So what can you make of these Foot Steering Controls? (Besides the obvious use to steer your powered parachute.)

Well, "I can make a broach; a pterodactyl…" (Note: if you did not see the comedy-spoof movie of "Airport" – then the previous line made absolutely no sense to you.)

The following is a list of the top 8 uses of Foot Steering Controls - besides the obvious use to steer your powered parachute.

#8. In the event that you feel ‘light-headed’ or dizzy, the first move would be to remove your feet from these steering controls. When you feel ‘light-headed’ or dizzy, there is a strong possibility that this could be a prelude to a heart attack or stroke. And if you are about to experience a medical problem, then you could have a seizure or leg spasms (due to the pain from the heart attack) and therefore, uncontrollably/without intention, spiral yourself into the ground if the leg spasm induced steering input. So why take the chance, if you don’t feel "right" – maintain your altitude via the throttle & pull your feet away from those foot steering controls – at least until you begin to feel better. And then of course, get yourself safely on the ground ASAP.

#7. Flare to Recover from a low altitude, high angle-of-attack. One of the "Worst-Case" scenarios in a PPC is to have an engine failure while still close to the ground (under 40 feet) and in a steep climb (usually right after a take-off). Because of the pendulum setup of the PPC, the cart will want to swing back (way, way back), thus pointing the leading edge of the wing and the nose of your cart into the ground - potentially turning your PPC into a ‘lawn-dart’. The way to recover from this situation is to immediately go to FULL-FLARE when you lose the engine. And then hold the flare until your cart is on the ground.

By immediately going to a full-flare, the drag created in the tail of the wing will prevent the wing from over-flying your cart and pointing to the ground, and thus will also reduce the tendency for your cart to swing way back and also point (giving you a real scary view) to the ground.

#6. Assist with early Take-off’s. Let’s say for some unknown reason that you absolutely had to take-off in a short field. At the far end of the field, there is a 4-foot fence. After you get a L.O.C. on your wing (Lines are clear; cells are Open; and the wing is Centered) you find that you are running out of open field and the fence seems to be approaching faster than a "speeding-bullet". Well, since I do not have the time right now to YELL at you for not already aborting the take-off, then you could use those handy foot steering bars to flare your wing right before the fence and thus hop over the fence. However, there is a good chance that you will come down on the other side of the fence if your PPC is still not ready for flight. But this at least is better than going through the fence. [Note: If you do use flare to assist, and thus shorten your ground take-off space, please be advised to smoothly release the flare ASAP – just in case you need that flare to recover from a low altitude engine out – see #7 above. Also note that usually a full-flare will pop your cart about 4-feet and 2.14478-inches off the ground for about 20 feet.]

#5. Assistance in centering the Wing. Whether to recover from altitude turbulence or assist with the centering of your wing during your rolling (take-off) preflight, the foot steering controls can be used to reduce your wings side-to-side oscillation. For example, if the wing is far left of center, and is beginning to move back to center (from left to right) you can add some left flare to slow the wing’s (right moving) inertia and thus keep it from over-shooting the center position above your cart. Or if the wing is far right of center and you want to begin the wing’s motion back to its normal & safe position above your cart, you could help initiate the wing’s motion to the left by applying left flare. (For more detailed instruction on this maneuver, please ask your instructor.)

#4. Throttle is your coarse altitude control, but FLARE is your fine-tuning altitude control. While trying to maintain a constant altitude, especially when close to the ground, you can fly with about 1/3 flare. This way, if the air begins to push you down, you can immediately add flare to lift you back to your desired altitude (until the throttle can hold you there again). And if the air begins to raise your PPC, then you can reduce the amount of flare to return you back to the desired altitude, until you can adjust your throttle again.

#3. Turbulence Reduction. The next time the weather is ‘pushing-you-around’, try applying about 1/3 flare during your flight. You may find that the added drag in your wing will reduce the amount of fore & aft oscillation that results from turbulent conditions.

#2. Encourage Cell Openings. During your rolling preflight (yes, this is the time that you are building your wing BEFORE your take-off) you may find it very useful to ‘pop’ a little (about half a second) flare after your wing comes overhead. This ‘pop’ of a flare has two little beneficial uses. First it assists with the opening of your outside cells. (It does this by pushing any air in the rear – trailing edge – of your wing to the front and thus pops the cells open.) And second it helps confirm that your steering lines are not caught-on or rapped-around any outrigger tubing.

And the #1 thing that you can do with your Foot Steering Controls - besides the obvious use to steer your powered parachute, is…

To assist with your landing. That’s right. Not all of us have that perfect throttle control to ‘grease’ every landing. However, with the use of flare – via our foot steering controls – we can have that landing that makes us look like the professional PPC pilot that we believe that we are!

[Again for more details about the above foot steering bar uses & techniques, please take the time to visit your professional PPC instructor.]

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