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This page is devoted to the inspirational words of PPC pilots - both new & old, who express their feelings - like children on Christmas morning - about powered parachute flight! If you pilot a powered parachute, and you would like to share the exhilaration of this form of flight, please email us at info@SkyTrailsRanch.com with "Feelings of Flight" as the subject - those who have yet had the remarkable opportunity to experience such joy may appreciate your insight into this incredible sport!
I thought you might be interested in knowing that yesterday and today I flew customers for "Zions Bank Customer Appreciation Week" There were probably twenty five people who received introductory flights at no cost to them. The highlight of my day though was a 97 year old man, who could hardly walk, wanted to fly. He had been watching us with one of his long time friends from a truck on a dirt road next to the field we were in. He stepped out of the truck and announced that he would love to try that. I was impressed by the boldness that this gentleman showed by his statement and for his desire to try something new at his age. At age 97 this man was not done living and experiencing life. I feel that this is a lesson to all of us. I agreed to fly him.
His friend drove him out to the plane in his truck. He said, "My legs don't work very well." We helped him into the PPC, I gave him a few instructions and we took off. He had a smile from ear to ear. He wanted to fly over his home in Gunnison. While we were flying, his dear wife had been called on the phone and asked to step outside and look up. She was told that one of the people flying in that PPC was her 97 year old husband. I can almost hear her saying, that rascal, what kind of mischief is he up to now. As we were flying over his home, his dear wife came outside and waived to him for all she was worth. Then when the meager waive didn't seem to be enough, she started waiving with her cane, to make sure he would see her. I can only begin to imagine what was going through his mind.
When we landed, he looked like a little boy who had been taken to the candy store. He said, "That was one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done.
I sit here and think of how fortunate I am to be able to experience the joy of flying. I am grateful for having been able to share that experience with a man of who has seen more, lived more and experienced many more things than I can possible imagine. Let us all remember and be grateful for each new day that comes and the experiences that await us.
Gratefully yours, Joseph Shelley Extreme_recreation@hotmail.com
Subject: My Epiphany
From: Frank H. Weeden <fisacorp@United.Net> Sent: April 2nd, 2001 Subject: FLYING
Never
has anything ever grabbed my attention in such an overwhelming
manner. I’ve
wanted to do this all my life, and I have dreamed of this since I
was a small child. Every waking moment is consumed with
thinking about flying. When I close my eyes at night, I practice
shooting approaches and touch-and-goes in my mind’s eye. When
I’m asleep, I dream of flying. When I wake up, the first
thought on my mind is flying. When I’m driving to work, I keep
looking at the pastures and fields on the way and thinking,
“Yeah... That’s a good one. I could fly out of that,” or,
“No... Too narrow, too rocky, too many powerlines.” When
I’m sitting on the field, warming the engine up, putting on my
helmet, strapping myself in, there is the adrenaline rush where I
feel slightly apprehensive, wondering if I have remembered
everything, if I have set the chute out correctly, and at the
same time, knowing that I have. Then there is the next rush of
adrenaline as I roll the power to max, the chute billowing up
behind me and then kiting overhead, the engine roaring as I begin
my take-off roll. My stomach is all butterflies as I watch the
chute, looking at the cells and the arc of the wing. All the
bumpiness abruptly fades as I leave the ground. I can hardly
believe that I am really flying! The next adrenaline rush is
knowing that I am actually airborne, climbing, seeing the sky
turning a dusty rose color in the west, watching deer running out
of the treeline below, and climbing still higher, until the cars
and people all look like miniature toys. Leveling out and soaring
around, changing altitude, the engine purrs and the wind sings.
At once, I take a look at myself in my mind’s eye, and realize
how unusual this little craft is, and how it looks like something
out of a Japanese cartoon, or some fantastic story. Gradually
descending, the field I launched from looks like a postage stamp.
I lose more altitude until I am circling over it. I turn for the
final leg and pull the throttle back to nearly idle, dropping
swiftly and then adding a blast of throttle back in to counteract
the sink, feeling the lightness and heaviness of my body in the
seat, feeling the tug of the chute as I reduce my downward slope
and begin flaring. Descending to three feet, two feet, pushing a
little more flare, and touching down with a whisper as I quickly
cut the engine and grab my steering lines to drop the chute.
Then, with a sigh of exhilaration, I pack everything up, roll the
plane back into the garage, and go in the house to hug and kiss
my wife, telling her how very grateful I am that she has helped
my dream come true.
