skydivegan

This article reminds me of an interview that I listened to some years back with Wayne Gretzky. The person interviewing him said something to the effect that the reason he was so good was because people considered him to be a "natural", to which Wayne replied, if practicing eight hours a day makes me a natural then I guess I'm a natural.

One of the jump aircraft that I operate is a Cessna U-206B which presently has a IO-520 engine that is coming due for an overhaul. I am considering upgrading to an IO-550 but I am not sure that it is worth the $10,000 (CDN) increase in price. A Black Mac prop suitable for the IO-550 has already been installed so I wouldn't have the extra expense of changing props but I am still not convinced that the extra 15HP that the engine upgrade will give me will make up for the amount of money that it will cost over the life of the engine. I would like to hear from anyone that is or has operated a U-206 for skydiving and has upgraded to the IO-550 engine from the standard IO-520.