By Mark I. Johnson staff writer mark.johnson@news-jrnl.com    Photos by Roger Simms    February 1 2001

Happy motoring

Richard Good, from England, does some paramotoring at New Smyrna Dunes Park in New Smyrna Beach Thursday.  This new sport is a cross between parasailing and ultralight, as one straps on the motor attached to a propeller and is pushed through the air by its power.

Company hopes to land a spot for instruction NEW SMYRNA BEACH - It's a bird. It's a plane. What the heck is that? That thought may have been going through the minds of beach goers near New Smyrna Dunes Park last week as a trio of paramotor pilots cruised above the beach. Lead by Quebec resident Eric Dufour, the group glided across the wind currents suspended from a parachute-like canopy.  However, rather than floating gently to the ground, these adventurers stayed aloft, thanks to a motor strapped to their backs.

The 80cc engines power a propeller that provides thrust that can push these unique craft to speeds up to 25 miles per hour and to heights of 8,000 feet, said Dufour, a winter resident and certified paramotor instructor. He teaches through a Quebec-based company called Paratour and, like many of his fellow Canadians, Dufour comes to Volusia County during the winter.

Good touches down after paramotoring in New Smyrna.

In addition to his pioneering paramotor experience, which includes teaching more than 400 pilots in Canada and the United States, Paratour literature describes Dufour, 45, as a "seasoned sky diving instructor, private pilot, paragliding instructor and ultralight instructor." Dufour said his company has plans to offer paramotoring instruction locally for those interested in learning this unique sport in the near future, but details of that operation are still up in the air. It is hoped that once things are worked out, the company will be able to offer tandem rides for those wishing to experience the sensation of paramotor flight, but not wanting to take the controls themselves. It is an experience that one of Dufour's fellow flyers, English resident Richard Good, described as a cross between parachuting and ultralight aircraft flying.

Eric Dufour prepares his paramotor for flight at New Smyrna Dunes Park.

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