FAA question: Can a private pilot fly a jump plane?

[skydivingdutch 0]

I know you need a commericial license to get paid but hers's the scenario im talking about:

A private pilot flys a jump plane for a DZ and gets paid nothing for it.
However, the DZO does not make him pay to fly, and the DZ is making money off of the flying this pilot is doing (paying studends, jumpers etc). The plane belongs to the DZ. So basically if the pilot arrives with $50 in his wallet, he leaves with $50 .

Is this technically allowed?

http://dropman.com

[Ron 10]

Quote

A private pilot flys a jump plane for a DZ and gets paid nothing for it.
However, the DZO does not make him pay to fly, and the DZ is making money off of the flying this pilot is doing (paying studends, jumpers etc). The plane belongs to the DZ. So basically if the pilot arrives with $50 in his wallet, he leaves with $50 .

Is this technically allowed?

No. If anyone is making money its illegal.

If no one made money...you could most likley do it. However the FAA has said that flight time IS compensation....So they could still get you.

But if people are paying to jump...Its illegal as hell.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Hooknswoop 19]

No, it is not legal.

The FAA had violated pilots for flying jumpers w/o a commercial license. It is not legal.

Jane F. Garvey (FAA) vs. Robert R. Rawlins.

Docket SE-14006
August 21, 1997

The private pilot's license was suspeneded for 90 days for flying jumpers. The FAA argued that the DZ, even though it was a club, was being paid. Not all of the jumpers (tandems, students, etc) were members of the club and the club advertised like a business. Even though the pilot was an unpaid volunteer, they were not sharing expenses with the passengers. The shared-expense exception is only valid where the pilot and pasengers share a common purpose in the flight and does not apply to parachutist operations.

Bottom line, you must have a commercial license to fly jumpers, even if you are not being paid.

Derek

[skydivingdutch 0]

Alright, thanks fot the consise reply

http://dropman.com

[EDYDO 0]

Here we go again. Same topic, same people, same answers. I agree with everything that has been said above until you get to Hookinswoop's final statement, "Bottom line, you must have a commercial license to fly jumpers." That wasn't correct when he said it in the past and it isn't correct now. There are times when a private pilot can fly jumpers, but flying for someone sitting in the back who is paying (as described in your original post) is not one of those circumstances.

Ed

[Hooknswoop 19]

Yep, you are right, I just went back and copied and pasted, oops.

Sharing expenses, no-one making any money, a Private Pilot can fly jumpers.

Derek

[Ron 10]

Quote

Here we go again. Same topic, same people, same answers.

Am I THAT predictable? Lets try this one then...It's legal, fun and the FAA loves to see people involved with the sport.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[EDYDO 0]

Why are you guys on the computer today????

(It's foggy here.)

Ed

[Hooknswoop 19]

Quote

Why are you guys on the computer today????

Checking the wx before a 40-mile mtn bike race at Castle rock and I just got back.

Derek

[Ron 10]

Quote

Why are you guys on the computer today????

(It's foggy here.)

Late start to my day due to watching the Stanley Cup. Then I went and flew my R/C plane. The weather went bad, and then went to a late Lunch early dinner...

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[obes 0]

Hey skydivingdutch
Just to clear things up, Here with CASA in Aus I can say for sure you may fly a DZ Plane at a money making DZ, with only a Private license and have no problems with any governing body…
There is the one catch you have sufficient time on type and no body but you are in the plane during the flight....
You would have to make for some spectacular flying so as the dropzone does make money off your flying though, also attempting to stop any of it from being interpreted as an aero crowd pleaser, that would be then of course commercial...
Obes

[Harksaw 0]

Heres a question I heard one of my private pilot friends thinking about:

A dropzone normally flies four jumpers and a pilot in a Cessna. Jumpers pay $15 a slot, adding up to $60 a load. Could a non-commercial pilot fly, if he and the four other jumperd each paid 1/5 of the total $60, or $12 each, if the pilot wanted to get some time?

Quote

The shared-expense exception is only valid where the pilot and pasengers share a common purpose in the flight and does not apply to parachutist operations.

So, would that be a "common purpose" ?

__________________________________________________
I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.

[pilotdave 0]

It's just asking for trouble. If the pilot is doing it for flight time, even if he's paying his fair share, it's a no-no. It's definitely not legal when the jumpers are paying for their jumps.

Closest you can come to making it legal would be a few skydivers that offer to share expenses to get a jump from a friend's plane. A one time sorta thing. Still probably not legal, but that's not the kind of thing the FAA is going to worry about so much. It's when a business uses a private pilot to carry paying passengers, even if the pilot pays too.

Dave

[calphoto 0]

Not to mention the insurance implications. If you are flying a plane privately, that is one level of insurance. Once you start making money off of it, especially in a field like skydiving, the rates skyrocket. Crunch your plane carying skydivers on your personal insurance and I am sure that the insurance company will say you have voided the contract and not pay.

Hartwood Paracenter - The closest DZ to DC!