By Kristy How 

The recreational category could set a benchmark for human relations around the world. It has no prejudices. It doesn’t matter if you are fast or slow, fabric or metal. As long as you are reasonably small, light, and engine powered, you can be in recreational aviation.

Under RA-Aus there are over 9200 members flying things home built, factory built or either of the former bought second hand. Increasingly it’s the factory built aircraft that are more often chosen.

During the last few years there has been a 10% shift away from home-built towards factory-built aircraft. Oddly enough this doesn’t mean that the aircraft are becoming more complex. Quite the contrary.  The biggest growth in factory built RA-Aus registered aircraft is the trikes and chutes category, under CAO 95.32.

The chutes are always the most intriguing to those already participating in aviation. Trikes make a fair bit of sense, but if you’ve never looked at the workings of a parachute before you could be forgiven for being a little reluctant to investigate. After all they do look a bit like a giant flying tea bag or go-kart.  But clearly someone thinks this is a great idea.

Aerochute are the guys bringing powered parachuting to dizzying heights in Australia. The Aerochute Dual is a simple and safe way to fly.  It’s a two seater powered parachute designed specifically with safety and ease of operation in mind.  It is designed to be virtually stall and spin resistant and in the case of an engine failure it simply lands as safely as a parachute would.

The Aerochute takes off with the parachute laid out carefully behind it.  Once the engine is started the propeller blows into the canopy, inflating it and the whole thing takes off within 10 - 15m.  Climbing and descending is controlled by using power through a foot throttle.  Steering toggles (similar to parachutists) are used to turn left and right.  Landing is achieved by backing the power off and flaring the parachute just above the ground.

The parachute is a 15 cell Ram Air canopy of about 370 square feet, made of a rip stop nylon.  The engine is a Rotax 503 two stroke.  It puts out a modest 52hp but drives a 3 blade propeller and gives plenty of grunt for the task at hand.  Fuel capacity is 30L which in the Aerochute Duals case means up to two hours flight time.

Another chute on the market in the Summit Powered Parachute. It’s an overseas manufacture and differs a little to the Aussie Aerochute. The Summit is remarkably unusual due to the sliding rudder pedal-like foot controls used to steer the canopy. It’s also a true two seat placement that has pilot and passenger sit tandem in separate seats.

At first glance there doesn’t seem to be any use for a powered parachute. What can you do with a small engine, a seat and a parachute all tied together with lots of string? The first thing you can do is have a lot of fun, and it doesn’t matter where you live. Powered Parachutes take off and land in such short distances that almost any small paddock will do for everyday operations, given some safety precautions. Because of this there are many land owners who are taking advantage of the affordability and portability of powered parachutes for matters of fun.

At the business end of things Powered Parachutes do have practical uses. One of those is aerial mustering. Farmer Joe can round up the heard, inspect fences and any other matter of aerial surveillance, and with a parachute it can be done at sensibly low speeds and altitudes. Most farmers would find the cost of a powered parachute and the relative ease of use appealing in an Australian landscape where everyone is tightening the purse strings and looking for more efficient ways to do business.

Like Trikes, the one way that a powered chute differs from most other powered aircraft is in its exposure of the pilot to the rawest elements. In order to overcome this prospective chute pilots will need to consider some warm and woollies along with a safety helmet. Popular choices are refrigeration style suits and winter motorcycling clothing. In order to have some communications in flight the pilot must also have a hard helmet which can facilitate use of a headset and microphone boom.

The powered chute is inherently safe because the airframe is suspended below the wing, giving the system what is called ‘pendulum stability.’ For example, if a gust of wind swings the airframe out to one side in flight, gravity will swing it back into position below the centre of the wing. This action will keep the wing level; and this is why a powered parachute will fly straight ahead with no attention from the pilot.

It’s not all left to the breeze though. Controls allow turns whenever the pilot wants. Simply applying pressure to a foot pedal will guide the vehicle away from the ‘straight and narrow path’ it tries to maintain. In addition, the wing is designed to always fly at the same angle of attack. This means that a powered parachute will always fly at basically the same airspeed. If the pilot increases power, the vehicle climbs and increases altitude; at an intermediate setting it will cruise at level flight; and, if power is decreased, it will gently descend and land. With only left and right steering and up and down controls, the vehicle is very easy to fly.

The wonderful thing about aircraft like the powered parachute is that they are bringing the thrill back to flying. When you first embark on a powered parachute flight you feel like a real adventurer and a bit of a risk taker. Once you are in the air you realise that you are witness to something special, an experience that feels close to motorcycling in the sky.

The best way to get introduced to the sport of powered parachuting is to spend some time with a dealer or instructor and go for an introductory tandem flight. Though with the rate these awesome little machines are gaining popularity you might want to get in quick.