Six Chuter History

Our story actually began in 1990 as six employees (thus Six Chuter) of another powered parachute manufacturer. When we were laid off in January of 1991 we were subsequently contacted by some of the dealers of the previous company about starting our own manufacturing company. We soon were meeting with an attorney who would ultimately become and remain our corporate lawyer and friend. Six Chuter Inc. formally began operations in the spring of 1991.

Our original production site was in an old turn of the century fruit-packing warehouse that we rented for what then was the awesome price of $250 per month. The building was old, with outdated wiring, no phone service, barely workable toilets and what seemed to be the only workable fixture in the whole building, a very active honeybee hive. At least three times that first summer we had to vacate the building because the bees decided the inside of the building was more suited to their needs.

Our first priority was to get the building workable and then we sat about ordering inventory to produce our first Skye Ryder Aerochute; the name we had chosen for our product line. Our initial design was borne from the collaboration of a previous Boeing employee and a couple of us that had worked in recreational vehicle manufacturing. What we lacked in aviation experience we made up for in common sense and a varied background of mechanical and manufacturing experience. I suppose it didn't hurt to be somewhat naive also. Still, we had a vision of what we wanted our craft to look like to separate us from the other competitors; and, we worked with a single purpose to achieve a "look" that would not only be ours, but, would ultimately follow us through the years. Even today, our signature round continuous fan guard is primary to the design in every model we've ever sold.

Having pooled a modest sum of around $10,000 between the six of us, finances were an obvious concern; and, with only nine sales recorded that first year, three of the original six partners resigned and went back to work in other industries. The first winter of 1991 saw virtually no unit sales, but filling parts orders for units built by our previous employer kept a moderate amount of cash flow going. Still, by January of 1992 we were forced to move from the old warehouse because we couldn't pay the rent, which had been raised to $500 per month.

As luck would have it, we found an old building in Wiley City that was for rent. The owner agreed to give us three months rent free for cleaning the building up, and, within two weeks we were back in business. We would remain in this building until 1995. Although sales were slow the first part of 1992 we continued to make headway and our name began to gain recognition, however slight. Still, in July we took our last $1000 and headed for the Arlington Air Show, convinced to make a splash or enjoy one last hurrah as a working vacation. We were less than well received at our first air show ever, with most ardent aviators looking at us as some kind of a weird duck for entering their pure aviation environment. Many walked by our booth and openly laughed at our meager product. While at the show, we checked our messages at the office and found one from a gentleman in Ohio that wanted to purchase three units right away. For whatever reason, from that point on, sales would increase and as they say, we've never looked back.

A Pivotal moment in the summer of that year would be a prototype 450 square foot canopy sent to us to test by Performance Designs. This canopy would change the industry and the fortunes of Six Chuter. The new "high performance" canopy turned out to be inherently safe and stable; and, the user-friendliest canopy on the market. This canopy coupled with the introduction of a two-place machine and a 500 square foot Performance Designs canopy in 1993 would put Six Chuter on the map and cement our place in a now growing industry.

By 1994 our sales grew to 112 units and our rented facility started to become too small for our growing business. In 1995 we purchased approximately two acres a block down the street and built our current business office.

The property had existing buildings, which were refurbished to handle the manufacturing and shipping departments, in all more than doubling the size of the previous manufacturing site. It proved to be a timely move, as sales would exceed one million dollars for the first time in our history.

From this point on we would continue to welcome new dealers and distributors to our network, each adding a new dimension to o9ur ever expanding company. In 1997 we introduced the first of our "SR" series units with the SR7. In 1998 we would expand this product line the featured continuous bent tube to include the SR5xp, SR5 and SR1ss. This design would eventually command an immense amount of attention in the market and sales would soar, with theSR7xi becoming the hottest selling product on the market, 1997 would also see the addition of an all-new manufacturing facility as our expansion grew.

Fast Forward 2006/2007

Having been recognized as an industry leader in the U.S. for almost two decades now, Six Chuter Inc. during this period has expanded the powered parachute market both domestically and around the world. With now over 2300 units sold worldwide, our longevity is certainly a mark of consistency and leadership within the manufacturing community; all with the same original ownership. Yet right now is the most important time in the history of our company and our sport. New rules dictate that we all change, moreover, improve ourselves, both as pilots and manufacturers. Though some have viewed this as a negative thing, Six Chuter embraces this change as the first step to a better future for our entire sport. For the first time ever, powered parachutes are an aircraft. We finally belong and have our place in aviation.

As such the future of our sport looks to be extremely bright. Continuing recognition of the safety of this type of aircraft by avid flyers around the world, coupled with improvements in the instruction for pilots and standardization of manufacturing processes for manufacturers insures that new pilots and aircraft owners will be getting the very best there is to offer from all of us who serve the powered parachute community.