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Maule exit

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Hi all - long time listener and first time poster here.

I'm a somewhat recently A licensed jumper approaching 100 jumps, with my own gear, and will be traveling internationally soon to my home country for some aviation work, and am looking for advice, specifically on exiting out of a Maule.

I'll be going to the small airport I learned to fly airplanes at, where I am extremely familiar with darn near every square inch of grass, dirt and runway for miles, and am planning a jump out of at least a Maule, if not other types as well.

My pilot was once pretty current in jumper dumping, having dropped Navy SEALs out of this Maule at airshows, and fun jumpers out of Pitts's and other types at various boogies, and Central American military jumpers out of Stearmans (simultaneously rolling inverted in a 3 ship vic formation ]) in Central America shows, but he hasn't done this stuff in some time now.

I'm looking for advice on exiting out of a Maule. The aircraft looks like this and would have the side door removed.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/jamesp1961/DSCF0132.jpg

What airspeed and pitch attitude should be used on jump run? The pilot had mentioned the SEALs requested the brakes be held, so they could stand on the right main during the exit, however they were doing a 3-way out of the aircraft I believe, and I'm just by myself. Any other advice or input?

Thanks in advance,

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Sounds like fun.

That is a pretty good sized opening with the doors removed and relatively low in respect to the horizontal stabilizer - which is your biggest concern. Watch out for snag hazards to preclude the possibility of a premature opening and make sure you are low in the door when you leave and you should be ok. I'd want to be very forward and low in the door on the first jump, possibly with one hand on the strut, and then just drop off down and away. If that goes well and you have plenty of clearance from the tail, you can vary the exit on the next jump. As for airspeed and pitch attitude, your pilot is the best source for that kind of advice. He has experience dropping jumpers from that aircraft and he wants to make sure everything goes well for you and himself. It would be a good idea for him to have a bailout rig though just in case. You do your job safely and brief it first and rely on him to do the same.

Have fun!

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I jumped one probably 10 years ago. The only issue I remember was the lip of the door frame. Figure it out on the ground.
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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I only have 4 jumps from a Maule and they were all tandems.

We removed the rear cargo door, sat on the floor and rolled out. The exit was similar to a cargo-door Cesnba 206, albeit more cramped. Because Maules are so narrow, I cannot recommend them for regular tandem jumping.

The other option is removing the co-pilot’s door. Then you exit the same way as all the rest of the piston-pounding Cessnas. The first exit is diving towards the tail, simply lad to a tandem “seated” exit. Start by kneeling or sitting - facing the tail - in the co-pilot’s position. Put your right foot in the lower, rear corner of the door. Grab the wing strut with your left hand. Dive out and feel the wind on your belly. Your spine will be vertical for a few seconds, then you will start to flatten out.
The third option is poised exits starting from the co-pilot’s position.
I strongly encourage you to visit a Cessa DZ - in your current country - to learn the basics of (piston-pounding Cessna exits.

As for airspeeds .... just ask the pilot to fly the same airspeed he flies during normal landing approaches with enough power to maintain level flight. Ask him to keep the flaps UP.

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