dzswoop717

You are right. Any thing short of a chuteless jump is for pussies to him. I retract my last post. We still had fun living the lifestyle thow.

In my younger, dumber, macho days. We did stupid stuff, pulled low, jumped low, over grossed airplanes, broke off down planes LOW, and so on. We were young and full of piss and vinegar. We lived the "Sport Death" life style. But NEVER do I remember using the phrase Blue skies black death, outside my skydiving group to impress anyone. We were to busy trying to impress each other with our acts of bravery and skill to worry about non jumpers. I can't recall ever using this phrase to impress a non skydiver, but that was many brain cells ago!

An early Cessna 185 has the exact same dimensions, airfoil, tail surfaces (except for larger dorsal fin) and fuselage size as an early straight tail 182. The 185 had a beefed up structure to handle the extra load that it could carry. They have useful loads in the 1600lb range. The 185 came with either an IO-470 260hp or an IO-520 300hp engine They also came with 6 seat belts from the factory. 185's carry 5 jumpers most of the time. It is cramped but it is legal and it is safe. I have hundreds of jumps from 185's with 5 jumpers on board. If a 182 has wing tip extensions that increase it's useful load and an engine conversion increasing hp to 260 or above it can theoretically carry 5 jumpers safely the same as a 185. The legal question I don't know the answer to. I do know that in the sixties wide body 182, they offered a child's seat that went in the cargo area which gave it a total of 6 seat belts. If you have a hot rod wide body 182, it may be possible to use the child seat paperwork to get the extra seat belt. Another thing I have never read on here on the issue of weight and balance of a 182 jump plane is. With the passenger seat and yoke removed and a jumper sitting with his back against the control panel (ie:student posistion), the CG is already farther forward than anytime the plane is in normal seat configuration. You have just moved the cg farther forward than it is possible to do with the seat in place and occupied by a passenger. If you load the plane with the heaviest jumper in the front and the lightest jumper in the back and 2 middle weights in the middle sitting side by side , a 182 is well with in normal cg.

In my home state ,PA, if farm land is zoned "agricultural", it cannot be used for other unrelated business. I traveled this road in the early 1990's when I started a DZ on a local farmers private grass runway. Shortly after jump operations started I was informed that the land use did not include aviation business unless it was related to agriculture. A crop dusting business was permitted but not skydiving. Our local officials were very accommodating and helped me jump through the hoops to allow a skydiving CLUB continue to operate on the farm. My father and I owned the aircraft and equipment and leased it to the club. Everyone who jumped at the dz had to be a club member. Our business address for the airplanes and equipment was different than the clubs location. It was a way to get around the rules and the local township was very friendly and helpful. I know of at least one popular dz that uses a tactic like this to get around land use rules.

Man are you paranoid. I wasn't baiting you into anything. I was just wondering how you practice these maneuvers. If you are using over weight instructors in a 182 you will need to load him in with a fork lift to be at gross weight even with full tanks.The instructor would need to be 500+ pounds to even be close to gross weight. I agree with your opinion, just wondering how you accomplish the task. I personally don't practice slow flight or spins with passengers and I would need 1000lbs of cargo with my fat ass and full tanks in my current airplane to practice at gross weight. Just curious how you set up to practice.

It sounds like you have experience in this situation. Have you had a stall, spin occurrence in a fully loaded Cessna as pilot in command or do you practice these maneuvers in a Cessna that is at gross weight? I am curious to know how you handled the situation. I guess I am an armchair pilot. I have never practiced over gross weight stalls or spins. Do you load the plane with sand bags or do you just practice with a full load of jumpers?

It's just an idea, not an endeavor yet. My wife and i are in the midst of a mid life crisis. Thinking about semi retirement. Something that could help pay the bills and that we would enjoy. I have prior dzo experience and never want to own or operate a full fledge DZ again. My current business has taken away most of my free time for the last 12 years. It feels like the right time to slow down and enjoy life. I have only made a few hundred jumps in the last 12 years and I miss it terribly. I currently don't make enough jumps per year to keep my tandem rating current. Just fishing for input about the possibility of such an endeavor. The good, bad and ugly of such an operation. Stuff I haven't thought of on my own. Details I am overlooking or forgetting. I think that owning the airplane is a must. There are a lot of details that would need to be worked out. Thanks for the replies thus far. Any more thoughts?

