Dutchboy

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Posts posted by Dutchboy

  4. You need to look at both direct and indirect costs. Much of your hourly cost would be depedent on how much the plane is flown.
    At any rate, the operating cost for a Grand Caravan will be on the order of several hundred dollars per hour in most cases. The fuel burn alone is in the 60 gallon/hr range. There aren't too many people renting these planes, but there are some. You might try rentalplanes.com.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  5. Quote

    Can I jump it?

    I've already been asked that. Given that it should climb between 1700-2000 fpm depending on how I set the prop, it could make a good jump ship for a single jumper. Only problem is getting out. I can remove the canopy and install a windshield in its place. About the only way to safely get out would be for me to roll it inverted. Even doing that I'm concerned you might take out the instrument panel with your feet as you left.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  7. I don't think it would require a 337 since this is not a major alteration. It might require an A&P with IA to bless a field alteration. Or if someone forgot to close the door and also forgot to presurize the cabin, some of the passengers might get sucked out.
    Oh yeah, and these are regular airliners with seats. So we could just chill until it was jump time. :)The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  9. Sorry to hear that you have some nasty customers. It can be rough when your hobby becomes your job. I'm trying to prevent just such a thing from happening with my flying/flight instruction.
    Several years ago I had a consulting business. I had one customer that was a real pain to deal with. I just kept upping my price figuring they would drop me. It never happened. What did happen is that I doubled my rate over a couple years time. So, while they were difficult to deal with I had twice as much money to console myself with.
    Other than pricing, you might try flat out telling people that it will be 8 - 12 weeks for the item to arrive. That seems to be the model that jumpsuit manufactures use. You just need to set the expectations up front.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  10. Quote


    If you're ordering custom you should end up with a better fitting harness with any rig other than a Dolphin. Dolphin's are built in set harness sizes (i.e. every small has the same size MLW, laterals, leg straps etc; same with the medium, large and xl

    Lisa, I'm surprised that you would think this given that you work for a gear store. They can and will make custom harnesses for your Dolphin if you just send them measurements. That is what I did, since I had to wait on my custom main anyway.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  12. Quote


    That's a big negative on the shirt tail.....If I hit 65 hours and don't have a private yet I'm getting a new instructor....LOL Anybody that takes that long has to be riding to the airport on the short bus

    I actually thought about the shirt thing that morning. I started to pack the knife in my bag, then I changed my mind since it wasn't your 1st time.
    Actually, the national average is 72 hours. There are lots of reasons people take this long. The most common reason is dragging out the training. Some people drag it out because of weather, others because of lack of $$. I have a friend that knew he would have to take time off after the license so he didn't take the test for a while. He wanted to have a high skill level before the break.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  15. My previous employer gave me and a couple others a little sponsorship by buying us all company logo-ed jumpsuits. The other two guys didn't even have an A license yet. This was only after I told them about all the other computer geeks at the DZ who might want to come work for us. We also had to deliver our product on time.
    Of course, that is before the bastards laid me off. Now you can get a nice brand new (2 jumps) Bev sit/skysurf suit for cheap on the auctions here. I'm even throwing in a Skyventure patch to cover over their logo!
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  19. Quote


    Just remember.....reducing power, left to right.....adding power, right to left.. Reducing - carb heat, throttle, prop, mixture.. Adding - mixture, prop, throttle, carb heat..

    Mike, don't confuse the guy even more! I've been trying to teach him carb heat then power for both reduction and increase.
    Carb heat first on the reduction is a no-brainer since if you did it last it would change your power setting. My instructor, who has over 1500 hours of instruction, recommended carb heat first on the increase as well. That way they are much less likely to forget about it and take off with partial power. You might not notice if you forgot the carb heat, but you will definitely notice if you forgot the throttle! Hence doing the throttle after.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  20. Quote

    Carb Heat On...Carb Heat On...Carb Heat On..."-Phil Polstra


    I'd have to say that is a slight misquote. Because not only does Clay always forget to turn on the carb heat, he usually forgets to turn it off too! :)I think a better quote would be "carb heat then power". That works for both reducing and increasing power. I wish I had that recorded for yesterday!
    I know someone else that always forgets the carb heat, but he has only been flying the new fuel-injected planes that don't have carb heat.
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

  24. Quote

    so, what is the rule for dropping jumpers? can you have your regular private pilot and drop jumpers as long as there is no payment?? what's the rules on that?

    First off, talk about thread drift!
    You can drop jumpers with only a private pilot. In fact, you could drop one jumper with only a rec pilot, if you could find an aircraft that met the restrictions, that was still jumpable. As long as you aren't paid AND nobody is paying for the flight it is legal. You only need approval to install a jump door, or fly a plane without a door. There is no requirement to register a plane as a jump plane.
    Mr. CFI (certified fricking idiot)
    The Dutchboy
    http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra