darkwing 4
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tinfoil 0
I don't have much, but I hope it will do.
The current chief pilot of my DZ only flies us once or twice a year. This year he buzzed the landing area ( his daughter, and the DZO's) low enough you can see his smile on the video, then throw in a low turn to avoid the wind sock. Has also put a DC3 low enough he had to pull up hard to miss some telephone poles. Crazy bugger, some of the old timers still talk about the time he put our 182 under some telephone poles
“- - Sumo is the greatest of sports. It has power, grace, speed and cluture. And most importantly, two fat bastards smacking the shit out of each other. ”
The current chief pilot of my DZ only flies us once or twice a year. This year he buzzed the landing area ( his daughter, and the DZO's) low enough you can see his smile on the video, then throw in a low turn to avoid the wind sock. Has also put a DC3 low enough he had to pull up hard to miss some telephone poles. Crazy bugger, some of the old timers still talk about the time he put our 182 under some telephone poles
“- - Sumo is the greatest of sports. It has power, grace, speed and cluture. And most importantly, two fat bastards smacking the shit out of each other. ”
murrays 0
I think that a Twin Beech firewalled close to the ground is the most awesome buzz job machine. The engines just seem louder and they just seem to be going faster than a DC-3...don't know if that's the case but that's how I always felt.
Back in the 80's at Gananoque, Ontario when the Beech 18 was flying there a few of the pilots did some awesome buzz jobs. There is a row of trees along the road up to the hangar with a gap in the middle. The gap is about 10 feet wider than the wingspan on a Beech 18. Beyond the gap is a field with power lines and bush on the far side. They would line up at the south end of the airport and fly that thing about 10 feet off the ground as fast as it would go, just east of the packing area, shoot through the gap and immediately pull it back to clear the power lines and bush. They were just incredible. I heard that once when the grass was long that Horst Pfaus (who is dead now) had a couple of inches of prop in the grass but I never saw that with my own eyes.
Haven't seen a buzz job for years now.
Back in the 80's at Gananoque, Ontario when the Beech 18 was flying there a few of the pilots did some awesome buzz jobs. There is a row of trees along the road up to the hangar with a gap in the middle. The gap is about 10 feet wider than the wingspan on a Beech 18. Beyond the gap is a field with power lines and bush on the far side. They would line up at the south end of the airport and fly that thing about 10 feet off the ground as fast as it would go, just east of the packing area, shoot through the gap and immediately pull it back to clear the power lines and bush. They were just incredible. I heard that once when the grass was long that Horst Pfaus (who is dead now) had a couple of inches of prop in the grass but I never saw that with my own eyes.
Haven't seen a buzz job for years now.
--
Murray
"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
Murray
"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
quade 3
Quote
Guys like Frank Tallman, Art Scholl, . . .
Uh . . . both great pilots . . . right up until the end.
Strange how it always seems to be the "easy" stuff that kills these guys.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
At the DZ where I did AFF(In Germany) After the last load of the day the Pilot would(C-182) Fly past right in front of the manifest at 5 ft. This was the key to start cracking beers.
There was a deck in front of the manifest a few feet off the ground. If you where standing on the deck when he flew by, the wing tip would be only a few feet higher than eye level.
There was a deck in front of the manifest a few feet off the ground. If you where standing on the deck when he flew by, the wing tip would be only a few feet higher than eye level.
I diidnt know Horst was dead. How did that happen??
Bill Cole
Bill Cole
jonstark 8
I remember a couple of Z-Hills meets that were flown by DC-3s and Lodestars. In the evening we would all wait in anticipation of the buzz job. Awesome to have two or three of these firebreathing, barking, flamethrowing a/c go by in fromation at dusk. The entire DZ would erupt in cheers!!!
jon
jon
Hey John, I do know this happend in SC, not sure what year, but it was in Barnwell. Low-pass, sad day, at least one death.
BSBD...........Its all about Respect,
USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499
USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499
faulknerwn 36
My favorite low pass was the jet at Quincy one year. It wasn't the lowest I've ever seen, but seeing a 727 jet fly quite low over all the tents and everything else was spectacular!
W
W
QuoteI think that a Twin Beech firewalled close to the ground is the most awesome buzz job machine.
Agreed!!
I've even got video from last summer.
(one of the advantages of jumping at a 'old school' DZ) We don't have a turbine but we do have fun...
illegible usually
Not really a skydiving story, but...
Many moons ago when nudity was still expressly banned in the good old Old South Africa, a pilot in the company where I used to work buzzed the local illegal nudist beach with a Sikorsky 58. Unfortunately a local reporter who just happened to have his camera along sitting on the far side of the beach got a great shot of a 58 barreling along just above the shore, with nudists scattering in all directions. This photo then naturally adorned the front page of the newspaper the next morning.
The same pilot who then a few years later put both skids of a JetRanger into the sea getting a TV cameraman, standing on the skids, wet to the knees, after the cameraman repeatedly 'instructed' him to keep the damn helicopter lower for a certain shot .
charlie
Many moons ago when nudity was still expressly banned in the good old Old South Africa, a pilot in the company where I used to work buzzed the local illegal nudist beach with a Sikorsky 58. Unfortunately a local reporter who just happened to have his camera along sitting on the far side of the beach got a great shot of a 58 barreling along just above the shore, with nudists scattering in all directions. This photo then naturally adorned the front page of the newspaper the next morning.
The same pilot who then a few years later put both skids of a JetRanger into the sea getting a TV cameraman, standing on the skids, wet to the knees, after the cameraman repeatedly 'instructed' him to keep the damn helicopter lower for a certain shot .
charlie
I enjoy these stories. Its good to know that there are still men willing to go the extra risk, beat the odds, and laugh in the face of what nmost people would freak out at.
