Cessna 182 vs King Air

[Cornholio 0]

I'm thinking about doing my AFF levels 7 and 8 tomorrow. The thing is, is that I will be jumping out of a tiny 182 rather than the King Air I am used to. AND, I will be jumping out at 11K rather than 14K . AND I will be DIVING out - not poised exit.
Bottom line is - I'm a little terrified!!
I talked to my JM on the phone today to ask her opinion if I was capable (she knows my experience) of doing what I need to out of the 182, and if I had enough time/altitude rather than the King Air. She said that the AFF program was designed for 9K deployment, so I should have plenty of time.
I shouldn't be worried about anything different when jumping out of a smaller, less altitude-bound airplane, should I ?? I guess I'm thinking like this: the less altitude = less time = must hurry = might fawk up....get unstable, and then pull upside down..etc..etc...
And a diving exit, rather than a poised exit...is it harder to get stable ?
Any encouragement or advice would be appreciated. I'm still doing it, no matter what, I just need a push...hehe
- Matt
__________________________________________
If first you don't succeed....skydiving is not for you.

[lazerq3 0]

One of my favorite things to do is dive outa the 182 into a front flip and stable out!!! I know it sounds scary but its not....I had to do the dive on my LVL 7 outa one as soon as I dove out just go into a good arch....you may go slightly head low at first but you'll stable out just fine!!! Believe me I know the feeling and it scared me a little but just dont get to worked up over it , relax and if you tumble you should already know how to get back to the BTE position.....if your on your back just "roll outa bed" ....You'll do fine!! Soon you'll be wanting to dive outa everything !!jason

[skycat 0]

I've jumped both and although the 182 is scary as hell when all you have jumped is a KA or an Otter it isn't really all that bad. The plane will be going MUCH slower than the KA, so it is a really odd feeling not having the HUGE prop blast.
As for the getting unstable part, I know when I did AFF levels 6 and 7 were all about getting unstable (back flips, front flips) so I'm guessing your 7 and 8 should be the same thing. (If this is AFP the 13 level program then ignore what I just said.) Either way your JM should be able to tell you what you need to do to get stable again. So don't sweat it just go and have fun.
The worst part of the cessna is it takes forever to get to altitude, and then you don't even get full altitude.

• Quote

[billvon 3,120]

>I shouldn't be worried about anything different when jumping out of a smaller, less
> altitude-bound airplane, should I ?
Worried? No. It's not worse, it's just different. Make sure you and your JM's go over the different operating procedures, emergency procedures, what not to touch etc.
>I guess I'm thinking like this: the less altitude = less time = must hurry = might
>fawk up....get unstable, and then pull upside down..etc..etc...
Well, you've answered your own question there. Don't hurry. If I go up with a student on a Level III, and I see a good turn and stop once in each direction, and the rest of the dive is good, he passes. If he does four sloppy hurried ones, then pulls sorta unstable and a little low, he doesn't. You have time to get everything done if you don't hurry.
>And a diving exit, rather than a poised exit...is it harder to get stable ?
Objectively, no - it's exactly the same idea - present to the relative wind and lead with your hips. It is harder mentally, because you will be going head-towards-earth, and it _feels_ all wrong. Concentrate on your body position and how you present to the wind, not where the earth is - at least, on exit.
-bill von

[Cornholio 0]

Quote

if your on your back just "roll outa bed"

Hehe...you sound EXACTLY like my JM.
Another reason for wanting to do a couple jumps our of the 182, is I want to get familiar, so that when I do my hop'n'pop, I won't have any worries.
You're probably right though...soon, I'll be wanting to dive out of everything. It's just the fear of becoming unstable and not coming out of it that scares me. And I know that the only way to get over that fear is to just DO IT , get unstable, and then get out of it safely.
I was terrified of doing backflips last weekend too, but after the first one, I said "Hey that wasn't so bad" then looked at my instructor and did another one!! haha.
__________________________________________
If first you don't succeed....skydiving is not for you.

[ChromeBoy 0]

Once you get off AFF you can hang on the strut, and let your feet and legs just fly in the wind. Then swing your legs up to the front of the wing, put put your toes on top of the wing and let go of the strut. Release to a head down or a flip. My first 182 jump was a little scary after coming from a DZ with a Casa and Skyvan. But they are loads of fun.

[indyz 1]

Disclaimer: I only have 20 jumps, all of them out of a 182.
I screwed up a few diving exits by actually diving off of the plane, that is, I pushed off with my feet, leading to a turn while I was still on the hill. My exits got a lot smoother when I stopped pushing and just reached for the tail and let myself fall off.
--
Brian

[lazerq3 0]

And dont worry about rushing because of the less altitude....we had to do everything your doinng from 9500ft and you still have plenty of time after that!!!.........(if you can when your ready do a jump where all you do is fly on your back!!!! Its really fun and it taught me some new control methods when being unstable....just make sure you have a wrist alt!!!!!
jason

[skycat 0]

Quote

I screwed up a few diving exits by actually diving off of the plane

You should ask TequilaGirl, or better yet her instructor was HooknSwoop about diving from the cessna. She was a platform diver and did a perfect front dive off the step, it was so perfect she almost hit the tail.

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Like everyone said, it takes for-bloody-ever to get up, and it might be a bit bumpy, but that's half the fun.
C-182, King Air, DHC-6, no matter what ya jump out of, after the first second or two out the door, it's all the same - freefall.

[Hooknswoop 19]

Everybody already gave you great advice, only thng I can add is, is either aircraft the same price? If it wouldn't hurt your currency to wait to jump out of the King Air, why pay the same for less altitude?
Hook

[Cornholio 0]

You are correct Hook, in that I'm mainly doing it for currency. If I don't jump tomorrow, it will be at least another 2 weeks before I jump again.
And yes, everyone did give me great advice so far. The only concern I have is that when jumping out, someone said to look at the tail to keep your arch/head up. So the wind will be at your back and not at your front like jumping out of the KA ? That will be a new feeling for me.
__________________________________________
If first you don't succeed....skydiving is not for you.

[indyz 1]

The wind will be at your back while you are on the step. When you dive off you will pitch way down and the relative wind will be on your chest, then you slide down the hill. It's really fun to do, especially if you did hanging/poised exits for your first 14 jumps like I did.
--
Brian