Some who try eventually hit upon the right formula but no one says this is easy. Technology has been particularly helpful to smaller enterprises, especially those that serve customers widely dispersed across the country. Whatever you think of social media, the fact is they help those with specialized interests find people who can provide services.
One fellow has found his magic carpet. His instruction calendar has a few available slots in 2023 but he has already almost filled this year's schedule book. How did one man succeed and who is this story about?
That work has been gratifying — and helped move the entire LSA industry forward — but Roy's personal choice of flight and his passion is focused on powered parachutes.
While he was working in this field and building his enterprise, Roy and I linked up in a new way in 2014, the 10th anniversary of SP/LSA. Roy had compiled many aspects of the regulation that could be improved. He assembled an impressive booklet of desirable changes complete with suggestions. Working together, Roy and I drew people from industry, from membership associations, and from FAA to a meeting at Sun 'n Fun nine years ago.
Roy's hard work on advocacy for LSA — for which I was honored to be his partner at twisting FAA's arm — has paid off in a big way. The coming regulation incorporates every initiative that Roy and I proposed for Mosaic.
But important as this work may be, that's enough about advocacy. Let's talk about flying machines!
Roy's training program begins before the student gets to the airport. Anyone anywhere can start by studying a book Roy wrote on the subject. Roy’s Powered Parachute Book has 470 pages of content covering every aspect of flying powered parachutes. The inch-thick, large-format book is densely illustrated with many beautiful graphics that help explain everything. Roy admitted, “Writing a book wasn’t nearly as hard as illustrating the book.”
He combines the textbook with online training using the Brainscape app. Roy explained, “There is a lot of material to retain when learning to fly. By starting the ground training at home, students are able to get through the flight training, the knowledge test, and the check ride that much faster and stress-free.”
Thanks to a commitment to the safest practices, in the 30 years that Roy has been training powered parachutes, his program has been injury-free.
One of the key advantages of powered parachutes is their simplicity. These aircraft are designed to be easy to operate, and they require minimal training to fly. This makes them an ideal choice for people who are new to aviation, or who are looking for a more relaxed flying experience. The slow flying speed of powered parachutes makes them ideal low altitude sightseeing aircraft.
https://youtu.be/u8gk_N4ex8s
https://youtu.be/XHuhfiuLxBM
As an experiment, this article was triggered by Roy asking ChatGPT to write a draft as though it was written by me. Roy tweaked it and sent it to me for final editing.
Is that still an AI-produced document? Well, yes and no. It certainly changed through human input. However, it was helpful to move things along more quickly and that's one of the benefits many are seeing with this new technology. Since pilots are quite technically interested and adept, I thought readers would enjoy hearing about this use of AI.
Recreational aviation can be hugely rewarding in many ways, but creating a well-functioning and useful business in this sector of flying has challenges. Some who try eventually hit upon the right formula but no one says this is easy. Technology has been particularly helpful to smaller enterprises, especially those that serve customers widely dispersed across the country. Whatever you think of social media, the fact is they help those with specialized interests find people who can provide services. One fellow has found his magic carpet. His instruction calendar has a few available slots in 2023 but he has already almost filled this year’s schedule book. How did one man succeed and who is this story about? A Full-Service Individual I’ve known Roy Beisswenger, founder and proprietor of Easy Flight, for many years. I have long tracked his journalistic work for ultralights and LSA enthusiasts (Powered Sport Flying magazine) and we established a closer working relationship almost ten years ago as we sought change to regulations from FAA.
