First small plane jump (cessna 182)

[Evelyn 0]

Having learned to skydive at Perris, and since I usually jump at Perris or Elsinore, I mostly jump from otters. When I was at Byron last month we had a discussion about the smallest plane we'd jumped from. When I said the smallest plane I'd jumped was a caravan they laughed at me and told me I was spoiled. At the time I couldn't relate, but last weekend I jumped from a Cessna 182, and now will readily admit, yeah, I'm spoiled. Four of us climb into the cessna, we're sitting on the floor and trying to arrange ourselves so we fit. It was like "okay, you put your leg over mine, I'll put mine over his, etc." Kinda reminded me of that game "twister". We only go to 10.000 ft. cuz aparently it would take a long time to go higher. The three other people exit together. Now it's my turn. I hadn't thought to ask how to exit the plane, I should have. I try to get in the door, it's really windy. I try to put a leg on the strut. It blows off each time I try. I spend like 30 sec. trying to set up a presentable exit. Finally give up and just throw myself out the door. Now I know why the other people were waiting for the otter to go. But heck, it was a new experience for me, and maybe next time we have the smallest plane discussion they won't laugh at me (unless I relate this experience). So share your small plane experiences.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller

[NWFlyer 2]

Awww... turbine snobs. So cute.

I "grew up" at a Cessna DZ and most of my student jumps were from a Cessna 182 or Cessna 206. At my home DZ we max out at 5 jumpers in the 206; last weekend I jumped a 205 (same size as the 206, I think) and we had 5 in it on the first load, but 6 on the second load. Whooo boy was that cozy!

I do admit I love turbines, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Cessnas. They're cozy and you certainly get to know your fellow jumpers quite well.

Early in my student days I was getting in the plane 3rd (so sitting behind the jumpmaster). Sitting in the back of the plane was a first-timer, who had his legs together. Since I'd done this a few times before, I just looked at him and said "Spread 'em." He mumbled something about always waiting for a woman to say that to him.

Glad you had that experience, Evelyn and were able to get something out of it. Exits aren't that complicated, just a little bit different. You can have fun with them, too. I've yet to try hanging off the wing by my feet (bat hang) but look forward to doing it some day.

"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

[bob.dino 1]

I'd 250 jumps to my name before I jumped a piston Cessna. I'm spoiled too
I like Otters, Skyvans, Caravans, and XLs. Much more civilised

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[Dumpster 0]

Ahem - BEER - (Just had to say it.)

Smallest Cessna I've been out of is a tail-dragging 172. Very cozy inside.

Cessnas have a certain Zen to them. There are many ways to exit, just be very aware of what you bump up against - There are also many ways to snag pins and handles, too.

Enjoy your Cessna jumps!

Easy Does It

[Evelyn 0]

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Awww... turbine snobs. So cute.

Glad you had that experience, Evelyn and were able to get something out of it. Exits aren't that complicated, just a little bit different. You can have fun with them, too. I've yet to try hanging off the wing by my feet (bat hang) but look forward to doing it some day.

Hey. thanks for the encouragement

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing ~ Helen Keller

[grue 1]

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Awww... turbine snobs. So cute.

Glad you had that experience, Evelyn and were able to get something out of it. Exits aren't that complicated, just a little bit different. You can have fun with them, too. I've yet to try hanging off the wing by my feet (bat hang) but look forward to doing it some day.

Hey. thanks for the encouragement

Bat hang exits are hilariously fun, just make sure you don't smack your altimeter on the step when you fall

cavete terrae.

[Suavel 0]

All my jumps are on a Cessna 182(whoo boy that's saying something isn't it? 17 is such a lot). Did they not give a cut when you jumped? All my exits have had an engine cut and, being a student, my exit form was hanging off of the strut and letting go.

Were you trying to put your foot on the strut() or on the step?

I have a feeling I won't get to a bigger plane until Rantoul, but I don't mind a bit.

[EvilLurker 2]

If you keep jumping thiose Cessnas you'll learn how to spot. There's just no substitute in the turbine world for acquiring that skill.

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We only go to 10.000 ft. cuz aparently it would take a long time to go higher.

No kidding. Take a look at the VVI and when it's at 200 FPM you're about ready to get out, in my experience. I never jumped a turbine until 100+ Cessna jumps. It was quite the eye-opener the first time I lined up with 20 other people and started marching towards the door. Yeah baby!

[Samurai136 0]

The smallest plane I've jumped out of was a C182 RG with only the co-pilot seat removed for space and the door removed. I was doing a Tandem.

Ken

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[catfishhunter 2]

When Brian (DZO) Ask if anyone wants to take up the 182 I am always ready to hop on it. I love jumping out of it. It is nice that we have the Grand Caravan and prefer to jump out of it when jumping with others but there is just something to climbing out on the wheel of an airplane Of course we usually only take it to 4-5K Most of us that are willing to hop on are ummm bigger guys so 4 us in it for more then 15 minutes really sucks.

Glad to hear you finally added one to your jump planes. Now go jump it again!

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[AggieDave 6]

Huh, I've got around 1100 jumps from a 182, I'm sorry that you've "had" to jump out of large turbines for all of your jumps. You've missed out on some of the magic of skydiving. Spending time in a 182 with your jump buddies then all 4 of you getting out on the step and strut to launch an exit that you can only do out of a 182...man its a great time!

Our 182 hasn't flown in a while, since we're getting some work done on it, but man oh man I miss it. A lot of the other jumpers at my DZ are really missing it as well.