Has anyone ever heard of a mobile tandem business in the US? I was down under in 08 and saw a mobile tandem operation that went from town to town offering tandems. I know airport access would be an issue but, beside that, what would be the issues with doing it here in the USA? Does each jump location have to have a USPA group membership? Would the tandem manufacturers have any jurisdiction over it? I was thinking of it working in conjunction with big events such as large out door concerts, fairs, motorcycle rallies, and so forth.

Thanks for the link. I need to learn how to do that. I have just enough computer knowledge to post here.

I am computer challenged. It was a 1939 Studebaker Gasser,'THE BOSS" in the sept. 2013 issue of Hot Rod magazine. I think it will come up if you google it.

I finally had a car, that my shop painted, featured in Hot Rod magazine, Sept 2013 issue. I have been customizing and painting cars, motorcycles, and airplanes since 1977. My business partner and I (both skydivers) have known each other for over 40 years and have been in business togeather for the last 11 years. I would make a bet that it is the first feature car that had it's bodywork and paint done by skydivers.

As an old fart also, I can add that the saying has been around for decades (borrowed gear-borrowed death) Because back then the equipment had several different methods to achieve each step of deploying and cutting away a canopy. There were Inboardcross pull ripcords,out board ripcords, blast handles, belly band mounted pilot chutes, pullouts, legstrap mounted pilot chutes, and even left hand leg strap mounted pilot chutes. If you walked onto a DZ in the late seventies to early eighties all these deployment systems could possibly be found on a DZ on a regular jump day. There were just as many different cut away systems, capewells, shot and a halfs, R-2's, R-3's, And 3 rings with the pillows in different posistions. If you take into account that all these different systems were mixed togeather in many different combinations you can see how a borrowed rig, back then, could get you in trouble very quickly. Gear is more standardized these days (boc, 3 ring, cut away pillow on right, silver on left) Making it less dangerous to borrow gear now then back then. But in no way am I saying that borrowing gear without first taking time to check out the gear is a good Idea.

When I worked for Paul Fayard back in the day. He built the ultimate 182 jump ship. IO-550 300hp engine, Roll up lexan door, cargo liner on the interior. it was a wide body and he only ever flew it with 4 jumpers. If there was a way to have the extra jumper in there he would have done it. The plane could have easily carried the extra load and the wide body can accomodate another body. I think the issue was useful load and it was maxed out with 4 jumpers and a pilot. Wing tip extensions would have given him more useful load and possibly the ability to carry 5 jumpers . But I can't say for sure.

One of the things that hasn't been considered by any one is the fact that most small DZs rent the facilities that they use. If you are on a 5 year or less lease, it wouldn't be cost effective to dump 10k into fixing up the bathrooms like a 4 star resort. If your lease isn't renewed you have just given the landlord some free upgrades to his property. If the rest room is clean, stocked, and works it is good enough for me.

Those were the days. If we have a York Skydivers reunion this year I will get in touch with you. Hope you can make it. I will send you a DVD of this years reunion and memorial for my Dad.

My Dad started flying the plane for the York Sport Parachute Center in 1966, I was 4 years old. They made me wait until I was 16 to make my first jump. I spent 12 years soaking in the jump stories. Made my first jump 28 may 1978. Unfortunatly I only made 50 jumps in the first 2 years because I started chasing girls and waisting time on cool cars so I could impress the girls (they weren't impressed). Started jumping pretty hard when I was 19. I have slowed down the past 2 years but hope to make several jumps this year.

In my opinion it isn't worth the risk of a potential law suit for the price of a lift ticket no matter what the regs say. The risk becomes more worth while when a first jump student plops down a couple of hundred bucks for the same ride.

