diverdriver

Would the individual who was writing the Master's Thesis on Jump Piloting please send me your contact info again. I'm sorry, but I accidently deleted your email. Chris Schindler diverdriver@nospam.hotmail.com or cschindler@nospam.diverdriver.com Just remove the "nospam" to email me. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Actually, MTV X was the shit until they replaced it with more rap. So let's see that's MTV, M2, BET, and now MTV X that play all rap. Yah, that's a fair representation of the music that is out there! Not!!! I want my Slipknot, Mudvayne, Ministry, Front 242, Orbital, Gary Nueman, Peter Schilling, U2!!!! I want my original MTV!!!

We all have our missions in life Jeremy. Glad you finally found yours! Congrats! Oh, and Vans are SO last fall. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Are you encouraging post whoring?

I rest my case. It's adequate for what we do. Never said it was perfect. Heck there was even one day at Monterey Bay that we put 2 tandems out first, then some 8-10 way, then some solos and then freefliers ending in 2 or 3 more tandems. The opening looked like a big bow. Sometimes you have to think outside the box. We made it work for the conditions we had. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Ok, trying to step in the middle here since I do talk about groundspeed too when refrencing exit seperation. Windsor and Kallend are absolutely correct when they say that the only true seperation consideration is what the winds are doing between exit altitude and deployment altitude. It's fluid dynamics and they don't change. It's that simple. However, simple for a physics professor, scholar, PhD is not so simple for the average lay person in the real world. So there are some assumptions made that generally work and we don't even realise them usually until arguements like this come up. Now, in the real world, how often do the winds in good jumping weather really turn 180 degrees from each other between exit and deployment? Not all that often. I know in the Chicago area we have had more days with east winds than most summers I can remember but the upper winds at exit have also been more out of the north than normal so we still haven't seen that many days with true 180 degree diferentials. Sooooo...... When I'm flying the otter and we are dumping group after group out I know that I can slow the jumprun up as the plane gets lighter. This helps the tandems since they can take longer to waddle back to the door. No sense burning up airspace just because we can. For frame of reference and in most normal jumping conditions for sport jumpers the winds on the ground are relatively close in speed to the winds at opening altitude. I know, I know (Windsor and Kallend) that it is not a perfect world. This is an assumption that I think we have to practically accept usually. So, with frame of reference being the winds on the groung being more towards the zero mark than say the 60 knots you have at altitude you can still use the aircrafts grounspeed as a tool (but not an exact measure) for determining exit seperation. And yes, the numbers I use have a little more than you really need so that when those other conditions arise you are still likely to have the adequate seperation at deployment. See what I'm saying now? There's the theoretical world and then there is application. Those of us on the application end need to recognize that some of what we perceive to be "truths" do in fact have some fudge factored in for those oddball days. Those on the theoretical end need to be warry of using so much technical info that they only confuse the situation and not help it. .....afraid to hit the send button... Chris Schindler Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I agree. It is a tough environment to keep that professional edge. The atmosphere is pretty loose. We just have to work to keep that edge a bit. There was a crash in Michigan with a King Air. It took off with a full load first flight of the day. Leveled off and banked hard to come back to buzz the campground. It stalled in an accelerated stall and nosed into the ground. The pilot had a couple of DUIs and was looking at having trouble with his airline job. Nothing suggests he was drunk or hung over at the time. But the stress of his situation may have effected him. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I am not getting on a plane for 23 with 24 people. Period. So, since I had the issue with it I was pulling myself off. I don't care which pilot "approved" it. BS. So, by pulling myself off there were then 23 jumpers on board. Legal to go. Since my compadres didn't like that I was being told to get on anyway they sat off also. Originally it was said there were no solos on the plane. Fine. I'll just stay off. But low and behold there was a solo. I put my gear back on. Thanked him for getting off and went on my way. I made my point. I don't think that'll happen again. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Oh and to add: Does your plane take every inch of runway to takeoff in? There is a thing called "accelerate-stop" distance. That is the distance required to accelerate to rotation speed, have an engine failure, and then stop before the end of the runway. If your plane is using every inch just to get to rotation speed then you are putting yourself in the corner if anything goes wrong. What's at the end of your runway? You might want to take a look out there because one day you just might become intimately familiar with that terrain. Some aircraft need to use flaps for takeoff. If they fail you may still be able to takeoff in the available distance but just at a significantly reduce weight. The pilot needs to be checking these performance numbers for all conditions. Hot days, tail wind, flaps/no flaps, max gross weight takeoff. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

