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Why I chose the Phoenix Aero 503Phoenix Powered Parachute Inc. asked me for my customer feed back so here it is! When I decided I was genuinely serious about becoming a powered parachute (PPC) pilot I realized I had a lot of research to do and important decisions to make before spending my limited funds on a flying machine. Please allow me to walk you through my thought process on the matter as I hope it may be useful to you. I began my research to find the best PPC for me by reading everything I could get my hands on about PPCs to include many old issues of Ultra light Magazine, advertisements (a very biased source!), the PPC Bible and the incidents database on Poweredparachute.com. I also sought out and spoke to about a dozen PPC pilots and instructors. They were a wonderful resource and were more than happy to share their knowledge and love of PPCs with me. You shouldn't be afraid to call up a PPC instructor, pilot or manufacturer listed on the PPC website as all these folks will be glad to speak to you. I went to a couple of fly ins and surf the internet. The first thing I noticed about PPC manufacturer's advertisements is they all claim to be far superior all the other in the industry. However, it was interesting and enlightening to read what features different PPC manufacturers felt were most important and innovative about their products. Safety in general and the strength of their PPC's cart cage were the predominant features claimed by the various companies. Being brand new to the PPC world it was not an easy task making my choice since there are many manufacturer and most of them do make good and safe PPCs. After my length research I settled on a criteria for choosing a machine and manufacturer for the PPC I purchased. Here is my criteria: Reputation of the manufacturer: In my research I read a few epic tales of woe in which a person seeking to purchase a new PPC felt a nefarious manufacturer in a different state defrauded them out of their money. The PPC community is still rather small even on a nation wide basis. Everyone pretty much seems to know each other and if a manufacturer develops a bad reputation the word spreads quickly. My research found that Phoenix Powered Parachutes Inc. enjoyed a positive reputation for doing right by their customers. I eventually mailed Phoenix a $5000 deposit toward the purchase of my PPC and did not regret it. Experience in the business: There are many PPC manufacturers and I believe the majority of them make a good and safe product. The hard part was to separate the new and inexperienced manufacturers from those whose people have been in the business for many years (i.e.- 15 years or more since PPCs are a relatively new phenomena). I found a number of companies with solid experience in the PPC field and among them Phoenix Powered Parachute's people were widely regarded for their experience. Two seat or one seat PPC?: Initially, I thought I wanted a two seat PPC, but after researching the matter and learning about the still ongoing evolution of the FFA regulations relating to two seat machines I changed my mind and decided to get a one seat machine that would be FAA F.A.R. 103 legal (i.e.- I could legally fly the PPC without a pilot's license and without having to join, and pay money to, one of the three national ultra light plane organizations that currently hold an exemption from the FAA to allow their members to legally fly two seat machines. Speaking to PPC pilots I found many of them frustrated with how their ultra light organization failed to represent the interests of PPC pilots to the FAA. Many of these pilots were exasperated with the many uncertainties regarding the FAA's future regulation of two seat PPCs. In light of all the uncertainty and additional costs and regulation of owning a two seat PPC I decided to get a one seat PPC that met the FAA's regulations for an ultra light aircraft that did not require a pilot's license. Besides, even though it would have been nice to take the wife up to fly in a two seat PPC I know that after a few flights she'd loose interest and I'd be flying solo most the time any way! Phoenix Powered Parachute makes the Aero 503, which is 100 per cent F.A.R. 103 legal! What F.A.R. 103 legal one seat PPC should I choose: My research revealed that about a half dozen PPC manufacturers in the U.S. made a one seat PPC that met the FAA requirements for being F.A.R. 103 legal. However, I found the designs, prices, options, standard features and parachutes varied widely among the different manufacturers. At this point I sat down and thoroughly read all the advertisements and asked a lot of obvious questions of more experienced PPC folks to learn what type of parachute, engine, cart design, price etc. each PPC came with and then weighed the many pros and cons of each. The following is a list of criteria that found to be important and I found were met by the Phoenix Aero 503: What engine to choose, the Rotex 447 or the Rotex 503? In my research I found that the many of the F.A.R. 103 legal PPCs came with the Rotex 447 as the standard motor. Choosing the Rotex 503 as an option on a PPC would make it too heavy and the PPC would no longer be considered F.A.R. 103 legal. The 447 weighs less then the 503 and costs about $1000 less then the 503, which made it an early favorite with me. BUT! The 503 had 12 more horsepower, which meant it would give the PPC a significantly greater rate of climb over the 447. A greater climb rate is a very important safety feature when you're flying at low altitude over a field and suddenly you find a tall tree in your way that didn't seem to be there a moment ago. The extra power of the 503 gives the pilot the feeling of assurance that he can get out