Buckeye Dream Machine 582E
| Here 16 year old Fred is in Lincoln University, PA, near Longwood Gardens on a breezy day in December, flying in a Buckeye Powered Parachute for his first Instructional Pilot's Lesson. Powered Parachutes are very safe, the chute is ALWAYS open and even if the engine quits, it just safely floats slowly back to the ground for a controlled landing. This Flight is a slightly belated birthday present and somewhat of a surprise to Fred. |
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After first warming up the Buckeye by driving it around with the chute still in the chute bag, Ted the instructor goes over the method of spreading out the chute and unzipping the line socks covers that protect the many lines which support the Buckeye in flight. Fred already has his helmet adjusted and microphone in place, now all he needs to do is plug it in the communications junction box after getting seated. |
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Here
Fred
is buckling into the upper seat. He has full control of the parachute steering
and throttle from there. The man in the red jacket is the flight instructor
Ted from Para-Flying, Inc. who also has a full set of controls and can
easily show Fred how to fly this wonderful machine. You can see the chute
in the background lifting off the ground as the wind begins to gust.
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Fred's grinning ear to ear anticipating his first instructional flight. In the background Ted is pulling the chute out and nearly ready for take off. The winds are picking up and it's bound to be a blustery ride. All buckled in and wearing his communications helmet, Fred is very ready to go up, up and away! |
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Finally the engine is throttled up and the Buckeye pulls forward, the chute lifts over head and Fred is air born flying into a brisk wind and heading out over beautiful open farm country. Notice a second photographer capturing Fred's first flight in the lower left corner of this photo. |
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It's a THUMBS UP signal as Fred passes over head on his way up even higher into a clear blue sky. The Buckeye can fly very high (over 10,000 feet) but on this initial flight Fred will get to see the countryside from a respectable 450 feet above ground level as he make his way over farm fields, Route 1, ponds, streams and a whole lot of cows in the Brandywine River Valley. |
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Here using my 10 power zoom is Fred up about 450 feet flying over this beautiful Pennsylvania farm land. He kept air born more than a half hour, logging in more than 15 miles total flight into his very own Pilot's Logbook. Fred and Ted flew over Tracey and John half a dozen times, waving and shouting how great a ride this really was. |
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Here' a good view of the rear side of the Buckeye Dream Machine 582 Powered Parachute. The large propeller pushes the plane forward and the forward motion adds air to the chute, giving the chute it's wing design and lift. The large two person cart hangs well below the chute giving the Powered Parachute it's stable and enjoyable low speed flight. |
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Back down on the ground, Fred pulls off his helmet and shares his flight with us. "It was Sweet!!!" was all Fred could say. He loved the feel as the Buckeye rounded the turns and picked up speed as the Powered Parachute caught the wind and traveled across the landscape. "You could see a really long way from just a few hundred feet up!" He said. When asked if he'd fly again, Fred said "Let's Go!!!!" I guess he liked it :) |
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Here is John the Beemaster in the front seat with Fred in the upper seat AFTER Fred's instructional flight with Ted was finished. Sadly, John didn't get to fly this day - the winds were just to rough to continue safely flying. But John will be back again to give this really cool airplane a try. |
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both these future pilots will be back in the air again, John will be buying
a Powered Parachute this coming Summer and after getting his Ultralight
Flight Instructor's Certification, Fred and John will be flying
again, taking day trips and having the time of their lives!
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Written
by: John Clayton