From: Gary Fisher <Gary_Fisher@bc.com> Sent: Friday, November 17, 2000 Subject: Best moments in a PPC flight I always feel butterflies as I'm buckled up, revved up, and ready for takeoff. But my favorite moment comes just seconds later as I clear the ground and leap upward at full throttle. All at once, my formerly flat
world becomes three dimensional. I'm actually flying... and all the butterflies are gone.
Now I'm free. I can fly low and slow, or climb to dizzying heights. I turn off my engine and soar like a hawk above the other birds, with only the whoosh of the wind surrounding me.
After floating from heaven back down to earth, I roll to a stop . Now even the wind is still. All is peaceful and quiet. As the adrenaline leaves my body, I melt into the seat. For a moment, I can only feel privileged to be living one of mankind's greatest dreams.
Then I give my wife a kiss of overwhelming gratitude for letting me have this experience, which I cannot express in words.
Gary Fisher
From: "Pete Contenta" <contenta@wt.net> Sometimes, after a flight, I look to the heavens and thank God for granting me life to live in this time and place! I often just shake my head in amazement over what has just taken place. Be Safe Pete
From: "Q" <Q@powerchutes.com> Subject: Re: Best and worst moment in a flight An appropriate Thanksgiving message! How fortunate we all are to be able to enjoy flying these amazing machines. My most nervous moments are when the carbs are icing up and I'm looking for a place to land. Best moments are when I'm totally involved in floating through the spectacular scenery, not even conscious of the fact that I'm piloting a machine. Q
From: "John Wards" <jwards-olp@olp.net> Subject: Nice Flight I tinkered with my SR1 during the morning, watching the weather improve as I got it ready for an afternoon flight. When we had finished lunch, I gathered all my flight gear and an extra set of glove liners. My hands had been all that got cold during my last flight. There was a soccer tournament underway at the soccer fields across from our home so I had to wait for traffic before I could push the bird to the field and of course, when the folks saw the machine by the side of the road, traffic slowed even more. I finally got a break in traffic and rolled the machine down to the entrance of the field where I started it and taxied out to the west end of the field and turned toward the east, into a slight breeze that was barely moving the windsock. After warming the engine I dumped the chute from the bag and spread it out in my normally accordion style then broke into a heavy sweat as I finished putting on the rest of my gear. I usually over-dress but I don't like to fly cold. Once I was completely dressed, I strapped into the plane and called my wife, Llona, on the radio, to tell her I was ready to go. She wished me good luck and told me to be careful and I assured her I would and fired the engine. After a few seconds to let the engine smooth out a bit, I opened the throttle and started rolling. The chute came up and centered but the left end cells were stubborn about opening. I pumped the steering tube lightly and the cells inflated and after a quick glance to check the lines I went to full throttle and the little SR1 carried me quickly to a few hundred feet as I turned off to the north to avoid over flying the soccer games. When I reached the river I turned back east to follow it downstream for awhile and leveled off at about 500'. As I flew, I watched the flocks of birds gathered on the sandbars; fewer now that we've had rains and the river is carrying more water than it has been for the last few months. I saw two bald eagles who nest a few miles from our home and watched them as they flew wide circles, watching me. I finally arrived near the Binney's sod farm and throttled back to make a low pass but when I closed in on the house and passed by, I realized they weren't there. The Binney's are the owner's of the newest SR7 in our area. I continued east and climbed to get enough altitude to cross the river again. I was now headed for Blue Springs sod farms. These are the fields that two more of my flying buddies use but no one was in sight although in a field about a half mile south, I could see a group of radio controlled sailplane pilots doing their thing. I stayed plenty clear and watched them as I made a wide turn back to the west and toward home but instead of following the same course back, I turned just a little south and flew down by Leonard before turning again to the west. A few red-tailed hawks flew nearby and then tucked their wings and flew away like small missiles. Bixby was about 3 miles away now so I pushed the throttle forward just enough to start a slow climb. By the time I passed north of the soccer fields, I was at 1500' and feeling chilly. I flew a giant circle around the city and then turned north again, crossing the river on my way to check a field where I hoped to find one more flyer but when I arrived, there were no trucks, trailers or PPCs to be found. I turned back to the south and crossed the river again, this time bearing a bit to the southwest and heading out over the prairie. After flying another 7 miles or so I came to the trailer house where an old friend lives and I throttled back to drop down and see if anyone was home. I have flown over this guys place many times since I got my PPC but this was the first time I