An introduction to Powered Parachuting

Have you ever dreamed that you were flying, floating in the sky, completely free, high above your worries…?
Then you might have contemplated spending thousands of dollars and countless hours to get your pilot's license, tens of thousands of dollars to buy a plane, and even more for hangar space, maintenance, fuel… Only to find that sure, this is fun, it's a great way to get around, but flying it is not all the fun you dreamed of, and it's more like driving a truck than a convertible…

Now your dream has come true.

• The experience
  In a Para-Ski powered parachute ultralight, you feel like you're floating in the air. You can fly slowly as low or as high as you want - just above the treetops or above the clouds, at more than 10000 feet. The view is unbelievable, and since a Para-Ski almost flies itself, you can relax and enjoy the experience. It flies at a constant speed of around 30 mph, so you have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.
   
• It's safe!
  Powered parachutes are the safest recreational aircraft, and we believe that the Para-Ski is the safest of them. You're flying under a parachute, after all, and there's no need to worry about it not opening since you simply cannot leave the ground if it is not fully deployed. As opposed to other aircraft, a powered parachute is almost impossible to stall. It is also inherently stable, thanks to the pendulum effect caused by the cart hanging under the parachute. This means that it actually flies itself - you can let go the controls and the powered parachute will keep flying the way you pointed it. If the engine quits, it will automatically glide safely down.
   
• It's easy!
  Powered parachutes are the easiest powered aircraft to pilot. In fact, you do not even need a pilot's license to fly one in the United States (you do need an Ultralight Pilot's license to fly one in Canada, but it is easy to obtain). You can learn to fly in a few days... Thousands have done it already, and so can you! Chances are, if you can drive a car, you can learn to fly powered parachute ultralights.
   
• It's affordable!
  A Para-Ski powered parachute will probably cost less than your family car. Its engine uses standard premium auto fuel. You do not need an airport to take-off from, a large smooth field will do. You can store it in a single-car garage and transport it in the back of any larger pick-up truck or on an inexpensive snowmobile or similar trailer.

How it flies

The parachute myth

As its name implies, a powered parachute relies on its parachute to fly. However, the term "parachute" can be misleading, since most people only associate it with descent. Maybe the term "parawing" would be more appropriate, since this kind of parachute is actually a wing, which relies on exactly the same aerodynamic principles as a conventional airplane's wing to create lift, and therefore allow the aircraft to fly. The only difference is that it is not an internal structure that gives the wing its aerodynamic profile, but rather the pressure of the air inside it. If you ever observed a parawing, you must have noticed several openings on its leading edge. When a parawing moves through the air, some of the air gets trapped into these openings and inflates the wing's cells. This is what gives the wing its required rigidity.

Manoeuvering

To turn, cables pull on either side of the parachute, which in turn creates an "air brake", slowing one side of the parachute and initiating a turn. These are controlled by the Para-Ski's foot pedals. Depressing both foot pedals at the same time will pull on both sides of the parachute. This technique is called "flaring" and it is usually done a few feet above the ground when landing, to round off the descent just before touching the ground for a smooth landing. The Para-Ski also has a unique rear rudder which helps in-flight turning, makes advanced cross-wind landing techniques possible and improves handling on water. This is controlled by the handlebar, which is also used to steer the wheels, skis or water rudders. The throttle controls engine speed which in turn controls altitude. The faster the engine turns, the faster you will climb, and if you reduce it under a certain limit you will descend. Powered parachutes actually take-off, cruise and land at a constant speed.

Take off

The parachute is first laid out on the ground behind the cart. Then the engine is started and throttled up. The forward motion and propeller blast quickly lift the parachute over the cart. When it is fully inflated and perfectly centered over the cart, more power is applied and the aircraft rises off the ground. Take-off distances are amazingly short, ranging from 50 to 300 feet, depending on the conditions and how quickly the pilot centers the parachute. The technique is almost identical on wheels or skis, except for the fact that the cart will accelerate faster on skis thanks to the reduced friction.

Water operations

Water take-offs are almost the same, but the cart floats on the water while the parachute is laid out on a beach. The take-off run is longer due to the higher drag of the floats in water. When landing, the pilot taxis the Para-Ski on water with the parachute still overhead to a suitable beach where the cart will stop so that the parachute falls on the beach. With our new retractable floats, you can take off from land, bring the floats down, and land on water, or vice-versa.