Powered parachutes? Exceptional, exciting, fun, and the freedom of flight thrown in for good measure. Flying, something most of us have dreamed of but only a few experience outside of a commercial aircraft.

A powered parachute consists of something that looks like an ultralight craft with a connected parachute for wings, but don’t let the parachute fool you. These babies don’t get dropped out of an airplane or towed up like a glider. Rather, they take off on a small airstrip with parachute deployed to act as wings and supply lift.

The craft is customarily controlled by foot. Thanks to Tony Schmitmeyer, President of Schmitmeyer Enterprises Ltd. and Buckeye Aviation, this sport is available to people who have limited or no use of their legs. Tony Schmitmeyer, a quadriplegic, wanted to fly and fell in love with powered parachutes. He approached the people at Buckeye Aviation and worked with them to develop an adapted power parachute which is flown with hand controls. Tony S. is himself an avid flier and controls the Buckeye with “no problem”.

The hand controls do not alter the basic configuration of the Buckeye. The foot controls can still be used. It is powered by a Rotax 582 65 hp. water cooled oil injected engine and has electric flight instruments on-board. Plenty of other features come standard with a number of options also available.

Way to go Tony!