You're welcome. I owe it to my friends since past to do something. Otherwise, their deaths mean nothing. I'd like to think I make a difference. But I don't know. It's a big industry with lots of people. I do what I can I guess. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Piston engines other than radials like on DC-3s and Beech 18s should not have caked on oil streaks on the belly. Not only does it show there is a problem with the engine it can also add a lot of weight as it mixes with dirt and becomes crusty. The dirty belly can also create drag which reduces performance. Do you have blue streaks on the underside of your 182/205/206 wing? That may be a fuel leak. AVGas (aviation gasoline 100LL) has a blue tint to it for identification. Fuel leaks should be addressed immediately. Ever see your 182 dead stick to landing and then sit at the end of the runway trying to crank back up? It just might start back up and taxi back so you might not think much of it. But what caused the engine failur to begin with? Pilot running the fuel too close? Did he unport the fuel pickup by doing acrobatic manuevers after the jumpers left? Does your plane need 2 quarts of oil every 4 loads or so? If you don't see oil on the belly then it is being burned through the engine and is a sign that the engine is not sealing well inside. That also means it isn't producing a lot of power and can also lead to an engine failure. Duck tape to keep cowl doors closed. If they can't spend the money to get the darn clips fixed what else are they not fixing like the big important stuff? Turbine planes: Same things but just with more bodies on board. If you don't like what you see then it may be that the other things aren't being taken care of. I know everyone loved the FrankenOtter. Having all the different paint jobs made it wholey unique. That's not what I'm talking about. Just refer to what I was saying above. On an otter: do you have red fluid dripping on the nose wheel? This may be a nose steering actuator leak. Do you have someone in the right seat pumping the backup hydraulics just so it can takeoff again? That emergency pump is only to get you on the ground. It is not meant for taking off again. Do you have red fluid streaking down the belly of the otter? It may look brown after it picks up dirt from the ground. Do the engine exhaust areas seem like they are wearing fur coats from the soot? Regular washing of these areas is necessary because the soot can erode the paint and then it can corode the metal underneath to the point you could push your pinky on it and it will go through the brittle metal. Same with the tail area just behind the engines. They pick a lot of soot up too. Does your operation go through a lot of pilots? They come in and seem all smiles in the beginning. Then as the season goes on they rarely smile? Then one day they just *poof* are no longer around? Why do you think that is? Sure, every DZ has turnover. But some have higher turnover than others. If you can, ask the pilot why he left if you can get ahold of him. On caravans and king airs: look at the left horizontal stabilizer (left side tail). Does it have dents in the leading edge? Who hit it and why? And why hasn't it been fixed yet? And then listen to the other jumpers. Do they talk about their aicraft ops and pilots like they have confidence in them or do they say things like "I feel so much better once I have gotten to 1,000 feet". That can be a warning sign that maybe they've had some scary issues with the plane in the past but just don't know how to say "NO" to getting on board again. Does your warning panel have a lot of lights on or do many of the guages read zero because they don't work? Do you have engine failures on a semi-regular basis (other than intentional simulations for emergency drill practice)? These are some of the things I look for when visiting an operation. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Student pilots doing touch and go circuits may be doing 10 or 12 take-offs and landing each hour. On my 2nd solo flight my instructir had me do nothing but touch and go for 2 hours! On the whole I suspect it all balances out. Exactly. They may do 10 T&Gs in an hour on one flight then fly a 2 hour cross country on the next flight. That's 13 cycles in 3 hours. That would still give it a higher cycle time than a typical skydiving plane. But, in the end, I think the exact cycle number would be about the same as a jump plane. So, that is why I feel comparing the accident rate per 100K hours of flying is a apples to apples comparison on why we should be doing better. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