Its that extra calculated risk that makes life really interesting.
LOL
Bill Cole
Its that extra calculated risk that makes life really interesting.
LOL
Bill Cole
skybozo 0
Quotehe didnt kill them...just increased their butt crack length.
Who are you kidding??????
Now, when they all fart, it sounds like a round of applause.
steve1 5
I think one of the cooler buzz jobs I ever experienced was when I was jumping with the Army in Utah. Actually it was a National Guard summer camp. We jumped a C-130 and landed in a field with rolling hills in it. I was down in a depression and I could hear the plane coming. I didn't see it until it came out of nowhere directly overhead very close overhead. What a rush! Only in the National Guard could you get away with stuff like that....Steve1
ok, ok, ok...my turn, my turn:
The guy that taught me to fly jumpers, was coming down from a load, saw his whuffo friends at the lake (DZ was between the lakes), getting in their boat to go fishing. He drops down, just above the water, (they didn't see him till last second), and makes all of them JUMP out of the boat!! (Late 70's)
Problem: park rangers got the N-number -- lost his license for 6 months!
Ok, another: In mid-80's, I did the same thing to my friends! (same DZ, same lake!) ok, they didn't jump out but it was cool anyways.......
Last one: Our DZO used to love buzz jobs. So, me and the other pilots happily obliged...However, after my 4th buzz job (...of the day) the DZO asked me to stop. I was thrown off the DZ by the DZO after my 5th buzz job of the day.....(I never learn
)
ok, I'm done
I raise my glass to the good ole days!
The guy that taught me to fly jumpers, was coming down from a load, saw his whuffo friends at the lake (DZ was between the lakes), getting in their boat to go fishing. He drops down, just above the water, (they didn't see him till last second), and makes all of them JUMP out of the boat!! (Late 70's)
Problem: park rangers got the N-number -- lost his license for 6 months!
Ok, another: In mid-80's, I did the same thing to my friends! (same DZ, same lake!) ok, they didn't jump out but it was cool anyways.......
Last one: Our DZO used to love buzz jobs. So, me and the other pilots happily obliged...However, after my 4th buzz job (...of the day) the DZO asked me to stop. I was thrown off the DZ by the DZO after my 5th buzz job of the day.....(I never learn
) ok, I'm done
I raise my glass to the good ole days!
In the 80s when we were jumping at Aero Country, north of Dallas, a skydiver/jump pilot friend also flew a corporate DC-9 out of Dallas as his regular job.
One Sunday afternoon, while ferrying the aircraft back to Dallas from a passenger drop off he gave us the most amazing low and slow buzz job in that DC-9, right down the DZ runway. It looked like he was no higher than 200 ft.
One Sunday afternoon, while ferrying the aircraft back to Dallas from a passenger drop off he gave us the most amazing low and slow buzz job in that DC-9, right down the DZ runway. It looked like he was no higher than 200 ft.
The older I get the less I care who I piss off.
JohnRich 4
How about a couple of non-DZ buzz jobs?
I was on a remote stretch of Florida highway once, and saw an F-4 Phantom coming my way, off in the distance, who seemed to be following the road, coming towards me. The only people in sight were just me, and him. I stopped my car to watch, and as he got closer, I started waving my arms in the air. As soon as I waved my arms, it was as if the pilot saw me, and he dipped down lower over the road, and roared right over my head. And an F-4 really roars!
While climbing Mt. Picacho, that sharp peak just south of Eloy, AZ, I was on a narrow mountain trail, just below the summit. Two Marine AV8A Harriers blew by right over the top of the peak, making a hell of a racket, at high speed. Their appearance was so sudden, having approached from the oposite side of the peak from me, and the noise so sudden, loud and unexpected, it nearly scared me off the side of the mountain. I think the pilots use that peak as a landmark on their way back to Yuma, just as the early wagon trains did.
And five years in the Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Stations was a real hoot too. Watching military aircraft take off on afterburners, and assorted freestyle maneuvers of Harriers.
I was on a remote stretch of Florida highway once, and saw an F-4 Phantom coming my way, off in the distance, who seemed to be following the road, coming towards me. The only people in sight were just me, and him. I stopped my car to watch, and as he got closer, I started waving my arms in the air. As soon as I waved my arms, it was as if the pilot saw me, and he dipped down lower over the road, and roared right over my head. And an F-4 really roars!
While climbing Mt. Picacho, that sharp peak just south of Eloy, AZ, I was on a narrow mountain trail, just below the summit. Two Marine AV8A Harriers blew by right over the top of the peak, making a hell of a racket, at high speed. Their appearance was so sudden, having approached from the oposite side of the peak from me, and the noise so sudden, loud and unexpected, it nearly scared me off the side of the mountain. I think the pilots use that peak as a landmark on their way back to Yuma, just as the early wagon trains did.
And five years in the Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Stations was a real hoot too. Watching military aircraft take off on afterburners, and assorted freestyle maneuvers of Harriers.
steve1 5
I used to work with a guy who was a former Marine fighter pilot in Vietnam. He had all kinds of really cool war stories to listen to. He said after flying a mission often times they'd fly down a river and buzz over the top of any boat they'd see out in the water, in their phantom jets. He said they finally got in big trouble over this and had to quit, but it was great fun while it lasted. Can you imagine the noise that two or three Phantoms would make whistling over your head, just off the deck. Maybe this is another reason foreigner's don't like Americans.....Steve1
This was at Henley Aerodrome, in Athol, Idaho. I'll say circa 1978.
-- Jeff
My Skydiving History
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