Have you ever looked into the sky and witnessed what appeared to
be a go-kart flying through the air with a parachute attached to the back?
Growing up I would often see this myself several times throughout the summer. I
never knew what the “flying go-kart” contraption moving through the air really
was, and never thought much of it either. Why I wasn’t more concerned with this
strange device flying not far from my home, I do not know, so that is why I
decided to learn more about the “flying go-kart” in one of my aviation stories.
Hopefully you will find learning about this puzzling aircraft interesting as
well!

These flying go-karts from my childhood memories are now
not so much a mystery. These aircrafts must be regulated in flight zones where
they cannot interfere with other airplanes. Being that I lived less than a mile
from the private and locally owned Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport, this must
have been one of the areas the powered parachutes were able to fly, and why I
had witnessed them flying across the skies growing up.
References:
[1] Kennedy, Carolyn. “An
Unusual Flying Machine.” SW Aviator Online Edition. Southwest Regional Publishing,
Inc. 2001. Web. 1 Feb 2014. <http://www.swaviator.com/html/issueND04/Parachutes.html>
Wow, interesting. They must fly pretty low for you to be able to spot the go-kart structure from your observer's post on the ground. In your opinion, could this become a viable form of personal transport? I wouldn't mind parasailing to school in a go-kart. But I'm not sure how to calculate the gas mileage. Do you know what fuel type it runs on or what kind of engine it has?
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