What I figure on is if ther is absolutely no wind any experienced jumper should be able to make it to the main landing area from a distance of .8 miles at 2,000 feet fully opened altitude. Tandems can make it from almost 1.5 in no wind. If there is a camera man then I try not to go that far. This, however, is all based on an understanding with the regular jumpers at SDC. I don't think I would spring this on a DZ without letting them know what I planned first. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I know you mean well, but I think this maybe came out a little wrong...I don't think anyone would be pleased if the pilot bailed mid-flight b/c his time ran out... Maybe most # of hours you could put on a flight plans per pilot per day? In commercial aviation I thought there exists already a 40 hr / month cap or something like that....am I way off here? nathaniel If we are talking airlines it is 8 hours flying in a 24 hour period. Must have 8 hours rest (no working, not even office work) in past 24 hour period. 30 hours max in the past 7 days. Must have at least 24 hours away from company work in a 7 day period. 1,000 hours per calendar year. I think that if we pushed for at least a self imposed 8 hour cap it would help improve safety. More than a couple of accidents happened after long days of flying. It doesn't weed out every accident. There are so many ways to have accidents out there. However it is generally accepted from NASA studies that fatigue is one of the leading causes of accidents. The fatigue caused accident you have just might be the first flight you have of the day because you flew your ass off the day previous. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Wow....and even I've gotten to jump with her. Man, that's cool!

Oh, I'm sure you've heard of John's freefall drift simulator. He's contributed all right. In this case I think that if we can gather that data then yes he will be able to contribute more. But I think only the USPA HQ will have that data if anyone has it. And I'm not sure they will release it to John. You never know. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Quade pointed out to me that I left out another aspect of inspection and that is the "maintenance program". That is a cycled inspection at regualar intervals that basicly take the place of annual inspections. Generally you find them on larger turbine planes but the principle is the same. You have regular inspections that cover the plane. On certain cycles you have more to do than on others but it all gets done. One such inspection program (there's more than one) is called EMMA. Actually, I can't remember what it stands for right now but when you hear pilot and mechanics talking about EMMA they may not be talking about the hot skychicky with the nice "extra altitude getter uppers". Edited because I can't spell the word "plane" after driving them for 17 years. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Actually, a few errors here. If you are flying for hire (which most DZs are because they advertise in the yellowpages and take money for jump tickets) then you must comply with the 100 hour inspection rule. So yes, it absolutely IS required to receive 100 hour inspections. And the only difference between a 100 hour inspection and an annual inspection is supposed to be who can sign it off. A 100 hour can be signed off by either just an A&P mechanic or an A&P with IA. But only an IA (Inspection Authority) can sign off an Annual. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Viking's avatar made me do it. It's not my fault...

How am I not compassionate towards people dieing under canopy? I don't say it is not a problem. I say there is a problem there too. But in that arena, I have more support and am not as singular a voice as I am about aircraft. Peer pressure doesn't work? Hmmm...seems everyone changed their minds about AADs. They demanded more and now you hear more people at the DZ saying "Man, what's your life worth? Buy a Cypres." I'd call that peer pressure and I'd say it worked very well. I believe the same can be applied here. Oh yah? One person? Then you aren't looking hard enough. Or, it may be that the people refusing to get on the same plane as you aren't even at the same DZ as you because they already made the decision to not get on that plane and left. Happens all the time. I know because I get the emails about it. Yes. I absolutely would. Because I have. I left KC from a bad operation and went to a good operation. I had had enough. And I voted with my feet. Unfortunately, 5 of my friends died in a 206 crash in 1998. That has been burned in my head ever since. Well, that's where we will disagree. I will keep doing what I'm doing. They can keep crashing their planes and the FAA will do what it wants or doesn't want to do. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I started at a 3 Cessna DZ. It was very well run and I received good training because the DZO demanded quality from his pilots. I was glad to receive that training because I then ended up at an operation where all of my skill was tested before I came to SDC. This small cessna DZ did good maintenance and really never made me feel bad about bringing up squaks on the airplane. So I know a small DZ with a cessna CAN do it right. And I think they will prosper even if the DZ near by them has a turbine but everyone is scared to get on them. If the DZO is smoking crack and flying jumpers not many are going to want to stick around. Those that do stick around, you really have to scratch your head and say "Why?" Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

