May 3, 2005, 8:44 AM
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Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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Just curious how many of the people who started skydiving before, say, 1990 also hold a pilot's license? If so, what sort of flying do you prefer to do?
May 3, 2005, 12:28 PM
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Re: [wartload] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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No, I'm not a pilot. But I know a few that are both. They love the planes more though I think. WHY??? Cuz they fly alot more than they jump!! These guys are jump pilots that I know from my home DZ.
(This post was edited by MissBuffDiver on May 3, 2005, 12:30 PM)
May 3, 2005, 1:40 PM
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I started jumping in 1984 and have a private pilot's license. I don't fly very often but whenever I'm current i like to do short sightseeing flights with friends. Usually no more than 100 miles from home. $100 hamburgers and visits to the beach and round trips to go inspect the Mt. St. Helens crater and stuff like that.
I also got my tailwheel endorcement and got checked out in a powered parachute. I LOVED that!
May 3, 2005, 8:12 PM
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Re: [narcimund] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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I also got my tailwheel endorcement and got checked out in a powered parachute. I LOVED that!
Funny thing ... I never got a legitimate tailwheel endorsement. I bought an Aeronca Champ (7AC)from a guy who reluctantly said that he'd check me out in the thing. He flew with me from where I picked it up to my home airport, and then sat in the back, giving me sparse advice, while I managed to land it twice ... then he took a bus back to his hometown.
My first clue was when I asked him to sign the logbook with his license number and he didn't know what it was. I soon found out that he never got a license, and sold the plane because nobody would give him instruction in it.
Oh, well, I got 2,000+ hours in taildraggers without breaking one.
May 4, 2005, 11:52 AM
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Re: [wartload] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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I know three old jump pilots from the old days who were also skydivers. All three of them still jump. Two quit flying almost entirely. One does a little of both, but probably flies more than he jumps....Steve1
May 4, 2005, 1:18 PM
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Re: [wartload] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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Just curious how many of the people who started skydiving before, say, 1990 also hold a pilot's license? If so, what sort of flying do you prefer to do?
I started skydiving in 1961 at Ft. Bragg with the XVIII SPC.
I started DZs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 1969. Having the responsibility of running a DZ back then...and doing most of the rigging...kept me from flying as much as I liked. As much as I love jumping, flying jumpers is more challenging and more fun.
I have 2000+ hours flying up and down, up and down. After getting out of the DZ business for myself, I flew for many DZs on the East Coast but the absolute most fun was flying for Mike Schultz at Pelicanland in Maryland. I did that for 2-3 years. Best years of my life!
I have an ultra-light which I'm rebuilding. No license required, of course, but it scares the crap out of me. Only 11 HP from 2 5.5HP chainsaw engines. Every flight is a Number 9.9 pucker factor.
Still...flying jumpers in a Cessna 182 is the most fun of all.
May 5, 2005, 7:23 AM
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Re: [Guru312] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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Still...flying jumpers in a Cessna 182 is the most fun of all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Agreed! I started flying and jumping in 1977. Flew Cessna 172s full of jumpers in 1983 and 1984. Flew Cessna 182 jump plane in 1985 and 1986.
Nowadays I am too valuable at rigging, tandems, PFF, etc. and my boss is afraid that I will complete my commercial pilot license and want to fly again.
May 5, 2005, 7:37 AM
Post #10 of 34
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Re: [wartload] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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Just curious how many of the people who started skydiving before, say, 1990 also hold a pilot's license? If so, what sort of flying do you prefer to do?
I've known (and know) a few:
Jeff Searles: 2000 jumps and pilot, owned Z-Hills in early to mid 70's.
Bill Booth: Lots of jumps and lots of hours, still active.
May 6, 2005, 5:39 PM
Post #11 of 34
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Just curious how many of the people who started skydiving before, say, 1990 also hold a pilot's license? If so, what sort of flying do you prefer to do?
May 6, 2005, 11:01 PM
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I got my pilots license back in April of 1995. I trained at the Flying W in Lumberton, NJ. I owned a Piper Arrow for about a year and had about 200 hours before I lost interest. I even started my instrument training at one point but just didn't have the motivation to jump through all the hoops. I made two more flights back in 1999 to get current again, and haven't flown since.
I started jumping with my first tandem back in March of this year and was instantly hooked. Now I spend most of my free time jumping, thinking about jumping, or talking about jumping. I may get back into flying again some day, but right now I much prefer jumping out of them, although I will admit sometimes on the ride up I look toward the cockpit and miss being in the left seat.
I can say the pilot training helped immensely with some of the fundamental concepts of canopy flight, particularly the notion of flying a standard pattern approach for landing. Of course the big difference under canopy is that you can't add power when you realize you're dropping below the glidescope.
May 8, 2005, 7:30 PM
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Starting jumping in 1972 and got my pilots license in 76. Currently I do mostly cross country type flying in a Bonanza. I have flown a lot of jumpers in the past
May 9, 2005, 12:37 PM
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I recently gave up my hot air balloon licence, my fixed wing licence. I built 5 aircraft in total, almost all of them for someone else who had money.
One of the aircraft I built can be seen on the internet, by clicking on < Siemens-Schuckert D IV > It is in New Zealand at this time.
A couple of years ago built a fuselage for a Mark 6 Spitfire which is being finished by others. I deemed the guy who owned it as being rather unsafe so I quit.
Aug 12, 2012, 5:21 PM
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This is probably a tad late but I started skydiving in 1963 at Ft. Lee, Va and got my Private in 1967 at the old Vacaville Glider Port just before I went to Vietnam. Returned and started a skydiving club at El Centro (jumped at Holtville) and talked an aircraft salesman into letting us use a NEW Aerocommander Lark. This was the equivalent of a Cessna 172. Imagine trying to fly jumpers with a 172 in the El Centro summer. I was the only pilot we had most of the time. Also flew a few loads at Antioch in the mid/late 70's when Norm wanted to make a jump. Haven't jumped since 1983 and haven't flown in three years. It's just too expensive to rent these days.
Aug 12, 2012, 6:05 PM
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1st jump 1972, 1st solo 1974 when the guy teaching me bailed out (he wasn't a CFI), Pilot license 1976. I have been in the aviation business ever since and stay current and active in both jumping and flying.
(This post was edited by captain1976 on Aug 12, 2012, 6:07 PM)
Aug 13, 2012, 3:32 PM
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I bought a C-172 jump plane in 1970 when I had 150 jumps. A guy named Ed Scmock crashed it . I got out of flying then . Around 1980 I returned to flying jumpers. I have 650hours flying and my instrument instruction flying. We had a yahoo crash the plane I flew most. I havent done any bi annuals since then but still keep my third class current for tandems
Aug 14, 2012, 8:29 PM
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Re: [Niki1] Skydiver and Pilot, too?
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Yeah, it would. I worked for Perry for a few months running the DZ during the week and packing student rigs, when I wasn't freezing my ass off and once in a while Norm would want to make a jump, bare feet and all, so I'd fly the 182. What ever happened to him? Last I heard he was at Z Hills, I think (a long time ago).
These guys are jump pilots that I know from my home DZ. 
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