Aircraft question

[LisaH 0]

I have major door fear...
The Cessna 206, oh good grief..too small and you have to sit on the edge and put your feet under the plane. The twin otter, dayem you have to stand outside of the door. The (what they call the toaster)..you have to walk out the back of it. Isn't there a plane where you can just stand at the doorway and jump???

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[waltappel 1]

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I have major door fear...
The Cessna 206, oh good grief..too small and you have to sit on the edge and put your feet under the plane. The twin otter, dayem you have to stand outside of the door. The (what they call the toaster)..you have to walk out the back of it. Isn't there a plane where you can just stand at the doorway and jump???

DC3 or any tailgate exit aircraft.

Walt

[LisaH 0]

And where do I find one of these? lol

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[NWFlyer 2]

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And where do I find one of these? lol

I believe that what you referred to as a "toaster" is a tailgate aircraft ... maybe you could describe that more.

Once you get off your AFF jumps, you can, if you choose, just "stand and step" off a plane (well, at least one that has a big enough door - doesn't work so well in Cessnas, that's for sure). Poised exits like the ones you're doing for your AFF jumps are the best ones to get you presented to the relative wind so you can maximize the use of your freefall time. "Step off" and you lose a bit of time getting back to a stable, belly to earth position.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[councilman24 37]

Door fear would be fear of falling. You INTEND on falling! Realize that you have a parachute on, that you INTEND on leaving the airplane, and that if you fall out or off (which I have with several hundred jumps to my great embarasment) you have a parachute on. Doesn't get much easier than a walking out a tail gate.

The time will come when climbing out of an otter or walking out a tailgate will be looked forward to versus crawling out of a Cessna. And a little more often than 11 jumps in four years will help.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[LisaH 0]

Describe..hmmm....the butt of the plane opened up and we walked out. Would have been ok if it didn't seem like we were walking a plank.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[NWFlyer 2]

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Describe..hmmm....the butt of the plane opened up and we walked out. Would have been ok if it didn't seem like we were walking a plank.

That's a tailgate aircraft.

If you've jumped a tailgate, an Otter, and a Cessna, you've seen the basic door configurations that are present in the most commonly-used skydiving planes (I'm sure someone will jump in and remind me of something I'm missing). Some are shorter or taller or wider or narrower, but that's the general concept.

[LisaH 0]

My door fear is well...I don't know what...LOL
And as far as my jumps...total embarrassment.
My profile says 11 jumps.
I did [ahem] 7 tandems before I decided to do AFF. They were calling me a tandem whore.
Passed AFF 1 ...split Level 2 into A & B, and now I'm going to 3. I so suck...LOL

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[LisaH 0]

Oh yeah....I failed level 2B because I was having so much fun realizing what was going on...I forgot to do my turns...lol

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[NWFlyer 2]

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My door fear is well...I don't know what...LOL
And as far as my jumps...total embarrassment.
My profile says 11 jumps.
I did [ahem] 7 tandems before I decided to do AFF. They were calling me a tandem whore.
Passed AFF 1 ...split Level 2 into A & B, and now I'm going to 3. I so suck...LOL

Repeating jumps is not the end of the world. It took me 37 jumps to get my A license. I'm still not the world's most skilled skydiver, but I still have fun and play as safe as possible.

Learn at your own pace. Don't beat yourself up. And don't let anyone else beat you up. For every "natural" who breezes through AFF with no repeats, there's probably five people who have to repeat one or more jumps.

"Students from hell" have gone on to accomplish great things. flyangel2 is a great example... she loves to tell stories about her instructors almost giving up on her, and now she's holding two world records.

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[monkycndo 0]

It is normal to be a bit concerned about leaving a plane. The more jumps you do, instead of thinking you are walking the plank, you are wondering what new type of jump you can try. I really enjoy tailgates because I can only jump them at boogies. They mean being able to participate in a tube jump that you L.O.'d for someone's 200th, it's awesome. So at jump 11, a little door fear is normal. Soon door fear will be when the pilot decides you can't open it and you have to land with the plane.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[LisaH 0]

And when exactly is this going to be fun??? LOL
Because it's not right now.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[LisaH 0]

I'm fearing jump #6 in my world

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[ltdiver 3]

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I believe that what you referred to as a "toaster" is a tailgate aircraft ... maybe you could describe that more.

And I call it a 'milk carton'.....turned sideways....

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[piisfish 140]

get in a Cessna 172 and have it go to 12k... whatever the size of the door, you'll be happy to get out

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Malta_Dog 0]

It's absolutely normal.

We sometimes have a Skyvan at the DZ and, although I LOVE those tailgates exits, I still have some kind of weakness in the knees while approaching this giant hole.

All your dropzone are belong to us!!!!111!

[magnio 0]

Getting out of the door is just like going into another room. From the small greyish-or-whatever room to the big blue one :-)

(Yeah, I got this from someone in a dz.com forum)

I was seriously afraid of the door of the Cessna when I was a static line student. The fear was gone when I jumped from a Beaver and it never returned, so I don't know if I was suddenly no longer afraid or if it was the Beaver that caused me "heal". But I was not able to sit next tot he door with an open door when the plane was taxing on ground (at slow speed and we wore seatbelts), and until my jump #35-40 or so I couldn't see down through the open door, not even before my own jump (I just stared straight forward when I jumped, and anywhere but at the door when other were jumping).

