I got hired !

Ethanash16 said:
I live in Dallas, I have my commercial license with 400TT. I applied to every entry level job in the country and finally got hired dropping skydivers in South Dakota in a C206. Is there anything I should know before starting the journey?
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Don’t wear a parachute. It makes the passengers nervous
 
Good for you. I flew jumpers nearly exclusively for a coupla years, mostly tandems. Mostly a PT6 powered PAC-750, but some 182 as well.

VERY professional guys. Really really enjoyed them, we got along famously.

Your stick and rudder skills will benefit from it. They’ll likely train ya, but do some internet reading on being a jump pilot. Also sit through the day groundschool jump course, it’s good knowledge if you do have to ever use your rig. I flew ejection seats for years, TONS of training, but I still learned a lot.

Skydiving has come far. Remember, these guys are smart enough to have kept the FAA out of their business mostly… that speaks volumes.

You gotta have a drug and alcohol program to fly two pax at a time up and down the beach… but you don’t need it to fly 16 people to 18k and throw them out!!
 
Pinecone said:
GOOD advice.

FYI for those who do not understand, a fun trick the skydivers will do is turn the mags off, and take the key with them.

So also practice your dead stick landings.
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Pugs said:
Pull the keys out and jump? Well, the first one may find it funny but the second will recall what I did with the baseball bat to the first one and think again.
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Ok, you jokers listen up - if anyone gets the idea to grab the key, don't. The airplane glides just fine and I have a spare. But next time you're on my plane, I'll pull your ripcord, take the key and jump myself and then it won't be so funny.
 
To the OP, congratulations, and PLEASE make proper radio calls... around the northeast all the jump pilots seem to have taken lessons from the fast talkers guys who do the disclaimers on commercials... "garbletrafficjumpersawayjumpersawaygarblethousandfeetgarbleyourmileagemayvarygarblegarble"

All you can get out of it is that there jumpers somewhere within radio range.
 
EvilEagle said:
I don’t necessarily agree with that. As a former skydiver I still have a lot of friends that have been pro skydivers as their only employment for years. Guys with families and mortgage; they are professionals and several have 5x more flying time than the kids flying the airplanes.

I’m not saying what you said isn’t sometimes true… just less often than you may think. And to say that the people making a living throwing drogues aren’t professionals just sets a bad tone IMO.

OP: lots of good advice here, ask lots of questions, have some fun and be in charge of your airplane (and the keys). Good luck and congrats!
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People get paid to fall out of an airplane???
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
Somewhat related to this thread: I always thought jumping out of airplanes was more of a summer thing until a few weeks ago. Took off from Nashville a few weeks ago. OAT was around -10C on the ground. About an hour north of Nashville, I had the following exchange with flight following:

ATC: Comanche, steer 15 degrees right to avoid skydiving activity in your path.
Me: Skydiving activity? A bit cold for that isn't it?
ATC: I thought the same, yet here they are.
Me: Roger.

Any skydivers (or skydive pilots) have a comment on this? Do you really jump out of planes at temps well below freezing? If so, my next question would be: Why?
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Why not?

When is it ever warm at 14k?

I don’t jump but I do ride motorcycles. Even in the winter. I would bet I’m probably colder for longer on the bike than someone jumping.
 
Morgan3820 said:
People get paid to fall out of an airplane???
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Yeah. But not that many make a great living. Lots of guys live on something else and support the costs of the hobby by teaching or doing promotional jumps.

While some can make it work I don’t think it’s viable as a career.

Ill also add that while I don’t agree with the post up thread that the pilot will be the only professional on the aircraft I will say that the pilot will often be the only one willing to say no. I found there to be a definite lack of knowledge around the drop zone.

For the OP. Fly safe, listen and learn the operation. The jumpers are depending on you. Enjoy the experience and I recommend a minimum of 12 hours.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
I don’t agree with the post up thread that the pilot will be the only professional on the aircraft
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We would probably agree more than you think if we were talking in person.

I was trained to skydive by guys that are current Red Bull skydivers, trained to get my ppl by their dads, threw many drouges, and my screen name is from the cross braced canopy I flew.

Those guys are pros, and concerned about safety, as are most of the people on the loads. I can't imagine a "stolen key" would result in anything but a total DZ ban.

But there are things a pilot can't control, even with good people on his load.

The one jump pilot quit because he was pressured to fly with an inop beacon. Small thing, but not to the FAA or a nosey neighbor.

Or the guy calling the spot puts jumpers through a cloud.

We once stalled a Caravan because we jammed the door and took too long.

The one that gets blamed is always the pilot. At least that is the FAA's perspective.

I would fly jumpers but just be cautious with it. There are perils to it that you won't experience flying normal people.
 
Different drop zones are run differently.

There used to be one that was known to start the day with a 55 gallon drum of ice and beer, and would have to refill it during the day in the summer.

Take a close look at the operation and RUN away if needed. Use good ADM
 
Ethanash16 said:
Bro what??! They do that?
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Never saw or heard that in 11 years of skydiving. Generally we are very respectful and appreciative of the pilots flying and busy enough with our own drama of who’s jumping who.
 
One thing that I don't recall seeing in this thread. Keep your expectations for quality aircraft LOW. I worked with a guy years ago who was a skydiver. I told him that I couldn't see voluntarily jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. He replied that there was no such thing as a perfectly good airplane. When he showed me a plane that they routinely jumped out of it became instantly obvious to me why he had that opinion. They beat the heck out of those poor planes.
 
The most common nickname for a drop zone airplane is Duct Tape. And for a reason. :D
 
When I was hauling jumpers it was always in the twin. Never flew single engine jump planes. Better and worse…. Having a big stack on the door in a king air could get exciting real fast. It wasn’t bad unless they got real creative and crawled outside the airplane so the could jump together.

We had rules. There was always someone trying to push the boundaries. Fortunately all of my DZ managers were willing to kick the bad apples.

Being good at setting the run with the wind was a good thing. Jumpers like pilots that took the time to plan the run appropriately with the winds aloft. Never had anyone go on a hike to find a cut canopy. They always fell into the DZ. I always attributed it to luck but I studied the winds aloft forecast everyday and would revise the plan as the day progressed and new forecasts were published.

If we were not crazy busy everyone would get a little extra altitude as well.

It was a fun gig.
 
Ghery said:
One thing that I don't recall seeing in this thread. Keep your expectations for quality aircraft LOW. I worked with a guy years ago who was a skydiver. I told him that I couldn't see voluntarily jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. He replied that there was no such thing as a perfectly good airplane. When he showed me a plane that they routinely jumped out of it became instantly obvious to me why he had that opinion. They beat the heck out of those poor planes.
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I don't really think they treat the aircraft poorly, but rather that interior is not important and there isn't always much time or money allotted to non airworthy aircraft maintenance. Skydiving operations generally run on a small budget, even when cash flow is high.

There are exceptions. The 182s at Seven Hills Skydiving were cherished and treated with extra care. Mike Mullins' super king air was well kept. There was a company in the 90s which had 10ish skydiving planes (twin otters and super-caravans) and those aircraft were well maintained.
 
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