Anyone Ever Jumped A Seaplane?

[jfields 0]

Hey Folks.
I was wondering if anyone out there has ever jumped from a seaplane? Well, anyone other than Spectre230, who did, dozens of times, right as the plane was going over Niagra Falls, no less.
Seriously...
Has anyone ever done it? If so, what sort of seaplane was it and how did you do the exit. Did you just climb out onto the float?
I know Cessna's are commonly converted to seaplanes. There are also some Otters out there in similar configuration, as well as tons of other stuff not usually seen as jumpships.
Just to clarify, I am not saying I've done this, because I haven't. So I don't want the "liar, liar pants on fire" shit to start up. But I'm just looking for details, because there might be an opportunity in the future. If it ever does happen, there will be video.
Justin

[AggieDave 6]

Dude, there's no way you've ever jumped from a sea plane, that's gotta be a load of crap. You know the difference between fairy tales and jump stories, right? A jump story starts off "no shit..."
j/k
I've thought about that too, although I don't know how you would do it. Maybe just jump out the door?
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.

[riggerrob 643]

Watch the video that Tom Sanders debuted in 1993. The last segment shows they jumping from a DeHavilland Beaver somewhere in the South Pacific (Palau?). Gorgeous scenery!
Seriously, over the years, several bunches of skydivers have jumped floatplanes for a lark.
A few groups have just leapt out the door, but most seem to prefer to stroll around on the floats and struts for a while.
The best floatplane - for skydiving - is the Fairchild Husky, with a hatch under the tail. Too bad they crashed the last Husky a decade ago!
As for flying boats, most of the have a cargo door aft of the wing, so the exit is not much different than a DC-3.
The disadvantage of any seaplane is that they are heavy. Floats weight a lot, so they reduce the number of jumpers you can carry, making them uneconomical for regular skydiving operations.

[jfields 0]

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Maybe just jump out the door?

I dunno. Unlike a regular jump plane, there is a lot of crap down there. Struts and floats and stuff. I was thinking that you'd have to climb down onto the float, then jump from there.
See the attached picture. You'd have to get a hefty jump out the door to clear everything.
Justin

[AggieDave 6]

Yeah, and I don't see myself wanting to hang off the wing strut either...That is one big honk'n step, though. Like a HUGE float bar...
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.

[jfields 0]

Rob,
I understand the reasons why seaplanes wouldn't be regular jumpships. But if the hypothetical opportunity were to present itself....I'm not sure what sorts of aircraft would be involved. There seem to be a wide variety of aircraft converted to seaplanes, as well as some specially-built ones.
Justin

[indyz 1]

I see a gigantic flying jungle gym when I look at that plane. I wonder how hard it would be to crawl underneath to the other pontoon?
--
Brian
Homepage

[Aviatrr 0]

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See the attached picture. You'd have to get a hefty jump out the door to clear everything.

Well, with that specific airplane.....just go to the back door and exit it as you would any other Caravan..
Seriously though, most small Cessna floatplanes don't have anything other than the floats and maybe a cable or two going from the float to the underside of the fuselage.....so just step out onto the float and dive out..
I've got quite a few jumps from floatplanes.....but they were only from about 6 ft.. We used to take floatplanes out to Lake Havasu, land on the lake, and swim from the thing.....we used the wings as diving boards..
Mike

[jfields 0]

Aside from the jungle-gym issue, another one I see is actually getting out the door. Assuming that the plane is not configured with a jump door (safe assumption), the door would have to open forward, pushing against the windstream. I can see that being a major pain, and maybe impossible without the help of a passenger inside. Unless the door can simply be removed temporarily.
Justin
PS Mike, so I guess I picked a bad example picture, huh?

[TheMarshMan1 0]

I dunno, thats kind of a long ways. You'd have to be pretty flexible to get to those cross-braces- but once you got there you could prolly shimmy your way across....But...then again, whats the worse that could happen (provided your extremely careful not to snag anything)....you fall!

[hisgoofyness 0]

i have always thought of the grumman goose
that is one of my favorite planes of all time
jimmy buffet has one
if there are any other parrot heads on here, maybe we could convince jimmy to let us do a demo from it in to one of his shows... that would be cool
hisgoofyness
its a bird, its a plane, no wait, its one goofy s.o.b.

[lummy 4]

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if there are any other parrot heads on here, maybe we could convince jimmy to let us do a demo from it in to one of his shows... that would be cool

I'm in
It's a semi true story, believe it or not. I made up a few things and there's some I forgot, but the truth and the telling are both real to me, and they all run together and turn out to be.. a semi true story

[freeflir29 0]

I saw a video of some people jumping a Dehavilland Beaver on floats. They just stood out on the floats. 3 of them and then went off. Obviously you need something to hold onto but if your doing anywhere under 100 KIAS the wind really shouldn't present a problem. Unless you are old, weak, frail or just generally shouldn't be jumping in the first place...
"I only have 125 jumps, so I don't know shit..right?"-Clay

[hisgoofyness 0]

forgive my url ingnorance but here is a couple of links to see my dream ship
http://www.margaritaville.com/roadtrip/hemidancer/hemidancer.html
http://www.lpba.org/jb2000.html
it would be a party all the way up to altitude
hisgoofyness
its a bird, its a plane, no wait, its one goofy s.o.b.

[homer 0]

PALAU my old room mate and good friends from Palau. The island of Coror I believe. I hear the scuba diving there it the shit! If any buddy ever talks to a guy by the name of Brian Ngirutang tell him Pistol Pete says hi.
pissing in freefall is only going to make the person above you mad

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[Opie 0]

count me in too
Opie
If your not on the edge, you can't enjoy the view!

[billvon 3,112]

We did a demo back in NY from the floats of an amphib Caravan. I wasn't on the load, but four other jumpers clung to the floats as it took off, tried to spot while clinging to the floats, then just rolled off the side. It was not a well thought out demo attempt.
-bill von

[rhino 0]

How do you exit?? Get the hell out!! EXIT EXIT EXIT!!!! LOL
Blue Skies and Smooth Rides!!