 I would like to thank my parents Gordon and Rita Merkel for passing on to me their desire for adventure and travel, and for their overwhelming support.
My
pilot
friends
have
associated
me
with
the
machine
(Dorothy)
in
the
1996
movie
"Twister"
they
send
up
in
a
tornado
to
check
the
winds.
They
say
I
will
fly
in
anything,
I
say
maybe,
but
I
know
one
thing
for
sure,
gravity
won't
keep
me
down.
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I started Ram-Air Skyways in 2004 to share with others through aerial photographs the adventure and the freedom of flight, and to offer everyone an opportunity to experience first hand what recreational aviation is all about with an introductory flight in an ultralight Powered Parachute.
At the time of this writing I have recorded almost 200 hrs. flying time and I am an ASC member and Basic Flight Instructor. Some of my flying adventures include; flying the shore lines of all the major lakes in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, a personal altitude record of 10,000 feet, working directly with police in a local aerial search, and flying over the High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
My desire to fly started back when I was a child looking in the back of my father's Popular Mechanics magazines and dreaming about building one of those kit flying machines and flying in one adventure after another.
My first chance to experience this boyhood dream came in 1988 when several of my coworkers wanted to try skydiving and I eagerly went along. Yes, skydiving is flying. A skydiver flies his body with all of the aerodynamics of an aircraft and can perform all of the same maneuvers except regain altitude. With my desire to go the extra step and experience new adventures fully, I reached the next level of skydiving and fell in love with flying like an eagle. Five years later I had recorded over 500 skydives.
My priorities changed due to financial circumstances and I discontinued skydiving and went back to school to get a college degree and better my position in life. My eyes and heart never stopped looking skyward with a desire to once again fly like an eagle. In the late winter of 2003 the time was right and my search to fly again led me to ultralight aircraft, (Popular Mechanics flying machines). With my experience flying sport parachutes as a skydiver, the Powered Parachute was the logical choice.
Through the internet I found a local contact for Powered Parachutes, Bill Leibenguth, flight instructor and owner of Freedom Flight Inc. and a dealer for Destiny Powered Parachutes. I was soon owner of a Destiny XLT Powered Parachute and flying skyward. I became good friends with Bill and he introduced me to another Powered Parachute pilot and now good friend Mark Bayer, flight instructor and owner of Sky Chutes Inc. Both Bill and Mark have helped me become a safe, knowledgeable, and experienced pilot.
Appended December 4, 2007.
Certified Sport Pilot, Certificate #3171631 July 2, 2006. Flight hours logged 458.
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See 3-way skydive video (Steve, Sue, Gordon)
