What's your favorite plane?

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

My favorite - the Skyvan - jumping out backwards is so funl!

Least favorite to date - the Pilatus (sp?) Porter - the door is on the wrong side! Holding on to the plane with my left hand was extremely awkward.

What planes do they use at your DZ?

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[Mike111 0]

PA32 is all ive jumped.

they have an islander though, so might get a go in that some time in the coming weeks if its running.

fingers crossed

[outlawphx 1]

Hmm... King Air. 7 or 8 minutes to altitude rocks. You need to bring a book on Skyvan loads

[Peej 0]

Anthing big. Otters, Casas, Skyvans, they all rock dude. We only get to jump a porter and a king air here.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[TFFTM 1]

Casa... Its all about the Casa.
But I usually just jump a Cessna 182.

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

Never been on a Casa. Can't wait to try one.

Our DZ has an Otter and a Cessna. I've never been on the Cessna - just by some random luck. I'm sure I'll be on it this winter - out of desperation.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[jumpchikk 0]

1. Casa
2. Mike Mullins King Air
3. Skyvan

I like jumping out of Cessnas too.. I'm weird like that. I like hanging on outside the plane... that's some fun stuff right there.

[EvilLurker 2]

Hs to be the Super Otter for now, but I think I'd go with a Skyvan if I could find one around here. That looks like real fun.

[EvilLurker 2]

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I like jumping out of Cessnas too.. I'm weird like that.

I do too, it's the ride to altitude part that gets old (like my knees).

I like the spotting and being more involved in the jump run you get with the Cessna "experience".

[grue 1]

I've only jumped our 182 and 206... and Mike Mullin's King Air.

Take a guess

cavete terrae.

[demoss99 0]

I come from a 182 DZ so 99% of my experience comes from that. But the few times I've jumped larger aircraft/turbines I have to say the tailgate aircraft..skyvan & CASA have been the best experiences.

"I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

[jumpchikk 0]

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I've only jumped our 182 and 206... and Mike Mullin's King Air. Take a guess

uhhh, the 182?

[skybytch 273]

I really, really like the PAC. Fast climb rate, comfortable with 14 people (even more comfy with the 5 that it takes to turn it at Davis), big windows, good ventilation and a way better door than a King Air.

[DZJ 0]

Skyvan or Beech 99

[Adriandavies 0]

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Skyvan or Beech 99

Given that you jump at Langar I? That is a really nice plane unless you're trying to get an 18 way out in a hurry and trip over the beam which runs 1/4 way back from the cockpit! 7 minutes to altitude is great fun.

[drdive 0]

#1 Casa
#2 Twin Otter
#3 Caravan
#4 Any plane that gets me to altitude and has a door that opens

"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub"

"

[NWFlyer 2]

I like 'em all. Growing up a static-line baby at a Cessna DZ, I have a soft spot in my heart for 182s, though I like our 206 a little better ... more room to kick around.

I can be a turbine snob, too. But there is something to be said about the Cessna "experience" and I'm glad I've learned that way. Spotting, sitting right next to the pilot and shooting the shit on the way to altitude, seeing the look on the pilot's face when someone does the bat hang off the strut, fighting with sticky door handles. Good stuff.

"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

[Elisha 1]

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I really, really like the PAC. Fast climb rate, comfortable with 14 people (even more comfy with the 5 that it takes to turn it at Davis), big windows, good ventilation and a way better door than a King Air.

But it's still not a tailgater....

[immanence 0]

Really enjoyed the Turbolet 410 because I could stand up in the door: and I'm 6ft. Climbed fast too. I've loved the Porter ever since jumping in Pujaut, France. Those bad boys land and load up before the skydivers who just exited. But all-time favorite? Nothing beats the grandeur of an open tailgate on a C-130 Hercules. No worries about snagging your jumpsuit on exit. That baby is a sight to behold

"where danger is appears also that which saves ..." Friedrich Holderlin, 'Patmos'

[joebud321 0]

antonov 12... holds about two hundred

[bwilling 0]

In the early 80's, when USPA Nationals and the corresponding boogie were held in Muskogee Oklahoma, I got to jump the normally Florida based DC-3, 'Mr. Douglas'... not soon after boarding, they fired up the massive sound system, and me and 40 of my 'new' closest friends got to rock to Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird'. It was memorable.

There was also that time that Jim McLain bought his 1956 Cessna 190 (or 195) to the DZ... I'd grown up jumping small Cessnas, but had never seen a radial engine taildragger like that one, and it was old, I mean it was a year older than I was! So when he offered to let us jump out of it, despite the low ceiling that day, I had to 'jump' at the chance. Two thousand feet later we're up against the clouds and going no higher, but what the hell, I was 'D' qualified!

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[BrianM 1]

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Nothing beats the grandeur of an open tailgate on a C-130 Hercules.

The herc is nice, but I always liked the CC-115 Buffalo (pic attached).

"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

[gemini 0]

Let's see:

1. Skyvan-fun to jump out of but has Garrett engines and is to damn noisy! It really hurts my ears sometimes.

2. Casa-run to jump out of, in fact the first plane I ever jumped out of, but takes two pilots and has Garrett engines. Slow to altitude with a full load.

3. Porter - no experience with one, but with door on wrong side.....

4. Cessna 182 to damn slow and limited to 4-ways.

5. Mullins King Air - great plane and pilot and extremely fast, but doesn't allow floating exits most of the time. Low overhead clearance, low wing, lots of turbulence.

6. Otter - can be fast, high tail, good climb to altitude with right engines, fairly quiet, economical to operate, can land on tiny, mud soaked runways!

I'd say my overall favorite has to be an Otter, but what do I know....I'm biased!!!

Blue skies,

Jim

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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CC-115 Buffalo (pic attached).

That's a nice looking plane!

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[kelpdiver 2]

Prefer the king air far over the otter. 14 stuffed people is more comfy than 22 stuffed people and it climbs faster. I also like that I can stand up in the doorway, thanks to the curvature.

As slow as the 206U climbs, the view from the side door is great when you're set to be first out. Otter is esp bad on the view.

Pac is too short! I can see the fuel savings.

Tailgate exits are fun and I only get the chance rarely, but seems more blind. How do you check your spot when they want 2s separations due to jump run speed?