divrdave

When you get to the DZ, just track down Calvin and let him know you want to be a GOON. The initiation can be a bit painful, but well worth it (just kidding)! Definitely fun jumps!!!

Any chance that the Goon Squad will be there? I did some bigways with them last year and had an absoluate blast! I'll be there Saturday morning and staying through the weekend.

You're kidding, right? When I was last at X-Keys a couple of years ago, they had a Skyvan, two Super Otters, two Caravans, a Porter, a PAC-750, a helicopter, and a biplane and they were literally doing 200+ tandems a day. How on earth did a DZ of that size turn into a single 182 DZ in less than two years? I can't imagine they're still doing 200 tandems a day out of the 182.

I just heard from another jumper in Florida that a jump plane crashed at Skydive Jacksonville yesterday, killing the pilot. Since I hadn't heard anything else about it, I assumed it was a rumor, but I now see that there was an ad posted yesterday, by Skydive Jacksonville, looking for a new jump pilot immediatly, so I'm wondering if this rumor was true and, if so, if anyone knows any more details on the crash?

You should definitely check out The Kansas City Skydiving Center (www.kcskydiving.com). Lots of cool people and no politics. I've even heard that Jimmy Coiner, the Midwest Freefly Legend, jumps there!

You can definitely count me in. Lookin forward to it!

While seraching around for more info on the new Twin Otters, I came across this article that says that the Twin Otter is an unsafe airplane to use for skydiving. Is this guy for real? ------------------------------- By Maggie Rotermund Missourian Staff Writer Four days after losing their youngest child in a plane crash, the parents of Victoria Delacroix have filed a wrong- ful death suit in Franklin County Circuit Court. Delacroix was killed Saturday, July 29, along with five others when the skydiving plane they were in crashed near Sullivan. The 22-year-old would have been making her first jump. The suit, brought by Vivian and Susan Delacroix of Kent, England, claims negligence caused an engine to fail. The suit names Quantum Leap Skydiving Inc., the engine’s manufacturer and those responsible for the plane’s maintenance and upkeep. The wrongful death suit filed Wednesday, names Pratt & Whitney, maker of the two turboprop engines on the DeHavilland DHC6 Twin Otter plane, as the main defendant, and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney declined to speak about the suit, saying it is against corporate policy to discuss anything currently under investigation. The suit also names: Adventure Aviation, a Delaware corporation that co-owned the plane; Scott Cowan, the Quantum Leap co-owner and pilot who also perished in the crash; Sullivan Regional Airport, and the city of Sullivan as its owner, which allegedly did service work on the plane; and Quantum Leap Skydiving Center, which owned the skydiving operation. The management of Sullivan Regional Airport declined to speak to The Missourian on the pending litigation. Calls to Quantum Leap and Adventure Aviation were not returned. “In skydiving operations, it seems that there is a disproportionate number of this type of severe crash,” said Gary C. Robb, the attorney representing the family. “I think it has to do with the type of engine used.” Robb’s firm, based in Kansas City, specializes in aviation-related cases and has done so for 25 years. He represented six families of skydivers killed in a 1998 crash in Grain Valley, Mo., near Kansas City. He also represented the family of Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was killed in a plane crash with his son and an aide while campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2000. Robb said the engine on the plane, a turboprop PT6A, is a propeller engine designed to take a plane from point A to point B. “These turboprops are designed to take off and cruise,” he said. “They are not made for 10 to 12 takeoffs a day. It is too much wear and tear on the engine.” The plane is used widely for skydiving groups. Twin Otter planes are popular among skydivers for three reasons, according to Robb. He said they are commonly used because the planes have a large load capacity; a high-wing design, which allows even the most inexperienced jumper to jump without fear of hitting the wing; and a high rate of climb, allowing pilots to quickly reach an altitude suitable for skydiving. Robb said despite these attributes, Twin Otters should not be used for skydiving because the engine was not built to handle the dynamics of skydiving operations. “Somewhere along the way, this design was hijacked by the skydiving industry and used in a way the engine was not designed for – it can’t handle the excessive takeoffs of skydiving trips.” Robb said his experience in aviation leads him to the conclusion that skydiving operations should use an air-cooled jet engine in their planes. “They won’t do that though,” he said. “They are more expensive from the outset and eat more fuel.” Robb was in Franklin County on Friday to meet with witnesses and speak with an area lawyer assisting him on the case, Frank K. Carlson, of Union. “My initial investigation points to a right engine failure just after takeoff,” said Robb. “In cases such as this, it is unusual to have such uniformity among eyewitness accounts. In this case, all of the eyewitnesses are saying the right engine burst into flames immediately after takeoff.” The plane, carrying seven skydivers and the pilot, took a nosedive and struck a utility pole and trees before hitting the ground, according to Robb. The similarity of each eyewitness story was his first indicator that something was awry, Robb said. “In this crash scenario, of major engine failure, the pilot loses power and nosedives into an uncontrollable descent,” he said. Also killed in Saturday’s crash were skydiving instructor Robert B. Cook, 22, of Rolla; Melissa Berridge, 38, of Maryland Heights; Robert Walsh, 44, of University City; and skydiving instructor David Paternoster, 35, of Claycomo. The two surviving divers aboard the plane were Kimberly Dear, 21, of Melbourne, Australia, and Steve Parrella, 46, of St. Louis. Both remain hospitalized at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. Delacroix’s body was flown back to England and arrived at Heathrow Airport on Thursday. A private funeral is scheduled for Aug. 9. Delacroix had just graduated from England’s Derby College with a degree in geography. She was in Missouri working as a camp counselor at Sunnyhill Adventures, in Dittmer. “Her parents are still in the midst of the trauma of it all,” Robb said. “They’ve acted now, through this suit, because they don’t want any other family to go through what they’ve experienced in the past few days. If they can prevent this type of accident from happening again, that is what they are looking for from these companies.” The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. A preliminary report may be issued next week. A final report will take at least six months. Robb employs a former 11-year veteran of the NTSB to run his investigations. He added that he would have a good report ready in six weeks.

Yeah, everything you've heard about that airplane is absolutely true. It is, by far, the best plane I've ever had the pleasure of jumping!

It's good to hear you have reopened. I'll see you all at the boogie.

Congratulations to the entire Quantum Leap family! You certainly deserve it! I look forward to jumping there sometime soon.

Sounds like fun. Do you need to have 4-way competition experience to participate in this?