P A R A C H U T I N G ' S
N E W S M A G A Z I N E
Reader Responses
Has the cost of fuel, and
the subsequent rise in jump prices, affected the number of jumps you
make?
No, not really. I live 20 minutes
from Skydive DeLand and jumps from 13,500 are $23. If things are
tight I’ll get out at 5000 for $17 and still have money for beers at
The Perfect Spot. Sweet.
—Chris Bonafide,
Deltona, Fla.
Yes. Less than two years ago, my
home DZ was $15 to 13,500 feet. Thanks to fuel costs we are now at
$23. So instead of getting almost seven jumps for $100, it’s now
four.
—Lucas Cooper-Bey,
Woodstock, N.Y.
Not as far as skydiving at my home
DZ goes, but it sure affected my traveling to other DZs.
—K., Mexico
City
Not really, but it has affected the
type of jumping that I do. I do more work jumps than I used to at
boogies, so I can offset the cost of fun jumps at my home DZ.
—Chuck,
Bellevue, Neb.
As I am blessed to work in the
sport, the money made is put back into my fun jumps. Buying my own
jumps again would probably slow me down a bit with today’s economy
in the tank.
—Jon Van
Cleave, Roy, Utah
I think rising costs will affect
all. If one has a long drive to the DZ, you will want to make more
jumps to make it worthwhile. It can also limit a jumper’s ability to
travel to various meets, boogies, or large freefall attempts.
—Karl Poruben,
email
Sure, of course, but it is really
affecting keeping new people in the sport. It’s hard for them to
justify the cost. We are mainlining skydiving; they haven’t been
hooked yet.
—Billy
Beaudreau
Nope. Bill Dause, the DZ operator at
Lodi, Calif., has reduced his own profits to keep skydiving
affordable. His prices have remained low. I just wish Bill ran
Standard Oil Corp.
—Mark Meltzer,
San Francisco, Calif.
We understand the necessity for DZs
to raise their prices -- just as everything else in this crazy world
is costing more. The rising cost of jumps has not affected us yet.
But that is partly because we travel more nowadays and, therefore,
jump a bit less. I am sure that in our particular case, we would
make the necessary financial changes in our lifestyle to continue
skydiving as long as possible.
—Pat Moorehead,
Long Beach, Calif.
Back in yesteryear, lack of money
dictated tough choices: eat, party or skydive. So, mostly I jumped.
Today, similar constraints still elicit similar results: skydive.
—Pat Works,
Fullerton, Calif.
Surprisingly, no. At Sky Knights in
Wisconsin we had a lot of tandems this year for a variety of
reasons. I think one of the reasons was that people were traveling
less due to fuel prices and the overall economy. As a result they
were looking for adventure closer to home. With two young kids at
home my time available to jump has been limited, but on the occasion
when I did make it out we had so many tandems that that’s all I did.
The up side is getting to introduce so many new people to the sport.
—Paul Hastings,
Rockford, Ill.
The drop zone is nearly an hour
away, so when I do drive down, I make sure to get as many jumps in a
day as possible. I rarely drive down for one jump anymore and have
begun to carpool with fellow jumpers. My jump number average in a
month is still about the same, but I am at the drop zone less often.
—Zack
Sisemore, Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Thankfully, no, but becoming an
instructional rating holder last year has helped forestall that for
a little while. Then again, our jump prices haven’t gone up in a
couple years, so we’re not yet seeing the impact of the recent fuel
price jump in our lift tickets.
—Darin Ninness,
Hooksett, N.H.
What would you do, if anything, to make flying in jump aircraft
safer?
Plan the exit order with all jumpers
before boarding and stack the plane seating accordingly. Everyone is
geared up with straps tight before getting on the plane. Everyone
wears his seatbelt for real. Observe the “red line” weight balance.
—Chris Bonafide,
Deltona, Fla.
I’d urge all jumpers to get more
involved with the aircraft they jump as well as get to know your
pilots better. I like to know that the pilot flying me is ready for
all emergencies and that the aircraft is in good repair. I’ve been
blessed with some very heads-up pilots over the years and all the
good ones have welcomed my interest. You won’t be able to make an
honest assessment until you talk with them. Likewise, by getting to
know your aircraft you can help alert the pilot, and owner, to any
conditions that change or cause concern. On the ride to altitude
keep your eye out for other aircraft and communicate what you see
with the pilot in a pre-planned protocol so you aren’t just being a
pest. During taxi, take-off and landing, make sure everyone has
properly secured anything that could become a projectile during an
aircraft emergency. We’ve got to look out for each other out there
and that includes the pilots and the planes. If you see something
you don’t like, speak up or it won’t get better.
—Paul Hastings,
Rockford, Ill.
I’ve never been concerned about
safety in jump aircraft at my local DZ -- yet. The PAC 750 is
equipped with jump lights and there has never been the pressure of
“go, go, go” that I have experienced at other drop zones. Everyone
watches out for each other, making sure that helmets and seat belts
are secure until the proper altitude, at which point someone always
yells, “Seat belts,” as the cue. Almost every load I hear a reminder
to spot for other aircraft and to wait for the green light. I
realize that not all drop zones do this, so to answer the question,
I think communication makes flying in jump aircraft safer. Think of
skydiving as a team sport and watch out for one another.
—Zack Sisemore,
Lake Tahoe, Nev.
It is always nice when the pilot
lets you know the ground speed, in order to accommodate for better
spots.
