If humans had wings, this is what it would feel like
By Heather Ratcliffe 
Of The Post-Dispatch
May 30, 2000

The drone of the engine turns to a roar as Dave Krause turns up the throttle. His
craft bounces across a grassy field dragging a rainbow-colored para-chute,
then gently lifts into the air.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he says to his passenger through a microphone.

Wind licks his face as he inhales whiffs of sweet corn and cow pastures. Slowly,
barns begin to look like Monopoly game hotels and crop fields blend into a
quilted patchwork to the horizon.

If humans had wings, this is what it would feel like to fly, he said.

Krause, a bank teller from Red Bud, takes this flight whenever the weather
cooperates in a craft called a powered parachute. It looks like a go-cart
with an enormous fan bolted to the back. He drives about 30 miles an
hour until the trailing parachute fills with air and the rig lifts off.

As high as 150 stories off the ground, Krause and other pilots can watch
life scurry along as they glide peacefully with the birds.

"This is the most interactive way of flying," said Roy Beisswenger, owner
of Easy Flight Inc., which sells and trains people to fly powered
parachutes.

"There's no walls or ceiling. You can feel the wind in your face and
experience the smells."

Powered parachuting, one of the newest extreme sports, has taken a
strong hold in the St. Louis area. The town of Greenville, about 40 miles
east of St. Louis, has become a hub for fliers around the world.

Greenville serves as the home to the American Powered Parachute
Association and Beisswenger's business. In August, the best fliers from
across the globe will gather Greenville to compete in the sport's first world
championship tournament, called Chute-Out on the Prairie.

Beisswenger almost single-handedly brought the sport to the St. Louis
area.

He read an article about it in Popular Mechanics in 1983, just after the
sport was introduced. After a career as an officer in the Army,
Beisswenger was looking for something else to do with his life. So the St.
Louis native taught himself to fly in 1992 and started his business in
Greenville.

"It was the best location because it has wide open spaces and it's still
near the metro area," he said.Today, Beisswenger builds and sells powered
parachutes and trains people to fly. About a quarter of powered
parachute fliers in the world have either trained with Beisswenger or a
pilot that he trained, he said.

"It's a very easy aircraft to learn to fly," he said.

Pilots don't need a flight plan or a license, just a grassy field and a craft.
Maybe a lesson or two.

Most people take their first flight in the back seat. Then they take a
two-hour class to learn basic lessons of weather and aeronautics.

Most students are looking for adventure and excitement. But they also
share another trait: They dream in their sleep of flying like a superhero.

"If they have had the dream, they are mine as soon as I get them into the
air," Beisswenger said.

The controls are easy. The throttle controls the altitude. More power for
up and less power for down. Two pedals control the direction. The pilot,
who must wear a helmet, is strapped into the seat.

Beisswenger said powered parachuting is one of the safest ways to fly. If
the engine fails, the vehicle becomes a steerable, unpowered gliding
parachute, just like those used by sky divers. He said has never heard of
a flier injured while powered parachuting.

The rig carries enough fuel for about a three-hour trip. It can reach a
height of about 1,500 feet. But most pilots like to fly around 100 feet.

"Low and slow like the dream," said Merrell Collins, a farmer from Vandalia.

Collins learned to fly his powered parachute about five years ago.
Beisswenger taught him how to fly on a Sunday. The next day Collins
bought his own machine. He uses his craft to survey his farm looking for
damaged crops and newborn calves.

"I can scout 35,000 acres in about 45 minutes," he said. "It's euphoric and
the most relaxing thing in the world."

About half a dozen manufacturers make powered parachuting machines.
Beisswenger and most his customers fly Six Chuters.

"It's not a rich man's sport," he said. "Most of my customers are ranchers,
miners, carpenters or farmers."

A 45-minute introductory flight costs about $50 while a flight lesson and
solo trip costs $200.

A craft can cost from $9,000 to $15,000, depending on the options and
motor, said Jim Gonzenbach of Folley, Mo. He began building the machines
about three years ago after his first flight.

"I was scared the first time up," Gonzenbach said. "My foot was shaking
while I was trying to decide if I really wanted to take off. But once I got
into the air, it was awesome. It's hard to even describe it."

The world tournament will be Aug. 17-20 at the Greenville Airport, on
Illinois Route 127 near Interstate 70. Admission is free. Food,
entertainment and children's activities will be available. For more
information about powered parachuting call 618-664-9706 or visit the
http://www.easyflight.com on the Web.