36 Vol.3 No.12 / December 2014
HINTS FOR HOMEBUILDERS
Editor's Note: This month we're deviating slightly from of ering
a hint for homebuilders to share this important safety hint for
powered parachute pilots. The machine this problem occurred
on is a Destiny 2000 powered parachute, but it might behoove
owners of other machines to check their machines out thorough-
ly as well. As you put your machines away for winter, give them
a thorough inspection.
A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago, my wife and I were at a local fl y-in.
One evening the weather was great, so we decided to go for a
fl ight. Kite-up and takeof seemed normal, but as we started to
climb, I noticed that the machine, a Destiny 2000 powered
parachute, started turning left at a good rate. I had trees and
power lines to clear, so I continued to climb until I reached a
safe altitude before trying to check out what was going on. I
thought the torque of the engine or maybe the wind was af ect-
ing the machine.
I leveled out at 400 feet and began my review of the situa-
tion. This machine has fl own straight as an arrow since the day
I got it, but I had to pull in about a foot of steering line on the
right to get it to go straight. I started checking out the chute
and everything looked normal. I made a couple of turns to make
That's Not
Normal
Check your brackets!
BY SE AN CURRY
Above: Sean's Destiny 2000 powered parachute. Below: The replaced U-brackets.