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Amyr

What is the hardest plane to jump out of for AFF?

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I am having a time getting stable right after I leave the plane I am jumping out of a Cessna 206 I am using the up down back leave with 2 instructors I am at a 3 time repeat for category C. I was just wanting to know am I learning on the hardest one. Does this mean if I can get off this plane I would be good for any others? WHICH IS THE HARDEST PLANE TO LEAVE FROM FOR AFF or for regular jumps?

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Is it a U-206 [big back double door} or a P-206 exiting under the wing? Do you sit or climb out ? if so is there a decent floater bar? A C-206 has always been a fairly useless jump plane . We taught static line jumps from them in the early 70's it was OK if that was all you had but you always wanted something easier.Good luck it will get better.

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sit by then door then climb out on the step with both hands on the strut with right leg out. then check in and out then up down and kick then I flail about a bit and then get into the arch




be sure your weight is forward when on the step.
rock forward over the strut and launch.B|

your leg wants to push off the step before your hands leave the strut so that for a split second.... you're like a bedsheet on a clothesline,,, blowing in the wind....
Which There WILL be.... ( "wind " that is...)

you're ON the ball of your left foot... so that you can also kick a bit to the right as you go... soas to limit any likelihood of getting into the step .

might help to get your Chin UP..
Might help to consciously LOOK at the Airplane... as you leave.
Might help to get your hands down in a delta position,,off your hips, rather than to put them above your head in some sort of an exaggerated arch...
As you clear the relative wind of the prop blast and start to fall , you can then ease your hands and arms forward...

The "poised exit" is the classic.. especially for anyone who came up through static line... learning it, so that you're comfortable out there is a good thing.

balance + relaxation = success

ask you instructors to help you fine tune things,,, based on your body size, shape and weight...

good luck.
jmy:)
....OH.. edited to add.... the hardest plane to jump out of...??? Well it sure ISN'T a 206....B|

could very well be the Tri-Pacer. Did 3 demo jumps once, at an airshow , where the jump plane and pilot were..." well we have this club member who says He'LL Fly Ya... as long as you don't Break anything on his airplane " !!!... So Bob and i did 3 jumps. from sitting in the back seat,, and climbing !!!:o:S out the tiniest door i can remember, trying not to get hung up on anything,, and proceeding to "wow the crowd"... had to be '75 or '76... we'd land (on target ) find someone to hold tension, re-pack and do it again.. !! great day. ;)But yes, TRI-Pacer.
p.s. a Piper CUB isn't easy either....
:o

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Ah yes, the plane with the diagonal handrail. :P

I'm not that experienced in AFF style instructing so others may have a better answer.

Climbing out of a C-206 (front door) or C-182 is certainly more intimidating, and the space feels more cramped than standing in the doorway of a Caravan or Twin Otter.

You are more crouched in a Cessna exit, and it is also more awkward for the instructors, so it is a little more difficult for everyone to transition from "cupped" facing the wind to a stable arched facing the wind.

However:

The flailing about right after exit, that's a common thing for AFF students exiting from any plane. More common for one's legs than arms - they seem to have more of a mind of their own. I knew a pilot who was learning skydiving. Although he learned quickly in freefall and understood canopy flight quickly, jump after jump his legs would kick and he'd be unstable leaving the plane. Just saying you aren't alone.

So while the plane is a bit harder, "it's not the plane, it's you". :P (Along with a lot of other students.)

I've had students who have adapted to starting with the Caravan on weekends but using the C-182 weekdays. The exit from the "Cessna" (which we reserve for C-182's etc even though the Caravan is built by Cessna too) does make it tougher for a jump or two but they adapt.

Once you figure out getting ones body arched into the wind with no flailing, the differences between planes soon becomes no big deal.

So what you need to work on would likely be
a) Stepping off the Cessna without pushing too hard at either the feet or arms, so that the exit is balanced -- you aren't for example trying to push into a backloop. Instead you go back (with some sideways motion too normally), and, once arched, the chest stays to the wind. (Which is from forwards and a little down in the first couple seconds of freefall.)

b) Avoiding any kicks or flailing from the feeling of having no support. You just have to work at getting into the desired body position and holding it. Doing so properly often has to do with getting the student more relaxed than the too-tense that they often are, so that they can follow their instructions and not let some instinctive fear reaction take over for a few seconds. Getting students sufficiently relaxed is one of the big issues in instructing skydiving.

