Finally, Back Up In The Air

It seems like it has been 10 years since I was last up in the air but in honesty I am not even sure how long it has been, but probably at least couple years. This has all changed over the last couple with a couple flights out of Brookneal Va for training. Jeff Jenson(Instructor)of CuttingEdgeAirSports.com and I have been up twice now for training including one for a dual cross country flight. I need about 6 more hours of dual flying to be done but I have to admit it is great to be back up in the air. Dubose is also getting into the training and only has less then 5 hours of training left. Now we need to get the rest of the guys started so we can all get legal and flying together again. My first 2 flights with Jeff have been in his new machine which is a Powrachute Pegasus with the 912 in it. Very nice machine but I have to admit I love my Buckeye DM and will so happy when I am back flying it. I have a good bit of work to do on it before it can be air worthy again but hopefully a busy weekend with it will take care of that. Joe and I had our wings inspected last week by a certified parachute inspector guy. I am sorry for forgetting his name but if you ever need your chute looked at I can get you his info. Here is a picture of Jeff's machine and another plane that was down at the field doing some training also. Now that we seem to be getting back into flying maybe I will able to update the blog a little more frequently.

PPG Pilot

I know it has been quite a while since my last post and I really have no excuses except being really busy and a little lazy. Still have not been back up in the air but hopefully that will change very soon since we are planning to start our training again at the start of the year. The wife and I were out at Valley View Mall one day around spring time when we spotted a PPG in the back of a pickup. I had to stop by and grab a shot of it and while I was the owner came outside. We exchanged stories with his about PPGs and mine of course about PPCs. I must apologize because I can not remember his name but who knows maybe we will cross paths again. He was a trip to talk to and he had all kinds of energy about flying and I want to say he flies out of Salem VA.

PPC Crash

Here is a video of a PPC crash I believe in Utah. This video has caused a pretty good buzz about PPCs or should I say a bad buzz. I understand the guy had all the best intentions flying low and dropping candy for the kids but I am pretty sure this was not the outcome he planned on. This is a great video to show why their are rules about flying this low over congested areas and why we do not do it. I do not know all the details about the pilot or the crash but I believe everyone is OK and their were no serious injuries. I have looked at the video many times now and have yet to see a N-Number on the machine and it sure appears it is a two place machine. I know a lot of people did not want to go through the trouble of getting their planes N-Numbered but I wonder what is going to happen to this pilot now and if he will be fined by the authorities?

Still Grounded

I have still yet to get the PPC off the ground this year. We have all talked about flying, but between jobs, weather, and Sport Pilot it has been tough. I believe now that Spring is officially here we might start getting into some nice flying weather. I did stumble across a nice web site for information about PPCs at EasyFlight.com. This site has classes and other information about PPCs that was nice to know. Unfortunately after visiting this site it looks like I might have the answer to a previous post which was where is Buckeye PPC?

Nice PPC Video

This was a great video of PPCs flying I found on YouTube and thought I would share it on here. Looks like a great place to fly and great bunch of pilots to fly with.

Buckeye Powered Parachutes??????? MIA???

What has happened to Buckeye Powered Parachutes? I went to their web site today and it was last updated 8/10/2007. I wonder if they are even still in business or if they have done like a lot of companies and called it quits? I really believe they have a great product, but I wonder if you can even get in touch with them anymore if you need something? It seems as if the PPC buzz is about gone, or maybe we are just in the wrong part of the country to be PPC pilots. I have even noticed that the amount of PPC videos on YouTube has decreased. I hope to get back into flying pretty regular this spring and have actually started getting the itch again. I know once I get back up in the air I will get that great feeling that only PPC pilots can get in the air. I wonder if this Sport Pilot has put a damper on the sport instead of what they thought would increase the ease of putting pilots in the air. My goal is to have all my Sport Pilot done this year so I can put all of this behind me so I can start enjoying flying again.

Crazy Chute Flip

This was a crazy video I saw on YouTube of a PPC getting ready to take off and the chute flipping over on takeoff. Before I saw this I did not even know this could happen but thankfully people on the ground caught it and were yelling at the pilot to abort take off.