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 The building was old, with outdated wiring, no phone service, barely workable toilets and what seemed to be the only workable fixture in the whole building, a very active honeybee hive.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 ring 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 our 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 to include the SR5xp 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.
During the proliferation of powered parachutes in the late 1990’s we began to recognize that the units were getting larger and heavier.  In 2002 we redesigned the product in an effort to reduce weight.  This product was aptly called the “Spirit.”  Although we were able to reduce weight it was not significant and our goal was to create a lightweight but strong airframe that maximized performance while maintaining comfort for both pilot and passenger.
Fast Forward 2004… Sport Pilot and the “Legend”
The winds of change in our sport actually started brewing in 1997 and over the course of time it became apparent that the FAA would eventually step in and begin to regulate not just our segment of recreational flying but all sport flying.  As we were fully aware of possible rule changes our feeling was that we needed to be ready for change and still we needed a lighter airframe.  In 2004 we redesigned our entire product line and the “Legend” was born.  This was a significant step forward in that we created a lighter but much stronger airframe while standardizing materials and parts necessary to create multiple models off of one simple design concept.  This also made adherence to the new rules much easier to accomplish and by the time we completed our Special Light Sport Aircraft compliance in 2007 we knew we had a winner for now and into the future.
Having been widely recognized as an industry leader in the U.S. for almost two decades now, Six Chuter Inc. during this same 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 former ultra light and now light sport manufacturing community. And, all with still the same original ownership.  As we have always said:
With us the Skye is not the limit…..it’s only the beginning!

Dan Bailey,

President