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Taxiing and ground handling (without inflatable parachute)
Drive out to the training site with your assistant, your aircraft. How does it look today? Walk the full length of the runway and look it over carefully. Are there any puddles or potholes?
It’s not unusual for a training site to look pretty good when you first see it, but look iffy when your plane is on site. If close inspection has given you second thoughts about your site, now is the best time to find another one. The minimums given earlier are minimums, doubling those dimensions will make life easier, quadrupling them is even better.
If the site and the weather are up to snuff, unload your aircraft, set it up and pre-flight it. Do this without the parachute installed, otherwise do the pre-flight as if you were going to fly. Improper assembly can hurt you on the ground too. Make sure there is fuel in the tank.
Walk the powered parachute to the runway. Get in with it facing down the runway. Start the engine, following the correct start up procedure. Hold yourself in place by putting your feet on the ground.
Stop right here and remember the following: The instructions given in this manual are not to be done 1, 2, 3 without thinking of the consequences. If step 1 does not go well, repeat it until it does. Flying is hazardous and the time spent learning to do things well will be the best time you have ever invested. If steps 3, 4 and 5 get sloppy, then by all means back up a couple of steps and go over them.
Put your feet on the foot steering bars. Pull the throttle back toward you gently to accelerate to about 10 mph. At a slow 10 mph, close the throttle and shut off the engine and coast to a stop. This is the basic stop and must be mastered before going on. Notice the use of feet for stopping is not mentioned. Putting your feet on the ground “Flintstone” style to stop will guarantee that your foot will catch on something and your leg will be pulled under the craft thereby breaking your leg in a number of places. Please note that the craft does not have the drag of the parachute so it will accelerate very fast and stop very slowly.
Notice that this step does not call for steering. You’ll be getting to that shortly but the first skill you must have is shutting it down and stopping it. Get out and wheel it back to your starting point same as before except now you can use the steering bar for directional control. The object is to go straight down the runway at a constant 10 mph. If you lose control, stop the engine, stop the aircraft, analyze what happened and try again. Your assistant will be helpful with analysis.
When you reach the end of the runway, shut off the engine, turn it around, get back in and taxi back the same way you came. Through this entire lesson, keep your feet up and do not use them to stop. I know it’s a temptation but if sometime in the future you should hit something hard, you will be glad you developed the habit of keeping your feet up. Your feet and legs may also get drug under the airframe faster than you can yell “ouch”. Keep your legs up. Repeat until you can taxi nice and straight down the runway.
This is the same thing, except now at 15 mph. Try some gentle “S” turns. Over control is dangerous. In extreme cases you could run off the edge of the runway or possibly flip the aircraft over. To keep this from happening, shut off the engine and stoop if you get out of control. Of course, you must shut off the engine and stop if you’re running out of runway.
Same as before, but you’ll be throttling up at a higher speed. Work yourself up gradually until you’re going 25 mph. Each attempt must follow the same pattern, the “clear prop!” exchange, starting the engine, acceleration at partial throttle, reducing throttle to maintain speed, killing the engine and stopping.
Among other things, this step is a test of your self discipline. The parachute acts as a governor. Without the parachute installed, the powered parachute will go remarkably fast, much faster than it is designed for. You are likely to have a serious accident if you attempt to drive at high speed. However, you need to learn the effect of the throttle and this is the best time. Be careful not to over control at higher speeds, as the possibility of loss of control increases with speed. You must now attempt starting from a standing start and accelerating at ¾ throttle as you will when the parachute is attached. ¾ throttle must only be done for a very brief period (3-4 seconds) and 25 mph must be exceeded.
If you find you are lacking in self control and unwilling to resist the urge to drive faster than 25 mph, it is time to reconsider if aviation is really the sport for you.
Repeat as needed to master throttle and front wheel steering control. Have the pace vehicle drive behind you to check your ability to choose and maintain an even speed. Training from a qualified instructor is the recommended way to learn to fly the powered parachute. The following flight manual should be read thoroughly even though you have received flight training. This manual should be re-read entirely after the first 10 hours of flight and at yearly intervals. |
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