The Powrachute Pegasus is an American

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible or ...

, designed and produced by Powrachute of

Middleville, Michigan Middleville is a village in Thornapple Township, Barry County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Middleville is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. The population was 4,295 at the 2020 census. History The first white settler to own ...

. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft or as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page D-11. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 52. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 84. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Pegasus was originally introduced in 2000 and was initially just called the ''Powrachute'' as the company's first and only model at that time. As other aircraft were added to the line it was renamed the PC 2000 and later stretched slightly and renamed the Pegasus. The aircraft was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...

rules as a two-seat trainer and is now a

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weigh ...

. It features a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

-style

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

of either or optionally , two-seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

accommodation,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

and a single

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke cycle, two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-ce ...

engine in

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

. The Hirth 2706 engine was a factory option at one time. The aircraft carriage is built from large-diameter, thin-walled, bolted tubing and includes occupant roll-over protection. In flight steering is accomplished via foot pedals that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw. On the ground the aircraft has tiller-controlled nosewheel steering. The main landing gear incorporates spring strut suspension. The aircraft is factory supplied in the form of an assembly kit that requires 30 hours to complete.

Operational history

A total of 360 examples had been flown by February 2005.

Variants

;PC 2000 :Two seat model. ;Pegasus :Stretched two seat model. ;Pegasus 912 :Variant fitted with a Rotax 912 S engineBertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2005-06'', page 95. Pagefast Ltd, England, 2005. ISSN 1368-485X

Specifications (Pegasus)

References

External links

* {{Powrachute aircraft 2000s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered parachutes