diverdriver

Thank you. Chris

Two letters concerning skydiving operations have been added to DiverDriver.com. One talks about flying aircraft in formation with skydivers. The second letter discusses how skydivers are allowed to sit on the floor of the aircraft and do not have to have a crashworthy seat while engaged in the activity of skydiving within 25 nautical miles of the departure airport. Please join the DiverDriver.com forum and voice your opinion or ask questions about jump aircraft. The site is growing and more people are starting to view it. If you're a skydiver, pass on this site info to your jump pilot. The more people we get involved in discussing aircraft operations with skydivers the better. Check out the Accidents section for this year's accident reports from the NTSB. This site is not just for pilots. Chris Schindler http://www.Diverdriver.com

The advisory circulars from the FAA have been added to the Regulations section. Coming soon are two letters concerning seat belts in jump planes and formation flying with skydivers. Chris Schindler http://www.DiverDriver.com

You got that right. Chris Schindler http://www.diverdriver.com

Why is going on a green light a cardinal sin? Yes, you should look down to make sure you are over the correct airport and Yes you should be looking for other traffic. But what's the difference in having a designated load jumpmaster spotting the load looking out and having a knowledgable pilot doing the same from up front? As long as the person doing it is knowledgable and competant I don't see a difference. I have over 2,000 hours flying jumpers, over 600 jumps, I am a IAD JM, and have done the Tandem Master training course but because I'm the pilot using a GPS you should ignore my spotting ability? I don't think that's right. People think that because there's a GPS on board that the spot will automatically be perfect. How? The GPS only tells you where you are over the ground. The pilot has to drive the plane to where you need to be. Jumpers should be talking with the pilot and the pilot should be talking with the jumpers as to where the spot will be. But to say that just going on the green light is wrong is.....well....wrong. When I fly the Twin Otter I expect people to be ready and paying attention to the Door and Exit lights. When the Door light comes on it will give approximately 20 seconds for someone to poke their head out and confirm the area they are over, look out for other traffic, and determine if they should start climbing out when the green light comes on. Jumper number two sitting next to jumper number one in the door should be watching for the Exit light to coordinate a timely climbout of the first group. But if you are the first jumper in the door holding up the group from climbing out you had better have a good explanation as to why. You had better have a good understanding of current wind conditions, freefall drift, and load organization to make that call. Jet A and AvGas are real expensive right now. If you make the plane do two passes all the time then you can expect your jump fees to go up. However, SAFETY is always number one. If there needs to be a go around then there WILL be a go around. Plain and simple. But lets be smart. There is nothing morally wrong with letting the pilot run the jumprun and climbout lights. Jumpers are never excused from looking out the door. If you are the second or later group jumping and you see that the first group is not doing the things for safety that I have mentioned then you are definitely obligated to tell them about their shortcomings while still in the airplane. We certainly can not afford a mid air colision with another aircraft ever. Chris Schindler http://www.diverdriver.com D-19012 ATP/CFII

The NTSB has released the final report on the King Air crash in Salt Lake January 2001. Now linked at http://www.diverdriver.com http://diverdriver.com/forum/z_forummessage_show.php?method=showhtmllist&class=forummessage&rollid=4,17&x=3bf2d99e41ebf& Chris Schindler D-19012 ATP/CFII

Ahhhhhhh...Thanks, I'll look into that. Just trying to help. Chris

Sorry. This is very frustrating. I moved it to a "better" server and now they are doing "upgrades" in the middle of the friggin day! My apologies. It's been going up and down for the past three days. The webmaster is chewing some tail over there as I type. We hope to have things straight soon. Again, my apologies. Keep trying because it is worth reading these links. http://www.diverdriver.com/forum/z_forummessage_show.php?method=showhtmllist&class=forummessage&rollid=4,14&x=3bee9128c8331& Chris Schindler "really pissed site creator" D-19012 ATP/CFII

Ok, they said the server is back up on it. Sorry for any inconvenience. It's under the "General Discusions" area. Chris

11 Additions coming to the Accident section of http://www.diverdriver.com. Check them here.http://diverdriver.com/forum/z_forumtopic_show.php?x=3bec42d304e2c Ok, the server just went down. Check back. It'll come back up soon. Sorry. Chris Schindler D-19012 ATP/CFII