Once I was out, the fear was completely gone, and I never had trouble looking down in freefall.

Another point about the damned door: you only have to think about it for a few seconds, maybe 5, when you are climbing out of it. Drill your movements (not like you drill EP, but enough to now having to think about where to put your legs and hands to get out), and focus on the moments before and after: your JM telling you to go to the door, the hotel check, etc. Try not to focus on the door at all for your next jump. (Your instructors will probably tell you if they find out after your jump you NEED to focus on it.)

Talking to them about your fear is also wise, of course - I am 100% certain they have heard about this fear before and probably have a trick or five to teach you :-)

[popsjumper 2]

I'm sorry Lisa, I can't relate to door fear...my greatest fear, and still is, the ride to altitude...Oh dear God, please let me get out of this rattle-trap.

Standing outside on the step, for me, is really, really fun. The wind blowing, the props spinning, knowing that I can let go of this rattle-trap and leave it....ahhhh, heaven on earth.

Don't let me replace your door fear with "ride to altitude" fear, though.

Hey! You've got 11 jumps and you've already jumped all those different planes? Lucky you! Many people have never jumped some of those, ever.

I've talked to several jumpers who had door fear and it turned out that it wasn't really door fear so much as a lack of confidence in handling the jump, the EPs or the landings.
I'm sure that once you get a good level of confidence in yourself and your abilities, the door fear will dissipate.

You go, girl!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[LisaH 0]

I've talked to several jumpers who had door fear and it turned out that it wasn't really door fear so much as a lack of confidence in handling the jump, the EPs or the landings.
I'm sure that once you get a good level of confidence in yourself and your abilities, the door fear will dissipate.


THAT'S IT! That's exactly what the problem is.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[LisaH 0]

What kind of plane is a Beaver?

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[bigfall 0]

Hi Lisa sorry about the door fear, I never really had the door fear , my fear came when it was time to get on the plane and I had to walk to the plane. I still have the fear but it is not as bad, the guys at the DZ think its kind of funny that once I get on the plane and we start to taxi out I am fine and enjoy the skydive. The only thing that I can say is as you start to get more jumps and develop your skills the fear will lesson, good luck and Blue Skys!!!

STEP OUT AND FEEL THE RUSH!!!! LATER
SKYBOMB

[riggerrob 643]

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What kind of plane is a Beaver?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

DeHavilland of Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing tail dragger airplane. Slightly larger than - your average - Cessna jump plane, a Beaver can carry seven to ten skydivers.
Harrison Ford's favorite toy is a Beaver.
Most Beavers are powered by Pratt and Whitney R-985, 450 horsepower radial engines, the same engine that powers the venerable Beech 18/Twin Beech. While piston-pounding Beavers may be rugged short-field performers, they were never brilliant climbers.
The last 40 Beavers - built - are powered by Pratt and Whitney PT6A- whatever turboprop engines, the same engines as Twin Otters and King Airs. Turbo Beavers also have an extra row of seats, so they can carry two or three more jumpers. Turbo Beavers climb as well as Pilatus Porters - can you say "raped ape?" - but are more rugged.
Beavers are rare in the skydiving community, primarily because they are too valuable to bush pilots and float plane pilots. Hint: a freshly-overhauled piston Beavers is worth at least US$350 - the same as three Cessna 206s.
Viking Aerospace (Victoria, BC, Canada) is overhauling Beavers as fast as they cna and recently acquired the Type Certificate, so spare parts are assured for the foreseeable future. Viking also likes to update Beaver Mark 1 and 2 to the Mark 3 configuration with turbo-props, extended doors, extended baggage compartments, etc.
For example, every day we see Beavers on floats shuttling passengers from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria to downtown Seattle.By the way, at least half the Beavers work on floats.

[LisaH 0]

Interesting info, thanks.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[Andy9o8 2]

You don't have "door fear"; that's just a euphemism for jump fear. Or, if you will, death fear. (I mean, let's call it what it is, right? Or must we be afraid to say it?)
The best cures for door fear are quantity of jumps, and currency. Quantity is simple - as you accumulate more jumps, the whole experience becomes more familiar and a lot of the fear eventually dissipates.
Currency is frequency of jumping within a certain period of time and/or recency to your last jump. In other words, the more frequently you jump, and the shorter your breaks are between jumps, the less door fear you'll have.

You also asked, "when does this start being fun?" It's very normal for a student jumper to have that "Why the hell am I doing this?" feeling on the ride up to altitude. So the best answer is that as you accumulate enough jumps, and enough currency to begin counteracting the door fear, it gets more fun.
Being ground-bound your whole life, your brain isn't accustomed to the radically new environment. Give the brain a chance to adjust, and you'll have fun.

[LisaH 0]

Thanks for the input. My "fear" whatever it really may be, is in fact worse because it's been a month since my last jump.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo