BETHEL – Bethel Regional Airport is to be the starting point Saturday, Aug. 13, for eight Maine powered-parachute pilots undertaking their first annual charity ride.
Members of the Maine Powerchute Association are to fly from Bethel to Eastport on Aug. 13 through 20 to raise money for Camp Sunshine in Casco.
Located on the shore of Sebago Lake, Camp Sunshine is a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses, and their families.
“This is our first year formalizing this,” association President John Gobel of Frankfort said Friday.
Gobel said powered parachutes are ultralight aircraft using a parachute for a wing, and a 582-cc, 65-horsepower snowmobile engine.
The two-seated three-wheelers travel at about 26 miles per hour, and have a range of about 50 miles, he said. They usually fly 400 to 600 feet above the ground.
After starting in Bethel, the group is tentatively scheduled to stop in Lewiston on Aug. 14, in Augusta on Aug. 15, in Pittsfield on Aug. 16, in Bangor on Aug. 17, in Deblois on Aug. 18, in Machias on Aug. 19, and end in Eastport on Aug. 20.
Gobel said the group is to fly in and out of the local airport of each city.
He said the public is invited to take a close look at the machines at each stop. And, weather permitting, for a $20 charity donation, people can experience a 15-minute ride.
“People can experience what it feels like to be a bird. You’re out in the open with nothing around you but a seat belt. A lot of times, birds fly alongside us to see what we are, but most times, they pass us,” Gobel said.
Flying powered chutes, he added, is the safest way to fly.
“There is no other aircraft with a safer record,” Gobel said.
Last year, association members flew Maine’s flag from Augusta to Kitty Hawk, N.C.
The Maine Powerchute Association is a social organization of individuals throughout Maine, dedicated to promoting the safe and responsible flying of powered parachutes.
Gobel said they fly year-round and sponsor numerous ultralight fly-ins across Maine.
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