Share the Air

[airtwardo 6]

http://www.avweb.com/news/atis/187075-1.html

Interesting read and a guide for pilots

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[tattoojeff 0]

cool good read i wish all pilots would be more aware of drop zones. we have alot of planes flying over our airsapce right at opening altitude every day. it gets aggrivatingg to say the least.

[AggieDave 6]

Although we haven't had any problems the 2 years we've been operating, I think this is getting printed out and posted at the FBO at Coulter Field.

Thanks for the good link!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[mjosparky 3]

Jim,
Good post, both for pilots and skydivers. On some sundays Elsinore is like an airplane freeway.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[jumperconway 0]

It should be REQUIRED reading for ALL pilots!

[sdgregory 0]

Great Article.


There was a six way RW group that went out on Friday and they were turning points as a Cessna flew under them. Said it was well below them but still. No way the pilot could have seen them.

[airtwardo 6]

I was on the ground one day in San Diego
when a jumper in free fall smacked the tail of
a C-130 headed into NAS Coronado...

A vivid illustration I'll never forget!

...Once at an air show
a helicopter flew (+ -) 200 feet
directly under me, 500 feet off the deck.

I didn't realize how close the separation actually was
until I saw a video...

Then one of the guys put a "Frog in a Blender" cartoon
in my logbook!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[darkvapor 0]

Quote

http://www.avweb.com/news/atis/187075-1.html

Interesting read and a guide for pilots

I guess I will use this thread to share an experience I had about a month ago at ZHills. We got an up and personal view of a business jet while in a CRW formation. This was a jump late in the afternoon, and we were doing a simple 5 stack to just enjoy the view and fly around. At around 5-6K, we had a 4 stack with a 5th man high and behind. I believe I was the first to see the plane approaching, so I point and yell 'Traffic!' as loud as I can. That was a complete understatement. When I saw it, the plane was on our same level, wings level, and less than 1000 feet away. This guy was doing 200-250 kts easily, and came within 200 feet of us (directly in front, no more than 100 feet below). No video on that jump, so we couldn't get a registration number off the tail, but all of us on that jump saw it go by and agree on the rough numbers given. Needless to say, we were all screaming 'holy shit' for the next few minutes. I hate to say it, but I think the pilot was hot-dogging us. I would like to say that no pilot in the world would risk the lives of 4-5 parachutists, his own, and his 10 million dollar jet. The jet was something near the Citation class of business jets (atleast in size and general appearance, I certainly couldn't tell you if it WAS a Citation). However, the main reason that I have to say that the pilot buzzed us purposely was because he was in a 20-30 degree bank towards us as he flew by. Of all the options he had if he was trying to avoid us, I do not think turning his plane into our direction would be the best. He had no altitude change during the fly by, and did a moderate bank around us.

Now, I will say that was an amazing view of a plane I won't forget, but it certainly pisses me off that any pilot would endanger me and the rest of our formation. Chances are, he is not a skydiver, and has no idea about canopies and canopies together in formation. The good thing was, he was about 100 feet lower than us. If he had been at the wrong altitude in relation to us, he would have certainly put us through his wake turbulence. Also, if we had called a break down of our formation, there would be canopies all over the sky, and much harder for a pilot to avoid all of us.

Anyways, I will also warn against anyone pulling very high (above 8k) at Skydive Southbeach. It is an amazing dropzone with a great view, but that damn VOR beacon on the end of the airport creates a nightmare for a parachutist. Doing CRW there a few months ago, we had two close calls within several minutes around 10-11k feet, right where the business jets fly. We had to get the pilot to drop us lower and lower on each subsequent jump, until we decided that it wasn't safe doing CRW there.

[sdgregory 0]

[GreenLight 5]

Quote

On some sundays Elsinore is like an airplane freeway.

That's because it IS an airplane freeway... And the more Karl yells at pilots using that corridor, the more they will use it.

Green Light
"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."
"Your statement answered your question."

[JohnMitchell 14]

Cool article. Hope all the pilots out there are paying attention. One thing that I disagree with is when he says "All pilots must comply with ATC instructions." For VFR pilots outside of Class B airspace (the old TCA's), the controller can issue traffic calls and even traffic alerts, but these are advisory in nature, and don't require compliance. If the controller feels the pilot is truly creating a hazard, he can request an investigation, but that's rare. Same applies to jump pilots. One jump pilot made his 1 minute call, controller had no traffic. Floaters climbed out, then the controller called back, saying "Don't jump, traffic blah-blah-blah. . ." Pilot, of course, couldn't stop them, and told the controller so. Everything worked, and the pilot was not persecuted, er, prosecuted, 'cause 1) he had done his job correctly and 2) the traffic call was advisory, not regulatory.