I am no harley expert but I always start with the simpelest thing first. Try cleaning the battery cables and grounds first. then go through and make sure any plugs in the wiring harness are completely plugged and snapped togeather ( try to pull the plug apart, if it is clipped correctly it won't come apart). I had that problem once in a car, the little tab that kept the plug locked in place was broken off and the car acted just like what you explained. I found the problem when I started to trace the ignition system and I pulled on the plug and it just fell apart. Sometimes people don't get the plug completely snapped in place when they do maintenance and eventually it viabrates out. Once I have tried the simple stuff and it still doesn't work I take it to an expert.

Did one new years eve 1983-1984. Our DZ was at the edge of town. Under canopy heard pops and bangs coming from town, Realized it was the locals shooting there guns into the air at midnight. I freaked out and spiraled down as fast as I could. We all lived and had an excellent party that night.

My brother had extreme pain in his ears back in the early ninties. He started wearing earplugs and his problem was solved. I don't know if this is a recommended procedure but it has worked for him for over 20 years and a couple thousand jumps.

I was packing my rig one time and this little kid comes over and asks me, "why don't you use a packing machine"? I was being polite and I explained that there is no such thing as a packing machine. He got a little upset and swore that his dad ran a packing machine in the Army. We talked back and forth for a while, I was attempting to explain how hard it would be to create such a machine with so many different size canopies and so forth. He stood his ground, and when his dad walked up to us, the kid looked up to his Dad and said "didn't you run a packing machine in the Army". His Dad laughed and said, "no son, I was a packing machine I was an army parachute rigger'. We got a good laugh out of that one.

Hi Jeffsnephew, I was going through my AIT Army training at Ft. Gordon in 1984. I had a little over 500 jumps at the time. We were not allowed to have a car during this training so I would catch a ride to West Wind from a local jumper, Mike Delang was his name. I jumped there for a few months until I finished my AIT training. I went to the DZ for what I thought would be the last time. I was going to my next phase of training, Jump School at Ft. Benning, on Monday. I wouldn't have a car at jump school so this would be my last weekend at West Wind. I was saying my good byes to everyone for the last time , promising that I would be back to visit some day. When I went to Jeff to say good bye, he asked me if I might get any weekends off during jump school. I told him I had no idea. He said " well if you get a day off, come visit us" and he handed me the keys to the dropzone van. I was speechless. He said "use it as long as you need it". I will never forget the looks on the Black hats faces (jump school instructors) when I came rolling into Ft. Benning in a van with WEST WIND SKYDIVING CENTER plastered on the side of it. I was called out by the instructors the first day of training and dogged pretty hard for the entire training. It was a wonderful time in my life and your uncle was a big part of it. I got to go back to the DZ a few more times during my stay at Ft Benning. I can't remember exactly how I returned the van to Jeff before going to my permanent party station at FT. Bragg. I visited Jeff and Teresa on my way back from the Mardi Gras Boogie, I think it was 1985, It was the last time I got to see them. If you are still in contact with Teresa, please tell her I said hello. Thanks, Cliff .

I never even thought of the LSA thing. I wonder what the rules are on that?

I have been jumping with the same friends and family (brother) for over 30 years. I quess we are just to old and lazy to try something new like, Motocross, big wave surfing, Vertical ramp skateboarding, or BMX. But not too old to give it up for bowling, bingo, or shuffle board.

Over the years I have run into people who will tell you they skydive, when you know that they haven't. Most times it starts because I am wearing a skydiving Tshirt. They say "Do you skydive" and I always answer back with "I tried it a couple of times". My last quote is the bait for a liar. If you tell them you have hundreds or thousands of jumps they will rethink weather they should try to bull shit you or not. If you give them the impression that you don't know much about the sport you can hear some real humdinger stories. Here are a few lies I have had told to me over the years. One guy jumped with a surfboard attached to his feet and used a "circle chute". Another guy progressed onto freefall using longer and longer static lines. 5000 ft long. An old drunk airborne wannabee said neither chute opened so he freefell over and landed on top of his buddies canopy, then climbed down and hung onto his buddy until they landed. The list of leis goes on and on, sort of like the JUMP, FLY, LAND kid. Does anybody else have any good stories from Liars?