The claim is that there are fewer accidents now than there were 10 years ago. I disagree. I've shown there are many more accidents now. The accident rate is there and it sucks. How can you accept this? We have commercial pilots having accidents at twice the rate as a group that includes student pilots, private pilots, and other commercial pilots. This is doing ok? I don't agree. And if DZs need to charge more to do what is right then they'll have to charge more. The problem I see is that many DZs are not doing the basics let alone the best. Contaminated fuel? Are you kidding? We've been flying for 100 years and we can't figure the basics of fuel filtering? Come on now. A pilot has an engine failure at 10,000 feet directly over the airport and they can't make the runway? Come on. A pilot runs out of gas on takeoff and stalls and spins killing everyone? Come on now. You really think this is acceptable? I don't think you do. In fact I know you don't. But these mistakes keep on happening year after year. You don't have to go to an expensive flight simulator to learn how to fuel a friggin airplane do you? These are the basics I'm talking about. And I never said I thought simulator based training should be mandatory for every pilot. Is there a simulator for a 182 that's full motion? I don't think so. So let's not put words in my mouth. I find it interesting when I bring up jump plane safety and accident statistics. I keep hearing how I single handedly will run small DZs out of buisness. I don't think I have that power really. But I do have the power to put peer pressure on operations to use qualified pilots who are given a thorough check out in how to fly jumpers safely and professionally. I agree with Kevin Gibson 100% on his last 3 paragraphs where he talks about avoiding DZs that overload planes, do negative Gs for entertainment, and have a cavalier attitude towards jump plane safety. There are things we can do. We had a large expansion of jump ops during the 90s. The jump plane accidents rose too. Then we also had a showing of a few ferry flight accidents where jumpers where hurt and killed by jump planes being flown between boogies or demos. We have to make sure that the great jump pilot that spots us on all the time is ready to do that night flight in snowy weather conditions. It's a different environment than circling over the same airport during the day in clear air. Are they ready for the change? Who's checking their currency? A jump plane crashed in low ceilings with almost no fuel left because he deviated from an ATC assigned altitude. We have to be careful of the environment we allow our jump planes to opperate in. We must recognize our own limitations. And we must always be able to perform the basics. Flight Safety simulator training doesn't mean squat if you are having engine failures once a month. Something is wrong with the system. You must pay attention to all aspects. Otherwise we'll just continue havig DZO/pilots melting their turbine sections because they didn't pay attention to their pilots alarm about fuel flow fluctuation. Accepting what we have now is not my idea of "self policing". We need to be doing better. It's a dirty little secret that not many want to talk about. I suggest we clean it up ourselves before someone else makes us. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Wait, ignoring evidence that doesn't support the theory? The theory is that low time jumpers have a higher chance of dieing when under a high WL when they screw up. This jumper did not die and he was under a lower wingloading. Ergo the theory works. You are less likely to die under a lighter wingloading than a higher winloading. Doesn't mean you can't have both though. But I think you understand the studies of speed show that when you hit something at a higher speed you are more likely to break. Giving the keys for a ferrari to a 16 year old does seem like a bad idea right? Not because he's 16, but because he has never driven a car up to that point probably. Just because most skydivers are in their 20s and 30s doesn't mean they still aren't newbies in the way of speed while in flight. They need time to get used to this stuff before pushing out the envelope for themselves. That's all we are asking for. Time. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I would listen for a second to make sure of what you are about to interject yourself into. Say this jumper being yelled at was someone that had been talked to several times before. Maybe this jumper had a rep for not listening to these "private chats" and doing something a little more grand might be the thing that wakes her up to finally pay attention to what is going on around her. Maybe "tough love" is what is needed to get them to think. Or maybe the other jumpers are tired of this jumper's antics and are really venting their emotion about their other behaviours on the ground around the DZ. Just a thought. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Who says you have to be directly over the runway in order to leave the plane? I almost always have people out of the plane on either end of our 4,500 foot runway and that's one of the longer ones in the skydiving community. I once had a 15 knot ground speed in the otter. The jumprun time was about 6 minutes for one pass. They were giving 45 seconds in between groups. Totally worked. The jumprun timing is dependant on how many groups, what kind of groups, and ground speed. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125