From the seat of a Powered Parachute you can observe the beauty of planet earth in ways only birds experience. The color of the sky, the smell of morning mist, sparkling waterways or rising mountain range. Low and slow flight captures all of your senses like no other. Ask any Powered Parachute pilot and you will hear the same expressions of awe and delight. A sunrise or sunset from 500 feet is hard to express in words. The landscape, trees, lakes and streams take on a breath-taking beauty.
In the summer of 1997, I took my first introductory flight in a Powered Parachute in south Florida. I spent a few weeks investigating the sport and looked forward to flying something very different. During the drive to the field my anticipation grew as I pondered low and slow flight. My instructor was a veteran PPC pilot so I felt confident of having a great experience. After a good pre-flight, we took off at sunrise in smooth air. The morning was filled with the aroma of a freshly plowed cornfield. I had a sense of awe when we turn east revealing the beautiful morning colors. The sun was barely above the horizon illuminating the clouds in a brilliant orange-red glow. After demonstrating the flight controls and a power off decent, we flew low over a farm field where we observed a deer walking at a nearby lake. On this morning even the birds did not seem to mind sharing the sky. The sensation was beyond description even for this seasoned pilot. Before the flight was over, I knew I was hooked.
As a general aviation pilot, I knew that I could never capture the same experience in a regular aircraft. No aircraft I flew could safely fly at tree top level and at 30 mph. Best of all; I discovered that I could fly a Powered Parachute at a fraction of the cost of General Aviation. It seemed too good to be true. That summer morning, I fell in love with flying all over again
Happy Landing
Michael D Harwood
