Buckeye Industries Dream Machine (powered parachute)
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Dream Machine is a two-seat powered parachute from Buckeye Industries, introduced in 1985: a three-wheeled cart with a pusher 50 hp Rotax 503, or a 64 hp 582, under a 500 sq ft ram-air canopy. It flies at about 23 knots, climbs at 800 fpm, carries 8 gallons and has a 500 lb useful load at an 800 lb gross weight.
It is not an aeroplane and the usual spec columns do not apply: the wing flies at a nearly constant speed set by the canopy, it is stall-resistant rather than stall-proof, and control is by foot-operated steering lines and throttle. A powered parachute category rating on a sport pilot or private certificate is required and the training is specific to the category: this is a low-wind sport with limits set by the aircraft's handbook, and the canopy must be inflated, raised overhead and checked before every takeoff. Buckeye is no longer in business — its last aircraft were built around 2008 — so nothing is factory-supported; the Rotax 582 is still serviced through the usual Rotax channels while the 503 is out of production with vendor support only, and the canopy is a fabric item with a limited life that must be kept out of the sun and inspected for porosity, stitching and suspension-line condition. Many of these were two-seat ultralight trainers brought onto the register as experimental light sport before the January 2008 deadline, and others are amateur-built, so the airworthiness certificate dictates who may inspect it. As an amateur-built aircraft the owner may maintain it and an A&P or the builder-repairman does the annual condition inspection.
Variants of the Buckeye Dream Machine
- Dream Machine (powered parachute) · 1985 · 226 active · this page
Also consider
- Powrachute Pegasus (powered parachute)No overall score · 2 seats · 30 kt
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 503 (Rotax 582 64 hp optional) |
| Horsepower | 50 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1985 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 23 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 500 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 800 lb |
| Empty weight | 300 lb |
| Usable fuel | 8 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 459 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 226 |
| Median year built | 2000.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 17.71 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 17.72 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 21 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 9.293 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 226 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 226 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 226 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Powered parachute, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | —4 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 12.93 · 3 models in class.
- Severity: class median 16.67.
- Access: class median 66.
- Support: class median 226.
- Liquidity: class median 16.05.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30