Oh, I've been quietly looking at stuff here for a year at least. New link at http://www.DiverDriver.com pilot forum. http://diverdriver.com/forum/z_forummessage_show.php?method=showhtmllist&class=forummessage&rollid=4,12&x=3be704d5e57f2& Download the latest safety reports from NASAs Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Many important things in there for pilots and jumpers alike. Chris Schindler

Thanks. It's a work in progress and there are changes coming and additions. Check back often. I just had an interesting email with Ed Scott of USPA. He pointed out some very good things that I will change. Thanks for looking in and tell your jump pilots and anyone else about it. I hope it becomes a good place for exchange of information. Chris www.diverdriver.com

If you want more info on spotting larger loads or stringing out a bunch of two ways go to http://www.diverdriver.com. I have a whole section on spotting and using GPS also. .5nm is fine but really some might be put out too long if you have 22 on board and they're all two ways. But I'm sure you already noticed this. Chris Schindler D-19012 ATP/CFII www.diverdriver.com

I will not describe what happened as I did not see it. I will coment on what you can do to not have this happen to you. When you are under canopy you must always look out for yourself. Make sure that the canopies around you are flying in the same direction as you. Be aware that things can change even at 50ft. Look up, down, left and right ALL THE TIME! It takes two to collide. Even when someone isn't paying attention you can still make the correction to save you both. I lost two friends yesterday. The official report will come out soon. Be patient. Chris Schindler D-19012 ATP/CFII

A Super Otter has a GTOW (Gross Takeoff Weight) of 12,500 exactly. That way you don't need a type rating. Chris Schindler ATP/CFII D-19012

Not that this idea hasn't been brought up but I thought I would ask. Is there a possiblility that an aircraft departed a runway at DeLand in the preceeding two minutes before your landing? Wake turbulence can and does collapse canopies very easily and long after the aircraft has landed or departed. The 10-15 mile per hour winds you describe could push this turbulent vortex off of the runway and into the landing area. It's just a thought. It has been a long time since I flew around the the DeLand airport (10 years) flight training. Chris Schindler diverdriver D-19012 ATP/CFII

As the grandson of a veteran from WWII I would like to see this day on something other than Memorial Day. Memorial Day is reserved for fallen Veterans. It's a good idea to remember our friends in a special way. I just believe it should be another day. I suggest Sunday, the day before Memorial Day maybe. Yes, a lot of people will already be out at the DZ usually. It's a good idea. Chris

"Whoa, wait a second.. I know what you mean here, but most people probably don't.. The annual inspection is a pretty thorough inspection, but the 100 hour is not.. The 100 hour is pretty much an oil and filter change, check under some inspection panels, and check the brakes/tires.. All depends on the type of aircraft.." Well, I have to disagree on this inspection issue. A 100 hour inspection AND an annual inspection are the EXACT same inspection. It is WHO can sign is off that is different. A "100 hour" inspection can be signed off by any A&P mechanic. But, in order to sign off an annual inspection you have to have an IA (Inspection Authority) rating. I'm guessing you might be thinking of the difference in a Heavy "D" check on your jet. Now, that's not to say that the mechanics that you know doing 100 hour inspections aren't blowing off what they should be doing on the aircraft and it seems that an annual is more thorough. But as far as the legalities of it the inspection should be identical. Chris Schindler D-19012 ATP Canadair RJ/CFII 1998 246-way Record Lead Pilot

Oh yes, there's plenty of statistics out there. The www.faa.gov site is one good place to go searching. With good training and clear mind many risks can be managed. But comparing skydiving safety and aircraft safety doesn't apply directly. There are plenty of corolations. It's as safe as you want to make it. Is it hard? Sure, but isn't everything worth attaining? It's a good challenge. And remember, you don't have to learn EVERYTHING on the first day. You will be a student for life learning to fly. It all grows and builds on previous experience. Take it in chunks and don't stress. The job market is really good right now but think about when you'll be finishing your training through Commercial Multi-engine Instrument pilot. That's the market you will need to consider. Just go and do it. You'll find something to fly. Just got to try hard. blue skies, Chris Schindler D-19012 ASMEL/CFII