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By your response you jump a passenger C-206. The gear is low style and after a jump step you room up and down is quite limited. Also step to wing strut distance fore aft is quite longer than a C-182 . We have had dope ropers fall betweem the strut and step. .Changed instructors and that went away.Good luck again

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might try asking your instructors if you can try this,
when do your count bring your right knee up and when you leave snap your leg straight back and this may help straighten your legs out and give you a bit more stability on exit.
Experience is a difficult teacher, she gives you the test first and the lesson afterward

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I am not going to try to teach you technique over the web and over your instructors' heads, but try to think about keeping your upper body attitude constant throughout the exit sequence. Start out with your chest into the wind as much as you can and keep it at that angle throughout.
BTW it is a much easier exit than a Navajo.

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When starting to skydive I had a built in slow turn on exits (Cessna 182). I tried to analyze what caused it and came up with an elaborate explanation. When I presented this to my instructor he just looked at me, shook his head, and said "You think too much. Just relax!".

Years later I got to jump out of that same plane (after becoming an Otter snob) and found he was completely right! That, and looking up at the wing which had a really nice smiley face on the underside. :)
Go have fun!


Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

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I also always had a turn coming off the C206. Realized I was barely pushing off the step that caused the turn. Moved further out the diagonal handail :D and just hung without using the step. Released into an arch and had perfect exit.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

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WHICH IS THE HARDEST PLANE TO LEAVE FROM FOR AFF or for regular jumps?



It's not the P206. That plane is almost identical in the climbout/exit as a 182, and the 182 was (and is) the backbone of the majority of DZs in the US. Countless AFF jumps have been from 182/206 without problems, it's not the plane.

Just arch. Skip the part of the exit where you describe 'flipping around, then arching' and replace that with just arching. Get the idea out of your head that there's anything wrong with the plane, or with yourself. You arch fine after the exit, so you are capable, just do it sooner.

It's all just mental. Get your mind right and just arch right off the step. Look up at the bottom of the wing and arch, it works.

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>WHICH IS THE HARDEST PLANE TO LEAVE FROM FOR AFF or for regular jumps?

Personally I think the U206 is the toughest AFF exit. King Air is pretty painful as well.



Hot air balloons can be kinda tricky too

;)

Seriously, don't blame the aircraft, blame the arch
Onward and Upward!

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Maule is almost as difficult to exit as a Tri-Pacer. the rear door is low, but it is as long as the door on a Piper Cherokee Six ... much longer than a Cessna 206 cargo door.

By the time you stuff two tandem pairs inside, there is no room to breath!
And the TIs were not all that big. Colin Mendalie is only medium-sized, and while I am tall, I only weighed maybe 190 pounds at the time and our students were small, japanese women.
On the second load, I watched Colin exit, then told the pilot to do a "go around" while I tightened my side straps.
We only used the Maule for one day.

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"
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... King Air is pretty painful as well.

"

..................................................................

Au contraire!
The AFF insturctor in the rear floater position has an easy job.
It only gets difficult if you plan for the second instructor to dive out the door after the student.

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Not blaming the plane for my lack of stability. I just wondered if I will be able to go straight from the Cessna 206 to any plane after finally getting it right hoping that the differences will be less then more difficult. Do they allow for hanging exits anymore? I read in the Dan Poynter Skydiving Handbook about this type of exit it looks like I would come off in the arch. BUT I have only had 7 jumps and do not know squat.

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If you give a good count, arch and hold it on exit, even if your instructors are unstable on exit you will pass. Doesnt matter what airplane, exit style, airspeed, you have to arch on exit. I have U-206s with the cargo door and the exits are less forgiving if you dont arch.

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IMO only the PAC750. I still don't like this jump plane these days.

The problem with the PAC is that the wings are on the bottom of the fusalage instead of the top. The tail plane is also pretty close, the fact that the instructors there always tell me to dive out low always makes me think blimey I could easily hit the tail plane if I were floating on the step.

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Are you sure it is not the aircraft? Cause I think it has something against me. I see the way it looks at me the way it laughs at me. I am sure it flipped me in the air though I do not have the video evidence of this jump. My instructors are trying to blame it on my stability. I know its the airplanes fault! NO way could it be me. Just got back from the outdoor tunnel kicked one poor guy in the face hard and Was unable to relax at all two instructors could not get me to bend my legs even though they tried with pressure like hell. But I did get this one on video and you know. I see a plane flying over in the background my plane sent his friend to mock me!

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