caught him at home. As I approached, I saw him come out of his RV trailer and begin to wave frantically. I used to fly with this fellow when I had my old f/w ultralight. I had never landed at this location before but I could see he had a strip mowed in the backyard. The strip went through a gate and out into the pasture next to the house. As I made a low pass and watched him throw dry grass into a slight northwest breeze, I also got sight of his little Kitten ultralight in the hangar. The Kitten is an ultralight (fat) version of a J-3 Piper Cub. The strip looked pretty good and he looked really anxious for me to stop and visit so I made one more circuit and landed in his backyard. As I unbuckled and climbed out, I saw him and his brother and 3 of his nephews headed toward me. We had a good visit and I was really glad I stopped. It seems he has had to sell his place and probably will have to sell the Kitten because of a nasty divorce. I asked him what his plans were and he said he was going to live in his RV trailer for awhile and had assumed he wouldn't be flying but after looking over the little Six Chuter, he quickly decided he had found his next flying machine. Isn't this a wonderful sport? Before long, I told him I had better get going before Llona started worrying about me and we said goodbye. He promised to stay in touch and I hope he does. I got ready to fly again and started the engine. I was hoping to launch before reaching his first fence but the chute did what they always seem to do when you want them to come up quickly and it refused to do so. I changed course about 20º to the right and lined up with the gate. A touch more throttle and a few pumps on the steering bars and the chute popped up full and centered. I eased back on the throttle to keep us from flying while I taxied through the gate and out into the pasture and onto the rest of his mowed strip where I turned back a few degrees left and opened throttle. The wheels leapt from the ground and away we went. I circled back and candy bombed the youngsters before waving farewell and turning for home. As I approached Bixby I called Llona and told her I was coming home and all was well. I flew around the city one more time and then did a half dozen touch and goes before landing and packing up the machine. I'm still grinning. :) John Wards Bixby, OK
From: pklltg@aol.com Subject: Best and worst moment in a flight Speaking of Best moments: I went out to the ultralight field yesterday around 3:00, tinkered with hooking up a separate antenna for my transceiver and putting those line tightners on my steering lines. I pushed the Buckeye out of the hangar 50' to the middle of the field and began to warm her up. The wind was blowing at 10 to 12 mph and variable, temp was 56 degrees. The warm-up went fine but I was wondering if the wind was going to cooperate. I figured I might as well lay out the chute and check the lines and see what happens. By the time I had everything ready it was now 4:30pm and sunset was at 4:50 the wind had backed off to about 8 to 9 mph right down the runway. I added half power and the chute came right up the end cells did not inflate so I gave it a little pump and they opened right up, I slowly increased power and lifted off in a very controlled ascent. The air was totally stable as I flew around the pattern I had recently installed the lynx intercom system so I called the tower and asked for a radio check, after a slight pause they came back "loud and clear" (Yeah). Now I tried my CD player through the intercom, and I was jamming to the sounds of Jimmy Buffet. Next I tried my line tightners and they held the chute right were you put them. I did two touch and goes, each landing with the wind steady at about 5 mph the landings were so slow and so gentle it felt like a dream, I came around for one more and landed in the field right next to my hanger. I went to idle killed the power and dropped the chute perfectly behind me. It was so serene and dreamlike, but it was real, all my little toys and additions to the Buckeye worked perfectly.
It was not a long flight but it was the kind of flight, why we all fly powered parachutes.
Evan
From:
DMiller779@aol.com Subject:
Re: First solo and a special thanks Congratulations
Jimmy… I
wasn't really comfortable in flying for about 20 hours. After that I
really began to trust the strength of my machine and concentrate on my
flying. It was 70 hours before I quit having new learning experiences
on every flight! Back then there was no real instruction to speak of
so with all the input and pilots willing to help now, you will progress much
faster. The earlier hours are magical, so savor them.
I
still get a little funny exhilarating feeling in my stomach if I allow a week
or 2 between flights so that may stay with you...and it's part of the fun. Fly
Safe, Doug
Date: (could
have been yesterday) I love to fly! My vehicle of choice is a
Buckeye powered parachute. This machine is easy to fly, combines the
pleasure of soaring like a bird, the comfort of an easychair and views that
can't be beat! Imagine yourself hundreds of feet above the
ground, the feel of the morning air caressing your face - no blast of air
here, you fly at about 30 mph. You prefer a closer view? Drop
down to see what the rabbits are up to!! Follow the contours of the
ground or soar with the birds - it's up to you!
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