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02-08-2012, 06:38 AM
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: KS
Posts: 110
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Having dumped a lot of skydivers in a former life, I remember there was always a desire to have the helicopter moving as slowly as possible. They seemed to like the feeling of acceleration in the fall. Apparently, that feeling is absent when you hit the "wall" of air upon exiting the aircraft. That may not be the case in this jump, but I always thought it interesting.
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02-08-2012, 07:01 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Elkhart, Indiana
Posts: 1,186
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Several years ago I had the opportunity to do a tandem jump with the Army's "Golden Knights" at a local airshow. As we were climbing into the jump aircraft, I commented to my jump buddy that, as a pilot, I had some reservations about jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft.
As if on cue, he stopped me, pointed to the side of the plane and asked, "What does that say?"
"ARMY," I replied.
He smiled and said, "Exactly. And what does the Army know about airplanes? Nothing. This is NOT a 'perfectly good airplane'."

__________________
Don McNamara
Peoria, AZ
Builder: RV-8 "Smokey"
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02-08-2012, 08:37 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 878
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Years ago had someone jump out of my Grumman Cheetah.
It was the strangest experience. I was worried about him hitting the horizontal stab on the way out, but he said he couldn't hit it if he tried.
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02-08-2012, 10:03 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Molalla, Oregon (KOL05)
Posts: 529
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeM_2000
Having dumped a lot of skydivers in a former life, I remember there was always a desire to have the helicopter moving as slowly as possible. They seemed to like the feeling of acceleration in the fall. Apparently, that feeling is absent when you hit the "wall" of air upon exiting the aircraft. That may not be the case in this jump, but I always thought it interesting.
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Heli, balloon, (& Mr. Bill  ) jumps are unique in the fact as you have zero flying speed on exit. Sort of like a BASE jump... You certainly notice a pronounced 'Elevator Shaft' feeling, which is the attractive aspect of that type of jump. Flying your body in that sort of subterminal air requires large control inputs (just like slow flight in an aircraft) and occasional results in a body flail to maintain or seek some sort of stability. Subterminal air is a weightless transitory zone in which a gymnastic move may have some effect and flight control surfaces are not quite effective. Kind of the like the entry interface for the Shuttle... Fun stuff!
Skydiving is about the purest form of flight. While the L/D ratio is pretty poor, you are actually flying your body to maintain relative position with others in freefall rather than controlling some sort of machine. Legs become ruddervators/elevons and arms become ailerons/wings/flaps. Sweep your arms like an F-14 and go into a ballistic dive or 'track' to cover horizontaly distance.
For those that don't want to commit to a parachute to save their life, try this out. There are several located around the country, a lot of potential family fun, and a great way to build a new skill...!
www.iflyseattle.com
__________________
Joe Blank
RV-6
IO-320-D1A
Advanced Flight Systems
Van's Aircraft Inc. Technical Support-Retired
EAA Tech Counselor & Flight Advisor
www.westcoastravens.com
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02-08-2012, 11:51 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Shorewood, Il.
Posts: 230
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Quote:
Originally Posted by walkman
Years ago had someone jump out of my Grumman Cheetah.
It was the strangest experience. I was worried about him hitting the horizontal stab on the way out, but he said he couldn't hit it if he tried.
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It was nice of him to lie to you to make you comfortable with the whole thing! Or maybe he was commenting on his skill as a skydiver
If someone can hit the tail of a Twin Otter they can certainly hit the tail of a Grumman!
Mark
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02-08-2012, 12:10 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 878
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RV Wannabe
It was nice of him to lie to you to make you comfortable with the whole thing! Or maybe he was commenting on his skill as a skydiver
If someone can hit the tail of a Twin Otter they can certainly hit the tail of a Grumman!
Mark
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That's what I thought. I guess he would have suffered more damage than the aircraft but even so...he did miss it :-)
I don't think he was particularly safety conscious in retrospect. I know less than nothing about sky diving, but he jumped through an overcast layer which I would not have thought particularly safe either.
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02-08-2012, 03:17 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 14
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90 Years Old - Skydiving Ace
May be a bit off topic but my Father in Law, Dean "Diz" Laird - fighter ace from WWII - turned 91 yesterday. About 6 months ago he celebrated his 90th by skydiving. The local NBC affiliate station sent a camera crew to cover the event. http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/16...the-first-time
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02-08-2012, 03:47 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Molalla, Oregon
Posts: 955
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I'm an old skydiver, too, with nearly 500 jumps in my log book. I agree with Joe and others... it's the purest form of flight possible. You're not just riding along in a machine, you're out there. We used to say it's a sure cure for boredom, and it's the most fun you'll ever have with your clothes on.
Years ago, I made a similar jump out of a low-wing aircraft like this one, except it didn't have a slider canopy. It had doors that opened to the side, hinged on the front. I'd have to check my logbook to remember what kind of aircraft it was, but if memory serves me it might have been a Cherokee. Anyway, the pilot had to slow down as slow as possible to reduce the wind blast from the prop and the forward speed. Flaps down, teetering on the verge of a stall. This is standard procedure for most jump-ship pilots. Even then, it was nearly impossible to push the door open against the windstream. He put the plane in a slip, which took more pressure off the door so I could push it open enough to crawl out onto the wing. I remember as the door closed, I was left on the wing on my knees for a brief moment before jumping off, like the guy in these pictures. It's certainly an experience I'll never forget.
Oh, by the way, there's NO WAY you could reach the horizontal stabilizor, even if you try. Remember, your body is traveling forward at the same speed as the aircraft and continues a forward trajectory as you jump off, even if you try to jump to the rear. In RELATIVE terms, relative to the aircraft, you go straight down.
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02-08-2012, 06:04 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Posts: 3,932
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When I learned to skydive, the instructor used to tell students who were worried about hitting the tail that they never could if they tried, and challenged them to give it a shot. Most of the ones I saw kind of jumped straight aft, trying to get to the tail. Of course, gravity works remarkably well, and they missed the tail of our Cessna jump plane by a large margin.
One day I jumped not just aft, but *up* as well... The pilot told me later that he heard the "bang" when my hand slapped the leading edge of the HS... Not knowing what had happened, he shoved my instructor out, shut the door, and immediately started his safety checks, thinking something had gone wrong with the plane. I got bounced in freefall by my instructor, who then did some freefall work with me. After landing, the jump pilot told him not to tell students to try hitting the tail.
Never did jump out of a Helicopter, Baloon, or Low-wing airplane. All would have been fun to try.
__________________
Rob Prior
1996 RV-6 "Tweety" C-FRBP (formerly N196RV)
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02-08-2012, 08:24 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Shorewood, Il.
Posts: 230
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BSwayze
Oh, by the way, there's NO WAY you could reach the horizontal stabilizor, even if you try.
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Sorry, but during my 20 years experience of flying skydivers and skydiving I have experienced that this is a false statement. I have seen it happen on purpose, accident, and plain old stupidity.
Mark
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