World's First Flying ATV
The popularity of powered parachutes has grown rapidly over the past 10 years but if you're not flying, there's not much you can do with the machines.
Now Buckeye Aviation has changed all that with the introduction of a powered chute that doubles as an ATV when it's on the ground. Company president Ralph Howard got the idea after buying his daughter a birthday present.
"I bought her a go-cart for her ninth birthday and got the idea that with some modifications, it could fly," he recalls.
Today, the idea is reality. The new 650-lb. Aerial ATV features side-by-side seating with a 500-lb. capacity. A 3-cylinder 150-cc engine powers the rig on the ground at speeds of up to 40 mph.
To fly, a 3-cylinder 100 hp engine-driven prop puts it in the air and keeps it there at 40 mph. Like other Buckeye powered parachutes, the Aerial ATV enjoys the safety factor of floating to the ground should the engine quit. Also like the company's conventional powered chutes, the unit can fly at 10 ft. or 10,000 ft.
On the ground, the machine is steered by a steering wheel. In the air, it's controlled by hand levers.
"Farmers are big customers for us with our other machines, using them to check cattle, fences and crops," says Howard. "At 10 ft., they can see weeds, and at 1,000 ft., you can see nitrogen deficiency. With this unit, a rancher could check remote fences or cattle and, if he saw a problem, land and drive back to the spot. Once it was taken care of, he can take off into the air again."
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
World's First Flying ATV ATV'S ATV'S 28-6-2 The popularity of powered parachutes has grown rapidly over the past 10 years but if you're not flying, there's not much you can do with the machines.
Now Buckeye Aviation has changed all that with the introduction of a powered chute that doubles as an ATV when it's on the ground. Company president Ralph Howard got the idea after buying his daughter a birthday present.
"I bought her a go-cart for her ninth birthday and got the idea that with some modifications, it could fly," he recalls.
Today, the idea is reality. The new 650-lb. Aerial ATV features side-by-side seating with a 500-lb. capacity. A 3-cylinder 150-cc engine powers the rig on the ground at speeds of up to 40 mph.
To fly, a 3-cylinder 100 hp engine-driven prop puts it in the air and keeps it there at 40 mph. Like other Buckeye powered parachutes, the Aerial ATV enjoys the safety factor of floating to the ground should the engine quit. Also like the company's conventional powered chutes, the unit can fly at 10 ft. or 10,000 ft.
On the ground, the machine is steered by a steering wheel. In the air, it's controlled by hand levers.
"Farmers are big customers for us with our other machines, using them to check cattle, fences and crops," says Howard. "At 10 ft., they can see weeds, and at 1,000 ft., you can see nitrogen deficiency. With this unit, a rancher could check remote fences or cattle and, if he saw a problem, land and drive back to the spot. Once it was taken care of, he can take off into the air again."
While prices were still being worked out as FARM SHOW went to press, he expects the Aerial ATVs to sell in the mid to upper $20,000 range.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Buckeye Aviation, Inc., 10478 16th Road, Argos, Ind. 46501 (ph 574 892-5460; website: www.buckeyeaviation.com).