of such troubles faster than he got himself into them. Additionally, the 503 has dual spark plugs and ignition systems for both cylinders and dual carburetors. The 447 does not have these important redundant safety features. Screw the $1000 savings on the 447! I wanted the extra safety and performance of the 503. The Phoenix Aero with the Rotex 503 motor is F.A.R. 103 legal. What parachute should the PPC have? I am not an expert on parachutes, but did know what performance characteristics I wanted. I'm a new pilot so safety was my primary concern. Through my reading and speaking to experienced PPC people I learned that the standard rectangular parachute is generally regarded as more stable in flight and easier to kite up on take off, however the rectangular chutes tend to lack the certain performance characteristics. Elliptical and hybrid chutes are generally considered to have better in flight performance such as sharper turns and faster forward air speed, but some people feel they are more prone to the possibility of cells collapsing in a strong cross wind and are more difficult to kite up on take off and therefore require a longer run way and much closer attention on the part of the pilot prior to going to full throttle. The way it has been explained to me is that for every additionally bit of extra performance a chute has it trades off a little bit of its stability. As for myself, I didn't want performance at the expense of stability and ease of use. I wanted a chute that kited up quickly and easily and was as idiot proof as possible. Being a new pilot I decided I wanted a plain old rectangular chute for my PPC. Leave the fancy elliptical and hybrid chutes for the real hard core experienced pilots. The Phoenix Aero 503 comes standard with a rectangular Barnstormer 400 chute made by Performance Design Inc. I have found the Barnstormer 400 on my Phoenix kites up significantly faster and easier and at a lower ground speed than other PPCs I've drove. I like it and feel safer with it! Design of the Cart and frontal protection bars: A fully open cockpit with no frontal bars on a PPC's cart makes for a nicer view when flying, but for myself I was concerned about what would happen if I had to make an emergency landing into trees. The thought of a tree branch smashing into my head wasn't a pleasant one. I wanted a PPC with front protection bars. Many of the F.A.R. 103 legal PPCs did not come with frontal protection bars on their carts as a standard feature and if added as an option would make their PPCs over the legal weight to be F.A.R. 103 legal. One the PPC models did have a single frontal bar. The Phoenix Aero comes with two frontal bars that are an integrated part of the PPC cart's frame. When you grab and shake these front bars they feel very solid and I'm confident they'll provide plenty of protection if ever needed. New Wheelbase of the PPC cart: The width of the PPC's rear wheels have a direct effect on how easily a PPC will roll over. I read one of the PPC manufacturers advertisements that stated their one seat PPC could fit in the back of a pickup truck. I thought that was a neat feature, but on further reflection and research I realized that a narrow wheel based PPC would make it more likely to roll over! My Phoenix Aero 503 has a wider wheel base and will not fit in the back of a pickup truck, but so far in my 25 hours of flying and 48 take offs and landings I have not once come any where near rolling over! Training Offered by the manufacturer: When I placed my order to purchase my Phoenix Aero 503 I had only once before flown in a PPC (as the passenger) and did not know how to fly a PPC other than what I had read and seen. I can't say what training other PPC manufacturers offer, but I do know that when I went to pick up my PPC at Phoenix's shop in Argos, Indiana the Phoenix Powered Parachute company lined me up with a great instructor close to their shop. My instructor was a retired gentleman with many years experience-flying PPCs. It was a great experience as he had all day to devote to my training and after three days I took my little PPC home with the basic skills and confidence to fly my PPC under proper conditions. What ever you do, don't try to teach yourself! Get training! Phoenix Powered Parachute has a fine PPC instructor available to teach you. PRICE! I left this topic for last, because I felt your decision to purchase an aircraft should not be primarily decided by purchase price. That said, I'm happy to say my Phoenix Aero 503 was VERY competitively priced! It cost about $1100 less than another manufacturers PPC of a very similar design with the same features! There were a few PPC manufacturers that did make a F.A.R. 103 legal PPC that cost less than the AERO 503, but when compared to the performance, safety and standard features I found the Phoenix Aero 503 was a significantly better value and a safer choice! Now that I own a Phoenix Aero I have allowed other, more experienced, PPC pilots fly my little bird. After doing so they all commented very positively stating the Aero 503 had surprising performance. Specifically, they said the Aero 503 has a far better climb rate and closer turning radius than other PPCs they have flown. As for gas mileage: I weight 210 lbs. and use one gallon of gas for every 20 minutes of flight (i.e.- 3 gallons per hours). Hope this has been helpful. No matter what PPC you decide to buy, don't be in a hurry, talk with anyone you can and do your research. Happy flying, Dennis Murphy Phoenix Aero 503 owner Hedgesville, WV. Celtgreen@yahoo.com P.S.- I was not paid to write this and I have no financial interest in or future business plans with the Phoenix Powered Parachute. I'm just a satisfied customer. |
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