So where did the Predator come from?

Funny you should ask!

From the first time I flew a Powered Parachute (1982) I knew I was hooked. Flying around the countryside at only 30 miles an hour, relaxed and able to sit there and enjoy the sights was wonderful. Well, I not only took the bait but I swallowed it hook, line and sinker.  I began flying Paraplanes and High Flyers. I also flew all other manufactures like, Sixchuters, Buckeyes, Destinys, Paraski and Powrachutes. All were fun to fly.

Six years ago I settled on being a Distributor for Powrachute. I have been very lucky, sold a lot of planes (new and used), met a lot great people and had a ball doing it.

About four years ago I with my wife made the decision to build our own plane. I already had sketches from years ago of what I thought was cool. We decided that in order to make the best Powered Parachute we would have to know all of the best features and benefits of every PPC being produced. We began buying one of each of the planes being made. We flew and discovered each of their idiosyncrasies and learned a lot from that experience.

I took the knowledge gained from the testing done and met with many experts in the aeronautical field to develop my ideas. I was able to pick the brains of some NASA engineers that assisted me in coming up with the perfect attachment point to hang the chute to the cart: not too narrow that it could induce lateral oscillation, but not so for apart as to create adverse yaw. We also worked on the optimal heights of the attachment points which proved to be crucial. We covered thrust calculations, prop size and gear ratios. Many of the chute manufactures were very helpful in providing lift equations.

Listed below were the original design goals for the Predator:

1. Being a large kind of guy I wanted to get into the aircraft easily.

2. I wanted my passengers to have the ease of entrance including the physically challenged.

3. I needed better performance out of the same engine so that I could fly larger people and have better climb.

4. I wanted the PPC to fly more stable in turbulence. However, I still wanted to have a nimble machine.

5. I wanted the maneuverability to do a barrel roll, and yet stable enough that a student could solo in it as well.

6. I wanted an all-in-one center stick for ground steering and throttle to make kiting easier.  I am an avid photographer and this feature would free either hand to operate a camera.

7. I needed the aircraft’s weight to be in the same range as most of the manufactures’ two place machines.

8. I had to have a structurally stronger machine than the competition.

9. I wanted it to be able to make a bad landing look good due to the shock system.

Thus the term, “Built by a pilot, for pilots” became a reality.

I remember the first flight I took in a Predator as if it was yesterday.  I was so excited about how well it kited and how easy it was to ground steer. When I lifted off it was nothing short of pure exhilaration!  My climb rate on the EIS was showing 800+ feet a minute. The turns were solid and the craft’s angle of attack was perfect.

You can see more specifics in the feature and benefits section concerning our design goals. However, the Predator hit all of my design goals. I knew I had a winner.

I started actually marketing the Predator at Sun and Fun in 2005. I wasn’t ready for full production but it was fun to see how well it was received in the market place.

Looking back it is amazing to see how little has changed from the original drawings.

Hughes Aero Corporation

882 Robert Vonderau Road, Wharton, TX 77488

979-282-2005