—K., Mexico
City
Determine the best (most safe)
seating configuration for each type of aircraft -- be it straddle
benches, side benches or the floor -- and incorporate that into jump
plane STCs. Improve seat belt use, accessibility and anchoring
methods. A recent study pointed to single-point belts as being
ineffective in an accident sequence. Educate jumpers about the
hazards of loose equipment and loose jumpers in the event of an
accident. Too many jumpers think that a seat belt might be optional
if they’re tightly wedged between two other jumpers. Demand that
jump aircraft operators better maintain their aircraft. A jump plane
that doesn’t crash due to a maintenance issue is way safer
than one that does, right? (As an aside, I am a former Army
helicopter mechanic and know a thing or two about aviation
maintenance. I have outright refused to get on a jump aircraft due
to questionable maintenance practices and what I thought was a lack
of interest on the part of the aircraft owner or DZ operator to at
least address concerns. It’s your ass in that airplane. A
rough-running engine is probably indicative of a problem that should
be addressed with a greater degree of investigation than a waved
hand and, “Oh, it’ll be okay.”) A concerted effort by jumpers to
ensure that they don’t reward owners and operators who aren’t being
safety conscious with their maintenance or operations. If something
is shoddy or the plane is being flown by a hotdog, take your
business elsewhere.
—Darin Ninness,
Hooksett, N.H.
Close the jump door and fill the
plane with packing popcorn. Jump-run should be interesting.
—Alberta,
Canada
Bring some logic and science to the
installation of seat belts in jump aircraft. The NTSB has identified
the single-point systems as inadequate. In addition, Many of the
two-point systems have been installed in ways that make them
unlikely to be effective.
—Jim McGraw,
Fort Worth, Tex.
I would tell the pilot that he can’t
take off until all seat belts are on and all helmets are secure. I
have been on a few lifts that some jumpers did not have seat belts
on and helmets were not secure. This could only make an emergency
worse. Think about it, people and helmets could be flying around the
plane causing more problems.
—Kerry Hartwick,
Desloge, Mo.
It seems that everywhere I jump
there is always a hurry to “get in, sit down, strap in, and let’s
go!” I would recommend we take a few extra seconds and load up in a
more orderly manner. 1. Decide the seating and exit arrangements
before boarding. 2. Determine before you board if there are late
tandems on the way to the plane. 3. Don’t rush the people in front
of you. 4. Make sure you strap in and have the correct ends to your
particular seatbelt. 5. Wear your helmet on take-off and landing,
and fasten the chin strap. 6. Don’t neglect the mutual pin-check. 7.
Follow all instructions from the pilot and don’t distract him or her
in any way. Small talk, goofing off, and bothering the person
responsible for your safe flight is unnecessary and can be
dangerous. As we all know, it only takes an instant for stuff to
happen. Take it easier next time you get on board and see how much
less frantic things can be.
—Pat Moorehead,
Long Beach, Calif.
Install a “Staples” easy button.
I’ve seen them work on TV.
—Anthony
Peralta, Phoenix, Ariz.
Do you think
skydiving is hard compared to other sports?
I’m speaking as a belly flying
relative worker. Skydiving is probably the easiest thing we have
ever learned. After only an hour of freefall, we can move forward,
stop, move backward, stop, and change heading. This is basic
mobility in the air. When we learned to swim, after an hour we could
barely keep from drowning, much less swim across the pool. Walking
took us months of practice to become confident enough to be more
than a toddler. There are only three places we can be: on the
ground, in the water, or in the air. So learning mobility in the air
is the easiest of the three. To become one of the best, say the
upper 1% of any sport or activity, probably takes about the same
effort and dedication as it does in any aspect of life.
—Bob Nixon,
email
No. Falling down is one of the
simplest things. I do it all the time.
—Darin Ninness,
Hooksett, N.H.
No, but with skydiving you have to
be ready to change mindsets with the different types of skydiving.
Your emergency procedures may change with the type of jump and with
different gear, wingsuits, RW, freeflying, etc.
—Kerry Hartwick,
Deslodge, Mo.
I don’t think skydiving is a sport.
—K., Mexico
City, Mexico
Probably the only really hard thing
about skydiving is the packing. Otherwise, amongst other sports I’ve
been involved in: scuba is nice but more labor intensive,
snow-skiing days are best spent in the lodge, snorkeling is okay in
the right places, flying Cessnas from Long Beach to Elsinore or
Perris takes longer than driving, hiking is fun occasionally, the
beach is sandy, running is bad for the knees . . . bowling,
shuffleboard, ping pong, golf (what can I say, boring). And in none
of the aforementioned have I ever met so many different and fun
characters, and made so many friends.
—Pat Moorehead,
Long Beach, Calif.
Actually, I think it’s both quite
easy and quite hard. Hard in the respect that it’s putting your own
life in danger, and it takes an adventurous type person to do it
continuously. The actual act of belly flying is easy; only when
other types of flying get involved does it become harder, freefly
and RW, etc. But you don’t need to be particularly fit; sure it
helps, but compared to other sports . . .
—John Taylor,
Los Angeles, Calif.
Nothing is harder than golf. I have
a better chance of becoming the next national and world VFS and
4-way open champion than shooting a par 72 on a golf course.
—Anthony
Peralta, Phoenix, Ariz.
To do it once requires money and the
ability to get out of the door. To do it well, yes.
—P. Martinez,
Milford, Mass.
   
|