WHERE DO I START MY POWERED PARACHUTE JOURNEY?
Watching regional TV, an ad came on for the local aeroclub advertising flying lessons. Angela said “You should try that!”. It was 2015, I was 62 years old, and I went for it.
After 13 hours, I came to the conclusion that light aircraft were not my thing. Flying out of an airport in the Tecnam P92 with all the formality and restrictions was not what I was seeking.
My professional life was as an engineer and business owner servicing the automotive industry (before it died!) with many years of conceiving, designing, building and programming robotic machines. Technical, challenging and exciting activities are my happy place.
I have space where I live and enjoy shooting, riding motorbikes, quadbikes and the ability to move around freely without the impediment of the suburban environment. I raced motorbikes and have ridden all my life. I love motorbikes.
Time passed!
Some young friends who shoot on my property invited me down to the gun show in early 2020. It was there I met Stephen and John from Aerochute. After spending an hour on their stand, much to the amusement of my young friends, I went away with an invitation for a test flight at Werribee.
After some organisation (due to my geographic location and travelling time) the day and time was set. It was an early, early morning for me!
Upon arrival I met up with Stephen, my pilot for the flight, he explained everything and then we went up. Wow!
Being a very experienced pilot, Stephen was able to make the Hummerchute zip through the air, with some rock and roll to give the real feel of these amazing machines. I got to control the aircraft under his instruction and really got the feel of how you can move around so flexibly.
“It’s like riding a motorbike in the sky!” I exclaimed after my flight. I was hooked.
Almost 2 years later now, I have a licence, a brand new Hummerchute and I’m ready to go. COVID really affected my training, as lockdown after lockdown and the differences between country and city really dragged things out. I was building a house at the same time, so I had plenty to occupy my time. Being resigned to the situation was what all of us learnt to deal with.
On my property, I have around 125 acres with a couple of sites for operating the Hummerchute. The countryside in central Victoria is truly beautiful. I’m so very lucky to live in this beautiful environment.
So that’s my story in a nutshell.
I’m looking forward to many adventures ahead, including travelling around Australia with the Hummerchute in tow ready to see parts of Australia from a different perspective. The GoPro is ready to be attached to the Hummerchute to record my adventures and post snippets to the uplifting and welcoming Aerochute community on Facebook!
