COALTON — A common sight in the skies above Boyd County on calm days, local powered parachute enthusiasts continue to cause people with their feet firmly on the ground to fantasize about flight.

“I took my first flight on Mother’s Day and I loved it. I can’t wait to do it again,” said Angie Collier of Grayson, watching her husband, Tony, and John Smith prepare to take wing from a field at the Boyd County Fairgrounds.

No stranger to aviation, Collier explained her husband is a licensed pilot and they own a Piper Cherokee 140 fixed-wing airplane. After meeting members of the local powered parachute community, Collier said they decided to purchase their light airplane last spring. Collier said she thought she would be terrified once the sport craft lifted off, and was surprised at her own level of excitement once in the air.

“I thought I would be scared, but it was more like ... you just feel free. You really notice what God has done. It is so peaceful,” she said, chuckling and adding, “John’s sister says it is better than a nerve pill.”

“We went to church that evening and immediately went straight to the field. I was so excited to experience a new type of flight. I thought to myself, ‘It is hard to believe that someone that is scared of heights could enjoy this so much!’ We took off and instantly, I could feel God’s presence all around us. The sky was just like a painting that God had put before us. The majesty of the scenery was overwhelming! God sure is a great God! We flew for around 30 minutes or so and landed just before dark,” she said. “If you ever want to have a wonderful experience then I highly recommend a powered parachute ride.”

Her husband said the perception that powered parachutes are unsafe is completely false.

“This is probably the safest kind of flying that you could do,” Tony Collier said, noting the machines are built to aviation standards using aircraft hardware, and are easy to maneuver.

“Anybody that would want to learn to fly can fly one of these,” he said. “It is a different kind of flying. It’s probably the closest thing to being a bird you could be.”

Collier said his mother flew in a powered parachute a year ago, and has recently made it clear she is ready to try it again.

“She said, ‘It’s about time you take me for a ride. I’m about ready to go,’” Collier said with a grin.

Collier said the parachute plane requires roughly a third of the cost of operating and maintaining a private airplane like his Piper, and is considerably easier to inspect and modify.

Tim and Terry Christian of Boyd County also had their powered parachute at the airstrip last week, taking advantage of the warm day and calm winds for another chance to catch some air time.

“It took him two years to get me to fly,” Terry said. “He kept saying, ‘Don’t you trust me?’” Terry said her standard answer to the question was, “When you’re on the ground.”

Now, however, she wears a big smile as they complete their pre-flight checklist and swears her husband can land the light airplane “smoother than a jet.”

Tim Christian says he’s heard all of the jokes about powered parachutes being “a go cart with a fan on it,” although he is certain it is the safest available form of flight. He said he became interested in powered parachutes after seeing one fly over.

“I decided to try it,” he said. “Two weeks later I ordered one.”

Christian said he has since seen many interesting things from his pilot’s seat including an accidental discovery of “a nudist place in Ohio.” He jokes that he had no idea how many local residents own swimming pools until he began flying low and slow over the area.

“You can see a lot of things from here — strange things. But, it is a view very few people have,” he said.

Orval Reid, 86, of Boonesboro said he gave up flying a few years ago, although he wanted to learn more about the powered parachute flight systems. After taking a short, maneuver-filled flight Reid said he is confident he could pilot one of the machines.

“Yeah, I think I could,” he said, smiling as he watched another flight leave the local airfield. “I think I need one. It would make it easy to see where your cows are at. I’ve got about 100 cows to watch and the fences are bad. One of these could come in handy.”

Powered parachute pilot and flight instructor John Smith said Boyd County resident David Lequire deserves credit for establishing the sport locally.

“He has been the ring leader of this whole thing for years,” Smith said of Lequire, noting people from across the nation continue to come to this area for pilot training.

Smith said he and his wife, Donna, once enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding their motorcycle, although they are now dedicated to flying whenever they get a chance. He was on the golf course when he first saw a powered parachute, Smith said, and he soon arranged to take his first flight.

“I took a ride and I was hooked,” he said, explaining his passion for the views provided by the lightweight and agile aircraft. “When I got into this I gave up all my hunting and fishing. This is what I’d rather be doing.”

Smith said anyone interested in learning to fly will be able to buy a single-seat aircraft for between $7,000 and $10,000 in addition to the cost of a sport pilot license and training. A two-seat craft is more expensive, he said, explaining “really the sky is the limit,” on that cost because the aircraft are available with many options for engine sizes and other accessories.

“The good thing is you can take it home and put it in your garage or you can leave it in an enclosed trailer. There is no airport cost,” Smith said.

Local powered parachute pilots have completed their training in as little as four months, Smith said, or as long as two years.

“We work around the individual’s schedule and abilities,” he said, adding student pilots benefit from the availability of four certified flight instructors who fly and teach locally.

Anyone interested in learning more about powered parachutes is encouraged to join the local powered parachute enthusiasts.

“We can make arrangements for rides. All they need to do is call one of us,” Smith said.

For more information about powered parachute flight, call Smith at (606) 928-8167 or 923-2113, or Lequire at 928-4486.