheels should have left the ground. If you pass that point and you are not off the ground - then SHUT-IT DOWN!

"GO / NO GO" point #3: The last of the 3 points has to due with gaining altitude. It is not always enough to just be ‘off-the-ground’. You need to verify that you are climbing at a rate that will allow you to safely clear any obstacles around the field. You may be surprised at how infuriating and rudely effective wind rotors over tree lines can be at keeping you down, and at preventing you from obtaining an adequate climb rate. So, bottom line, this "GO / NO GO" point should be far enough from the end of the field that if you need to SHUT-IT DOWN, you can still safely put the craft back on the ground.

Don’t fly over anything that you can’t land on

Considering your altitude and glide slope, you always want to maintain landing options. And that is what I mean by "Don’t fly over anything that you can’t land on". So, yes you can fly over the lake, as long as you are certain you can safely make it to an uninhabited section of shoreline, sure the engine fail. [Note: Water landings are not fun – make sure your can make it to the shore!]

Remember one of the first things that you read in your engine manual: "This is NOT a certified engine – this engine will quit at anytime". Well, they weren’t kidding (and considering the complacency of fuel checks, previous and during flight) your engine really could stop at anytime. So stay high enough to have at least one landing site in mind. Then, when the engine stops, you can indeed just fly the aircraft FIRST – and then fly the aircraft to one of your PRE-selected landing locations. Also remember, that the terrain of your landing site is far more important than the wind direction at that site. So if you have a choice of landing locations – pick the one with the safest terrain for landing.

ALTITUDE is your friend! Yes indeed, the higher you are the more time you have to prepare, to setup for your emergency landing and the more landing site options become available to you. And yes I also know that powered parachute pilots love the ability to fly low. Just remember maintaining a possible emergency landing site strongly increases your chances of a safe landing. So once again, please - don’t fly over anything that you can’t land on – considering your altitude & glide slope.

Adhere to a Flight Code

Adhere to a code of flight integrity that you believe in, a code that will consistently steer you to the right decision: [Gee – just like these PPC Commandments]. But even more than these commandments – adhere to a flight code that will dictate not just when ‘to fly’, but also when…

To educate other pilots.
Are you sure that you just want to ignore the unsafe antics of that new pilot in the area? No one wants a confrontation with another human being – that would not be politically correct (and yes I am being facetious here). However, educating does not mean that a confrontation has to take place. You can be more tactful than that. Besides, are you sure that his antics are not going to directly affect you ‘down-the-road’?

To Endorse
So often in the powered parachute community we develop friendships - especially between Instructor and Student. Then comes the time that our new friend needs to complete his UFI/BFI application. This will be a tuff time for you if his skills are minimal but his intent is strong to get his UFI/BFI documentation. Bottom line: Would you put your kids in his 2^nd seat? And would your new friend really respect a decision to endorse his application without the merit behind it? Spend some more time training him if there is any question to his skills & knowledge. Make sure your friend is ready for the exemption responsibilities – have your signature stand behind your integrity.

To Ground!
Now you have become an UFIE or AFI. You witnessed repeat offenses, not just to the exemption, but to safety. You have taken time to educate (or more hopefully re-educate) the Student/UFI/BFI (whoever) and yet they ignore your advice. They are now putting other people, other pilots in jeopardy. You need to act – if you value the status of your UFIE/AFI certification then you need to take stronger steps to prevent his unsafe actions. Indeed, perhaps he will still fly if his waiver/exemption was revoked – but could you be comfortable with your decision not to interfere, and then he did injure someone?

We talked earlier about landing options, but it is also important to always maintain a position with flight path options. Before you get yourself caught between two canyon walls that are too narrow to make a 180° turn, and therefore cut yourself down to just one option – climbing out of the canyon, make real sure (i.e., KNOW YOU CAN) climb and clear the canyon walls. If you can keep you mind two or three maneuvers ahead of your current position, then you will be at the ‘top-of-the-class’. And more importantly, you will become one of those old pilots that can then tell the stories of the ‘bold’ pilots for a long, long time. Once again, always maintain a flight path with options!

Don’t stop learning

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE <> PREPARE, APPLY, REHEARSE!

[Note: One of the reasons that I write these articles is that these encravings always remind me of how much more there is to learn. And our minds only get old when we lose that desire to keep improving, to keep learning.]

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Last modified: Friday May 30, 2008.