Southern Powered Parachutes was an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

based in

Nicholson, Georgia Nicholson is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,696 at the 2010 census, up from 1,247 at the 2000 census. Nicholson is known for its "Daisy Festival" and for several famous residents, including singer Kenny ...

. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of

powered parachutes A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the European Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

microlight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

and the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not req ...

trainer rules. The company's designs were never listed in the American light-sport aircraft category.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 81. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X The company was founded as '' Condor Powered Parachutes'' by John Massey in about 2001 as a result of his experience as a powered parachute pilot and dealer for other brands. He wanted to produce a lower-cost aircraft and Massey had a chance meeting with the president of Aerostar that led to a manufacturing relationship. As the model line expanded the company changed its name to ''Southern Powered Parachutes''. Southern produced two models, the

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

and

Raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

, with the airframes built by Aerostar in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The airframes were shipped to the US and assembled in Georgia for domestic sale. At least 15 Condors and eight Raptors were built. The company seems to have gone out of business in about 2006.

Aircraft

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Company website archives
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Ultralight aircraft Powered parachutes