Ready For Take Off
EC resident building next generation of flight
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

Hughes Aero Corp. is building powered parachute ultralights at the Wharton Municipal Airport. The machines, which allow people to fly at around 30 mph in a free floating style, are frequently spotted transversing the airspace above U.S. 59 in that area south of Wharton. El Campo resident Andrew Merta helps built the units. Pictured company owner Scott Hughes, center, talks with students. L-N Photo by Barry Halvorson

One local business' best marketing tool is doing what they do best - flying the friendly skies of Wharton County.

Hughes Aero Corp. has been building and flying powered parachutes, a form of ultralight aircraft, at the Wharton Regional Airport since 2005. CEO and President Scott Hughes said test, instructional and recreational flying over U.S. 59 brings in as many customers as any other form of advertising.

"They see the parachutes flying over the airfield and highway and some drivers just naturally follow them right back to the hangar," Hughes said. "People look up in the sky, say 'What the heck is that thing in the sky' and come and check us out. They find out we can get people in the air safely and economically. So it really isn't a very hard sales pitch."

Hughes' brand of powered parachutes carries the name of "Predator" and can be identified by its distinctive logo, a raptor bird (hawk or eagle) soaring through the name. It has become noted in the industry as being among the elite flying machines.

The company produces one of their Predators every four to five days. It is a production figure Hughes said will soon be increasing to about one per day starting around March.

While Hughes will be responsible for selling the extra inventory, the man responsible for producing them is Andrew "Gunny" Merta. A retired Marine drill sergeant living in El Campo, Merta was one of those drawn in off the highway by the colorful parachutes.

"I got hooked up with Gunny about eight months ago," Hughes said. "He came in and said, 'I want one of those.' I loved his enthusiasm and hired him. My dad's an ex-Marine and I should have probably been a Marine and so there was an immediate connection."

Hughes said Merta's military training had an immediate and positive impact on the fledging company and turned his thoughts toward expanding his operations.

"He's got that great attitude and can really do the manufacturing work," Hughes said. "He's not only adept at the engineering, but he also is one of the best I've ever met about thinking outside the box. And he's got an ability to train people that is second to none."

For his part, Merta said he enjoys the precision required to manufacture the equipment. It also allows him to use his degree in automotive technology, adapting it to get the best performance out of the engines that drive the propeller fans that provide the power for flight.

By renting all three sections of one airport hanger, Hughes now has about 10,000 square feet of operating space. A third serves as Merta's shop area for manufacturing and assembly of the air frames. Another third is devoted to storage and display while the remaining space to serve as a final processing point for customizing special requests and as a showroom.

"With the added space, we can get more units into production at the same time," Merta said. "Instead of having space to have one or two under construction, we can increase that number to five, six or more."

Hughes added that means more employees. He hopes to increase his workforce from six to as many as 20 or 30 when production goes full scale.

And while sales are still mostly word of mouth, or spotted from the highway, Hughes said he's hoping a national plug will put his facility, and their Predator-brand powered chutes, at the forefront on the industry.

"We recently filmed a pilot program for the Discovery Channel," he said. "It will kind of be our industry's version of 'Orange County Chopper.' If it has the same kind of impact, we want to be ready to take off."

The prices of the powered parachutes range from a very basic model for around $24,000 to a customized $36,000. Hughes said many of the additional ones will be base models, but he wants to continue to do the custom work, which draws the attention at air shows.

Air show success has come easily to Hughes Aero. One of the company's original models earned the innovation award at the 2005 Osh Kosh Fly-In, the world's largest event of its kind.

In 2006, it became the first powered parachute to win the Grand Champion award while also collecting the best powered parachute and best ultralight awards at the Sun and Fun Fly-In. This past summer, the company collected grand champion and bronze awards at Osh Kosh.

Part of the company's success is based on simply building a better product. By shifting engine location and making a couple of other modifications recommended by NASA engineers, Hughes came up with a design that features a lower center of gravity resulting in a more stable flight, a significant selling point.

"I've been in the powered parachute business for 10 years and was the number one sales person for a couple of other brands," Hughes said. "I saw things that could be done better and decided to go into business for myself. I checked into Hempstead and Bay City and a few other areas and decided to come here. The people really rolled out the red carpet for us. I flew for the first time here on Feb. 27, 2005."

In addition to building and selling powered parachutes, Hughes Aero also offers instruction. The Federal Aviation Administration now requires a sports pilot license for ultralight flying that requires a ground school, 10 hours of assisted flight and two hours of solo flying before being licensed. He said many in the industry see it as an improvement by increasing the safety level. And Hughes has always been big on safety.

"We've instructed about 610 people here to solo and we've had no injuries and no crashes during that time. In part it is because we've improved some of our safety designs."

Because of the additional demands of production and sales, Hughes said he still plans on providing instruction and will be bringing in additional people to handle that portion of the operation so all the services can be found in the same location.

With a maximum speed of only around 30 mph, Hughes said powered parachutes are still mainly a recreational vehicle. While they have been used in search-and-rescue operations (their slower speed and ability to fly close to the ground being a major asset) and have other potential military and law enforcement applications, having fun is still the real reason for powered parachutes.

"There have always been people who liked challenges and as a result got into riding Harleys or facing other challenges," he said. "This is just the next step in the process. The powered parachute market is ready to explode. And we're going to be in a position to go up when it does."