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redwing120

Cessna Caravan correct exit speed?

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in France, at a Boogie where a Caravan was used, the pilot insisted on speaking to each individual wingsuit jumper. He would first show us a really big helmet/head shaped dent in the rear-stabilizer, then telling the story about the FS camera jumper who did this (forgot what then happend to him) and then asking each of us to demonstrate how we would exit from his plane. Just saying.

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redwing120

Is it common for the pilot of a Cessna Caravan to increase speed to lift the tail before the wingsuiter exits?



It should be common for wingsuiters to exit in a way that the pilot will do the same jump run he always does for any jumper. :)
www.WingsuitPhotos.com

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Ive been on some DZs where the pilot hardly slows down, and than gives jumpers shit for asking to slow it down. Exit speeds should allow for comfortably climbing outside without balistic speeds trying to jank you and your wingsuit of the step..
JC
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mccordia

Ive been on some DZs where the pilot hardly slows down, and than gives jumpers shit for asking to slow it down. Exit speeds should allow for comfortably climbing outside without balistic speeds trying to jank you and your wingsuit of the step..



And I've been on a jump plane that stalled with floaters out. NOT A NICE EXPERIENCE.

There is certainly a happy medium, but on the whole I'd take a little more speed than a stall any day.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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Stall, normal exit speed, fast exit speed or ballistic 'is the pilot a retard'.

The example I gave was beyond fast, it made one of the non ws-exits already almost come in contact with the tail. His excuse 'I needed more speed to prevent a stall, due to high upper winds' didnt help in trusting that pilot either..
JC
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mccordia

Stall, normal exit speed, fast exit speed or ballistic 'is the pilot a retard'.

The example I gave was beyond fast, it made one of the non ws-exits already almost come in contact with the tail. His excuse 'I needed more speed to prevent a stall, due to high upper winds' didnt help in trusting that pilot either..



Non-retard pilots are highly desirable.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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mccordia

Quote


Non-retard pilots are highly desirable.



Who knew a pilots licence could come in a pack of cornflakes...



That box of cornflakes cost about $25,000.00 . But then they get paid $10 a load. They're not slowing down. They need to get back down for the next load. They need to do at least 30 loads or they won't make as much as the packers.
Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

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MikeStafford

Simple rule: The pilot doesn't tell the jumpers how fast to fall, the jumpers don't get to tell the pilot how fast to fly.

IT AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE.



I disagree. The speed of freefall has no impact (pardon the pun) on the pilot's safety. The speed of the aircraft at exit does.
BPA has a published standard on Caravan speeds, and following it seems to be ideal for all parties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQOA5x4fbpA
Low tail...

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MikeStafford

Simple rule: The pilot doesn't tell the jumpers how fast to fall, the jumpers don't get to tell the pilot how fast to fly.



When people don't behave according to rules/safety standards, you do tell them exactly how fast to fly. Especially if they are putting other lives in danger by doing so. Pilots can tell jumpers where not to fly, due to it being in the way of their patern. So either way, both do get to tell eachother how to do their job when safety is concerned. Its not rocket science, but a bit of communication never hurt anyone...
JC
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mccordia

***Simple rule: The pilot doesn't tell the jumpers how fast to fall, the jumpers don't get to tell the pilot how fast to fly.



When people don't behave according to rules/safety standards, you do tell them exactly how fast to fly. Especially if they are putting other lives in danger by doing so. Pilots can tell jumpers where not to fly, due to it being in the way of their patern. So either way, both do get to tell eachother how to do their job when safety is concerned. Its not rocket science, but a bit of communication never hurt anyone...

The OP wanted a slower speed, which would require the pilot to raise the nose to maintain altitude. Combined with a bad exit technique that could favor a tail strike in some planes. Also low speed can contribute to a stall and wing drop when jumpers start hanging outside. No aircraft is certified with people hanging outside. Most jumpers have misconceptions about flying airplanes. Leave the flying to the pilot. He might know what he is doing. And any jumper who is anywhere near the airport traffic pattern is not going to land in the landing area. Conversely if the pilot is not using the pattern he is endangering other planes. Even if there are no other planes at that airport the pilot is required by the FARs to fly a proper pattern

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MikeStafford



And any jumper who is anywhere near the airport traffic pattern is not going to land in the landing area. Conversely if the pilot is not using the pattern he is endangering other planes. Even if there are no other planes at that airport the pilot is required by the FARs to fly a proper pattern



Wingsuiters are typically able to fly near the traffic pattern, and with bigger suits becoming the norm, this possibility becomes "normal."
Our pilot noses the aircraft down while flaps are down and power reduced so that the prop wash isn't as much the problem as it could be. In other words, the tail is high, speed is slow, and everyone is happy. Wingsuits don't care much about maintaining altitude when climbing out.

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redwing120

Is it common for the pilot of a Cessna Caravan to increase speed to lift the tail before the wingsuiter exits?



Just a note:

I did 2 flights from a Caravan last Saturday. With 3 of us poised for exit, the plane was in a decent of about 10 MPH just before exit. We had a strong headwind, so I can't really say anything about the speed. The second flight I was solo and the last out. Even though the pilot had "cut" for the other jumpers, I noticed that as I positioned myself for exit, that he cut it back a bit more.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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The head wind has no bearing on the airspeed, airspeed is what the pilot is concerned with. (The speed of the air over the wings) The only thing the head wind affects is groundspeed, which means, in strong upper winds, you leave longer between exits.

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PommyG

The head wind has no bearing on the airspeed, airspeed is what the pilot is concerned with. (The speed of the air over the wings) The only thing the head wind affects is groundspeed, which means, in strong upper winds, you leave longer between exits.



When means my GPS data does not say thing about the airspeed of the aircraft. But we were in a gentle decent according to the GPS data.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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