jump pilot wannabe

[mitirino 0]

Hi. I'm new to this forum and kind of new to everything. Here is a question for you:


Would you feel ok going in the plane if your pilot is walking with crutches?




I broke my spine some 15 years ago paragliding. Then I got all my pilot licenses including instructor and have about 400h now. I also did some 16 skydives last year and the last two were 15 seconds free fall each... almost kept it stable except for 5-6 seconds when it all went blurry.

Anyway... I'm going to try for a jump pilot job now and was thinking would you feel any different if I'm your pilot? If you are an owner of a DZ would you feel I will be scaring off your customers, etc.?

Needless to say if it works out and I start flying skydivers I'll be ecstatic. I actually think I'll be able to bring in a lot of new people but I am fearful that it may not work because of the shity crutches.


Thanks. Blue skies and fun!

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[jers119 0]

Welcome to the forums! I personally wouldn't care one bit! I think the one thing that I would be concerned would to see my pilot walking up to the plane and be walking with the vision impaired sticks, sorry, I don't know the correct terminology for the walking stick they use. But I am quite sure that wouldn't happen! Good luck, I hope you get hired on!

[mitirino 0]

Thanks skymama and jersy! The training week is in one week so I'll know pretty soon.

[JohnRich 4]

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Would you feel ok going in the plane if your pilot is walking with crutches?

That depends on whether or not the reason for the crutches impairs his ability to fly.

For example, if he has a broken leg that is healing, can he apply enough force using that bad leg on the rudder pedals to control the plane, even in emergency situations? If not, then he shouldn't fly.

Have you passed a flight physical in your current condition?

[BobMoore 0]

As long as I know the jump pilot can control the plane it makes no difference to me if he is using crutches. Do you have your Commercial yet?

I'm reminded of an article in AOPA magazine years ago. A guy with limited use of his legs was earning a living in his Piper aircraft giving flight instruction and also just providing joyrides on a sunny afternoon. One day he walked up to the plane with his two elderly lady clients. When he got to the wing (Pipers are low wing aircraft, most of them anyway) he set the crutches aside, sat down on the wing facing back, and began pushing himself towards the door with his hands. After he got situated in the pilots seat he invited the ladies to climb in. He looked back to see them sitting down on the wing and scooting themselves forward with their hands.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."

[mitirino 0]

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Have you passed a flight physical in your current condition?

Yes, I've passed flight tests with inspectors from FAA and TC (Transport Canada). That's the only way to get a medical as the doctors would only sign that my medical condition is stable, but then a flight inspector has to fly with me to make sure I can do what is needed to fly an airplane. So I'm good and have enough strength... I can push about 200lb or more with my legs (got lucky as some key muscles were not affected). Strength is no problem, and through proper positioning of my feet I am doing ok with the brakes as well.

[mitirino 0]

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As long as I know the jump pilot can control the plane it makes no difference to me if he is using crutches. Do you have your Commercial yet?

I'm reminded of an article in AOPA magazine years ago...

Ha-ha... nice article. I can see the old ladies pushing themselves on their bums :)

Yes, I have my Commercial and Class I medical. I really hope it works out... if not I'll have to keep flying on my own money for a while or maybe start jumping again. I liked the free fall very much and it is a challenge for me... because the muscles in my ass are gone it is very difficult for me to make a proper arch. Have to be much more precise with my hands.

[JohnRich 4]

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Have you passed a flight physical in your current condition?

Yes, I've passed flight tests with inspectors from FAA and TC (Transport Canada). That's the only way to get a medical as the doctors would only sign that my medical condition is stable, but then a flight inspector has to fly with me to make sure I can do what is needed to fly an airplane. So I'm good and have enough strength... I can push about 200lb or more with my legs (got lucky as some key muscles were not affected). Strength is no problem, and through proper positioning of my feet I am doing ok with the brakes as well.

Well all right then. Douglas Bader did it, and it sounds like you can too. Just watch out for the Messerschmitts.

[mitirino 0]

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Well all right then. Douglas Bader did it, and it sounds like you can too. Just watch out for the Messerschmitts.

I'll take this for what I think it's worth coming from someone with 5000!!! jumps... Thanks much! I'll watch for those Me109s (I love them by the way but know what you are telling me.)

[JohnRich 4]

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I'll watch for those Me109s (I love them by the way but know what you are telling me.)

Yes, Bader spent the rest of the war in the Colditz POW camp because of a Me109, but I don't think you'll have that problem to deal with. Skydivers are a lot friendlier than German camp guards.

[popsjumper 2]

First, I wish you good luck and all the success in your quest. GO for it!

I would have no problem with a pilot such as you describe.

Second, to be honest, I do have concern about new jump pilots whatever their physical condition. The problem is that one never knows for sure how any pilot is going to handle an emergency situation until it happens. You just never know until it happens.

I hope you turn out to be one of the good ones. Believe me, there are some bozos out there. Ones that make you wonder just how they got a license in the first place.

Part of that being a good jump pilot is being able to deal with, let's say, less-than-knowledgeable skydivers who will be doing the wrong things at emergency time....yelling, moving around, etc.

Be prepared for it at crunch time.

One other thing, may I respectfully ask....
Please be a pilot that responds to skydiver input. Sometimes jumpers will have to give you directions and/or corrections. They do that for a reason. Please respond to their needs.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[mitirino 0]

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First, I wish you good luck and all the success in your quest. GO for it!

I would have no problem with a pilot such as you describe.

Second, to be honest, I do have concern about new jump pilots whatever their physical condition. The problem is that one never knows for sure how any pilot is going to handle an emergency situation until it happens. You just never know until it happens.

I hope you turn out to be one of the good ones. Believe me, there are some bozos out there. Ones that make you wonder just how they got a license in the first place.

Part of that being a good jump pilot is being able to deal with, let's say, less-than-knowledgeable skydivers who will be doing the wrong things at emergency time....yelling, moving around, etc.

Be prepared for it at crunch time.

One other thing, may I respectfully ask....
Please be a pilot that responds to skydiver input. Sometimes jumpers will have to give you directions and/or corrections. They do that for a reason. Please respond to their needs.

Thank you for the advice and concern. I am very "service oriented" :-) ... as they say. So the last thing will be no problem at all as this is all I am there for.

The other thing... mmm... I don't know how I'm going to handle emergency either. Emergencies are tough, but I wish to think I'll do ok. When I had my "emergency" with my paraglider 15 years ago I was too calm and didn't perceive it as an emergency until too late... so that lesson is learned and hopefully I'm not too easy going on things that are happening around me... including not-well-behaving skydivers. But there are so many other "lessons" and most of them you can't practice too much... in a real way anyway.

I'm trying not to be a bozo as much as possible but even this is not so easy... and even with a relatively simple airplane such as C182. I read some articles on engines the other day and realized I know next to nothing about engines for example... Tomorrow I'm going to read something about airspace and will find out the same thing. Places like this forum help as there is real life experience shared here. That's how I found this site... when searching for what happened to a similar place but only for jump pilots. It had tons of useful advice and now the site is down... hopefully it springs back in life soon.

Thanks again. I really want this to happen and will learn as fast as I can while doing it so as to be a bozo for as little time as possible.