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Powered Parachute Ride

In a dramatic departure (and I hope acceptable) from our normal fixed wing stories about TEAM planes, I want to bring you a photo sequence of a powered parachute ride.

My good friend Brent Boggs, PPC pilot, is the guy who takes those fantastic photos of me that end up on this board or in aviation magazines.  In a turn-about, I am trying to give him some recognition for his type of flying.  Often Brent gives rides to other EAA members or friends, this exposes them to a type of flying they have never experienced before: VLS  (very low & slow).

This afternoon was a great day for flying in Kansas "winter"; temperature was in the low 50's, winds light and variable along with clear blue skies. Brent and friend Ron had agreed a day in advance that today would be a good one for flying.  They met at Cook Field (K50) in Rose Hill, Kansas.  Bundled up against the cold and wind in an open cockpit PPC they took off into the late afternoon sky.  I was in pursuit, this time as the camera plane instead of hunting Huns.

The photo collection below describes the afternoon's fun.  Their flight altitude ranged from just a few feet above the picked cotton and soybean fields to about 400 feet where they could begin to see the horizon's curvature. After about 20 minutes of "photo harassment" I flew off to visit a friend at Cherokee Strip (18KS). When I had returned an hour later, they were back on the ground and storing the gear.  I made a low smoking pass over them then returned to Selby Aerodrome.  My total flight time was 1.6 hours.  How refreshing!

Paul Fiebich
AirBike Ace

And a few more photos

In the sixth photo above, the shadow next to that cast by the PPC is my Airbike'S.  I was flying a perpendicular ground track to his and several hundred feet above him.  During these aerial photos, I always stayed above, behind, or to one side of Brent.  Never did I cross in front as my wake turbulance would be uncomfortable if not disruptive to his flight.  

It was a fun afternoon.

Paul Fiebich

Thanks Paul...we have about 6 that operate at Truro Flats on a regular basis.....we call them... flying bra's....or wobbly wings...or flying jellyfish.

They are always slow....! and take off can be exciting when the weather is less than perfect.

regards Arthur

Thats a neat post; thanks Paul.

those are where i started with my actual avitaion (not counting all the rc planes) and i can tell you they are amazing to fly and like nothing else. if you have not yet paul you need to go for a ride with them. i have also flown at a few feet above the crops but me and my friends would also climb up 3000-4000 feet over his field and then cut off the engines and just float slowly back down to earth. from that altitude it would take 10 minutes or more. at that time we would either flare for landing or reach back to the pull start and fire it back and climb back up and do it all over again. there is nothing like being up 4000 feet floating so gently and slowly along with the only sound being the wind.

The wonderful moments of early morning or late afternoon flights. And the wonder of nature you can see...

Quoted from pkoszegi The wonderful moments of early morning or late afternoon flights. And the wonder of nature you can see...

Wow... I didn't know Paul did on camera porn

Hey, that's not me or my photo.

Paul

Hey Paul,

Great pictures. Never thought about flying a PPC but this thread sure makes it sound interesting. My bucket list includes flying anything I can get my hands on before my last breath.
Gary

Gary,

Not sure where you are located but if you get to North Carolina you are welcome to come fly my PPCs.  I have several you can try out.

Tim A.

careful tim, you might get a whole bunch of us on your doorstep with an offer like that. it been about 2.5 years since i been up in one and i do miss it at times. definately a totally different kind of flying but a very enjoyable kind when the weather is right. what kind do you fly? i had a homebuilt (someone else built and flew before me) that was a cross between a buckeye sixchuter they called a buckshoot and i flew a friends harmenings a few times.

It is an open ended offer to anyone on the forum....

I have a few different models.  I personally fly an AFU Big Dawg, a 2011 Infinity Commander 582, and a Destiny ST single-seater (no riders allowed).  I have at least two other airframes I am refurbishing.

Tim A.

Tim,
I appreciate the most generous offer. Steadman is a pretty long way from my location but "occasionally" I get close to you when I visit my grand kids in Elizabeth City. I travel I-40 to Raleigh and then hit Hwy 64 on out. When I worked (dirty word) Fayetteville was one of my area's of responsibility so I am familiar with your area. If I get the chance I will give you a shout and plan a visit. Thanks again.
Gary

p.s. you sure do have a lot of "toy's".  You must believe in that old axiom "He who dies with the most toys wins." LOL

here is me right after my first solo in a PPC (or any other aircraft for that matter)

I'm not winning yet....

Tim A.

Nice photo of you and your flying machine Jake.  Must have been a few years ago.  Nice sunset photo Pkoszegi, that is the most peaceful time of the day.  Flying in the morning is a great time too, trouble is sunrise is so damned early! Nice photos of your 'chute and flying Tim, those things are just so eye appealing one can't help but want to fly in one.

And finally David, yes I have had a ride in Brent's PPC.  He took me up about a year ago in the early evening.  Our flight ranged from cottin' pickin' height to about 1000 where we spiraled down through ouR own wake, climbed again then shut off the engine and listened to the corn grow and the parachute fabric flap.  An amazing experience!  Glad to see the interest other TEAM guys have in flying the PPCs.  Your postings have given us a little broader view of your interests.

Paul Fiebich

Iteresting to see that some of your ppcs are really overpowered compare to the maxes....

Wrong...there is no such thing as being overpowered in a PPC.  Maybe you are comparing the engine/power required to fly a PPG to the engine/power required to fly a PPC??  If so you are not comparing apples to apples.

Tim A.

like tim said but also if you think a max is draggy try pulling a 500 square foot chute through the air, especially when first kiting the chute and all extra power can give you is a better climb rate as a chute flies only at one speed, usually around 28 mph. when you add more power you still go foward at only 28 mph, but because the cart is trying to go faster it causes the whole thing to pitch up and that is how you climb. they are the easiest form of flying there is. to go up add power, to fly level lower power, to decend lower power more, to turn right push with right foot, to turn left push with left foot and to land you arrest your decent rate with power or flaring the chute by pushing both feet out or a combination of the two.

Thunder,
Thanks for the flying lesson. Bet the PPC would be a lot of fun down here in the foothills of the Smokies.