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texmex

Most common jump plane...

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In America? By far the most common jump plane by hours flown is a Cessna 182.

If you're measuring by jumper slots available, then the Twin Otter. The few centers that regularly fly 3+ otters at a time move a massive number of slots.


_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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If you are counting numbers of airframes, it probably goes (in descending order): Cessna 182, 206, 208, King AIr, Twin Otter, with insignificant numbers of Skyvans and CASAs and Porters etc.

If you count numbers of jumps per year, the list probably starts with C-130 followed by some sort of Antonov, etc.

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I only have one jump from an Airvan and it was far more comfortable than a Cessna 206 or 207.

I agree that Airvans are better for IAD and static-line, but would not want to do lots of tandems from them, because they climb too slow.
Since Airvans climb like Cessna 207s, so few DZOs can justify the increased costs.
Maybe when they install Thielert desiel engines the Airvan climb rate will improve enough to compete with turbines.
Remember that skydivers have very short attention spans

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If you are counting numbers of airframes, it probably goes (in descending order): Cessna 182, 206, 208, King AIr, Twin Otter, with insignificant numbers of Skyvans and CASAs and Porters etc.

If you count numbers of jumps per year, the list probably starts with C-130 followed by some sort of Antonov, etc.



There was an article in Parachutist regarding King Airs. Not all that many hauling skydivers anymore, and less every year.
Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

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There was an article in Parachutist regarding King Airs. Not all that many hauling skydivers anymore, and less every year.



Thank goodness!:)


Hey, even good cameraflyers can hit their head on something as nice as an Otter. Raoul comes to mind...B|

ltdiver

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

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Yes.
The whole former Eastern Block jumped and still jumps the AN-2. There were kazillions of them produced.
They climb slow and to altitude of 3500 meters max (at least that is commercially and time-consuming reasonable). We still jump the AN.
Although, nowdays there is a shift to LET-410 (aka. Turbolet). But Turbolet can`t get nowhere near AN-2 in production numbers.


Greetings from Balkans Jim!
dudeist skydiver #42

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Hey! I've made all my jumps but one from a King Air, and I kinda like it. Sure I have to stuff my newbie ass out a tiny door, but how can you complain with 8 minutes to 14k? I'm usually out of the plane by the second noxious gas attack instead the 5th or 6th ;)

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

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Hey! I've made all my jumps but one from a King Air, and I kinda like it.



The problem with King Airs:

The low tail is prone to striking from a rear floater or camera flyer. To make it worse, the tail does not have structural strength, so it will tear off if a parachute gets hung up. Even Mike Mullins is lucky to be alive after landing without half his horizontal stabilizer.

The aft CG is prone to stalling. Many King Airs have been stalled on jump-run by inexperienced pilots. Hanging onto the outside of an airplane when it stalls is not a good place to be.

The small door makes it tough to exit larger groups. (given the CG issues, this is a good thing)

The retractable gears can be a problem for pilots not used to them. I've known 3 King Airs to be landed with the gear up. This has made the insurance get progressively more expensive.

On the flip side, they're cheap. For a while, many DZ's were flying them because there were a lot of high-time airframes on the market for little $$$. They've since become less popular for the reasons listed above.

_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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Last weekend I jumped from the Queen Air (QA) for the first time. I was a bit concerned after reading some posts here about this plane because I jump camera. But I also found some study that basically says that "as long as you do not jump UP from King Air, you`ll miss the tail"
I was holding on to door frame, positioning myself very low. Both tandem and me were well clear off the stabilizer. In my opinion, QA has issues that require attention, but nothing dramatic (especially if you don`t have a choice in terms of choosing airplanes). OTOH, my experience in this area is tiny.

just my 2c
dudeist skydiver #42

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Hey! I've made all my jumps but one from a King Air, and I kinda like it. Sure I have to stuff my newbie ass out a tiny door, but how can you complain with 8 minutes to 14k?



Wait untill you're in one stalled on jump run.:|:)
----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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I've been jumping out of a C-402 ..........What are the pros and cons on it?? Just thought I would through that out there!!



402's are VERY sensitive to an aft CG situation so keep the weight foward untill the pilot indicates it's safe to move, and don't crowd the door while the goup(s) before are climbing out.

It's no fun to be on one when it stalls, but being outside makes it a little better.:):P
----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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Last weekend I jumped from the Queen Air (QA) for the first time. I was a bit concerned after reading some posts here about this plane because I jump camera. But I also found some study that basically says that "as long as you do not jump UP from King Air, you`ll miss the tail"
I was holding on to door frame, positioning myself very low. Both tandem and me were well clear off the stabilizer. In my opinion, QA has issues that require attention, but nothing dramatic (especially if you don`t have a choice in terms of choosing airplanes). OTOH, my experience in this area is tiny.

just my 2c



Queen Air's have the same issues as King airs, plus they are slow to altitude. But they do provide entertainment by watching, listening, and waiting for those engines to rip themselves apart!:D
----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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