| Last year Hughes Aero introduced their Predator to the U.S. market at Sun N Fun and won the Flex-Wing Innovation Award at Airventure 2005. They are now well into production of the unit with the capacity to produce up to 60 craft per month from their 10,000 square foot facility in Texas. Scott Hughes owner of Hughes Aero has been involved in the powered parachute industry since it's inception back in the mid 80's. Over the years he has worked as a representative for number of manufacturers, training some 500 pilots how to fly powered parachutes. Several years ago he decided to get out "pen and paper" and using his ppc experience to design a powered parachute from the ground up. One of the first things he decided was that the unit had to be easy to get in an out of, yet provide superior pilot protection. Another design consideration was to have a sleek design that would provide a cleaner airflow to the engine and propeller for better thrust. Scott also found through testing that with a narrower design with a properly placed radiator, and oil tank and 68 inch propeller gave the better performance compared to other craft using the same power plant. These goals are met by using large diameter tubing and C clamps for connecting tubing. This adds considerable strength to the craft which makes it possible to build the Predator with less tubing. Another unique feature is that the throttle and ground steering are controlled using just one stick rather than two found on most other powered parachutes. This allows students or pilots to fly with either hand and to be able to "kite the chute" using only one control mechanism for both steering and throttle. The Predator also has adjustment built into it for short and tall pilots. In literally seconds it can be adjusted to fit someone 5 foot 6 to well over 6 feet. The Predator is set up to use the Rotax 582 65 HP two stroke liquid cooled engine or the Rotax 912 series of four stroke engines. According to Scott most pilots are opting for the 912 series because of the "longer life, reliability, and better fuel economy." A number of chutes are available for the Predator including Hot Wings, PD, Elan, and Quantum. One of the unique things about Hughes Aero is that they do "theme planes." Some of this include a Harley plane, a Captain America, Superman, and the latest creation a "Pirate Ship." The "Pirate Ship" on display was decked out with a graphic pilot skull and cross bones on the chute, specially painted airframe, radiator, saddle bags and fuel tank, lanterns, crows nest and of course a skeleton passenger. | 