Oh, a 182 isn't a "small plane jump" jumping out of a Champ was a small plane jump. That was even smaller then the 172 jump.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[napalmboy 0]

Heh, I'm a turbine snob, too. I was at about 65 jumps before I was introduced to a 182. Nowadays most of my jumps are from a 182 or a 206.

I've never done anything interesting in terms of exits (never even hung off the strut!), but I managed to turn a diving exit into a few flips once, if that counts for anything.

Well, the door was open...

[MrBrant 0]

hehe, 10000 ft, I'm jealous.

I've only every jumped out of a 182, and a 172.
Hope to get my jump out of a turbine this comming weekend

hehe, next time, try jumping out of a 172 with a regular flight door still on... . That's interesting (and a little hard on the ankles too

[tdog 0]

What's a Cessna????

Don't they make the smaller planes, like the caravan?


Just kidding... I have jumped out of 206 and 182, and even did my AFF 2 and 3 out of a 206...

I actually jumped a small plane in Puerto Rico, and I really was happy I did. Got to know the locals on the ride up, and saw a lot of the land from the window...

But, I really only have 4 jumps out of something smaller than a King Air.. I think I wouldn't mind doing a few more, but definately not for RW...

[mdrejhon 8]

You spoiled turbine jumpers.

I did most of my jumps from little C182's and C206's. Can't position your feet on the strut? You gotta learn. I can reliably launch a 3-way from front float, rear float and V strut. Yes, linked 3-way exit from a C182. Better believe it. Actually, I've never funneled a linked RW exit before from a C182. Yep. Never. (Almost did once, but formation fortunately did not flip.) Regardless of which exit position I was in, riding the hill on a C182 is a lot easier than riding the hill on a Twin Otter, at least for me.

It is sooooo EASY to funnel a linked exit from a Twin Otter. I keep funneling about two thirds of linked 3-way exits from those.

The Twin Otter visited our dropzone only three times a year (but we are one of the few lucky Canadian dropzones to even GET the plane at all, at least!). And I did not get my first CASA exit until Jump #118.

And you better believe I did 9 jumps in one day solely from Cessna's. Perfectly good airplanes to jump out of.

[Superman32 0]

Jumped a Porter last week. Nice to hang from the strut
Kinda used to Otters and the Skyvan

Oooohh! I also jumped the CK heli- 4 jumpers

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[BillyVance 34]

Most of my first 150 jumps were from Cessna's and King Airs. I still do C-182 jumps from time to time, although mostly on demo jumps...

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Thunderbow 1]

Well, let's see, I started jumping in 1974 - what turbines?
The smallest was a Cessna 150 with the standard door still on it. Anything to get a demo in. Only two of us in it though. Right seat removed, with me sitting on the back seat. Quite a few 172 jumps also. How about 45 minutes to 9 grand or so. My first turbine jump was last fall when I started jumping again after 7 years off. "Seatbelts? We have to wear seatbelts?"

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Lord, let me be the person my dog thinks I am.

[NWFlyer 2]

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We only go to 10.000 ft. cuz aparently it would take a long time to go higher.

Oh yeah, forgot about that... there's only one time I've been higher than 10K in a 182 was for a formation load ash dive and it took for-freakin-EVER to get to 13K, then with more time in the air to get the formation together, I thought we were never gonna get out of that plane. No signs of hypoxia, I'm happy to report.

We'll try that bat-hang one of these days!

"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

[Iceburner 0]

most of my jumps have been out of 182's, and i love them. Also jumped a Pac 750, and it has its benifits as well. Smallest plane for me was an ultra-light....now THAT was fun...even though it was only a hop n pop...but the pilot has a nice video. Going to get a few balloon jumps in this winter, and proly some more ultra-lights cuz it's gettin too cold to go all the way up

edit---yes, most of my 60 jumps...but hey, we all had to start somewhere

[rj2163 0]

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Bat hang exits are hilariously fun,

Haven't tried it myslef but I like this pic of Trevor (Packerboy) from our DZ in Fuzzy's Personal Photo Gallery.

[diablopilot 2]

The Cessna 182 is one of the most fun planes to jump. Try taking a 4 way RW chunk off it and you'll see why. Climbing all over that A/C while in flight has been one of the most fune things I've done.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[kelpdiver 2]

so long as it's not cold (well, California winter cold), the slow climb to 18k (or less) in a side door C206 in Monterey beats the hell out of the view from the otter.

And a 182 ride over Santa Rosa (Sonama wine country) beats no ride over Santa Rosa (the current state, as the DZO packed up and left).

[riggerrob 643]

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The smallest plane I've jumped out of was a C182 RG with only the co-pilot seat removed for space and the door removed. I was doing a Tandem.

Ken

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Hee!
Hee!
The smallest plane I have done tandems from was a Maule.
Boy was I glad that all our students that day were tiny orientals!

Wide-body Cessna 182 RGs are easy in comparison.

[riggerrob 643]

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Ahem - BEER - (Just had to say it.)

Smallest Cessna I've been out of is a tail-dragging 172. Very cozy inside.

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Wow!
Tail-dragging Cessna 172s are really, really rare ... since all 172s left the factory with nose-wheels.

Chances are, you jumped a Cessna 170, which came standard with a tail-wheel and only a handful had nose-wheels installed by Met-Co-Air.

Another way to tell them apart is that only 170s had rounded tail feathers.

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