Sometimes pilots do dumb things.

Interesting thread. So what is proper procedure for flying into a DZ
airport? I fly to Morris IL (cheap fuel and good food) which used to
have skydiving (not sure if they still do). Whenever I would hear the
jumpplane on CTAF or Approach, I would just stay a few miles away
until it was obvious all the canopies were on the ground. Then I
would enter the pattern and land.


On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 18:06:02 GMT, "lardsoup" wrote:

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But directly over flying an active jump
zone a 2000 feet just seems
dumb.

Nathan Young wrote:

Interesting thread. So what is proper procedure for flying into a DZ
airport? I fly to Morris IL (cheap fuel and good food) which used to
have skydiving (not sure if they still do). Whenever I would hear the
jumpplane on CTAF or Approach, I would just stay a few miles away
until it was obvious all the canopies were on the ground. Then I
would enter the pattern and land.

Sounds like the proper procedure to me.

George Patterson
If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people
he gives it to.

In article ,
Nathan Young wrote:

Interesting thread. So what is proper procedure for flying into a DZ
airport? I fly to Morris IL (cheap fuel and good food) which used to
have skydiving (not sure if they still do). Whenever I would hear the
jumpplane on CTAF or Approach, I would just stay a few miles away
until it was obvious all the canopies were on the ground. Then I
would enter the pattern and land.

Call the DZ and ask what the procedure is for the jumpers, or ask the
jump pilot when he announces. The jumpers probably have a procedure to
keep them out of the way of aircraft and to allow aircraft and
parachutes to mix in the pattern.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

"Nathan Young" wrote in message

Interesting thread. So what is proper procedure for flying into a DZ
airport?

One like this:

... Whenever I would hear the jumpplane on CTAF or Approach, I would just
stay a few miles away until it was obvious all the canopies were on the
ground. Then I
would enter the pattern and land.

The couple of times I've been in similar situations I've radioed CTAF to
verify that the jumpers were down. The jump pilot or UNICOM will generally
advise.

-c

"lardsoup" wrote in message news:emqWc.503260

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But directly over flying an active
jump
zone a 2000 feet just seems
dumb.

The day I did my two jumps (1991), when I got on the ground after the second
one, all high on adrenaline and excitement, people ran up to me and said
"Did you see 'em? Did you see the airplanes?!" Uh...what?

Apparently, a formation of experimental planes flew right into the drop zone
and passed so close that they broke formation to avoid me. I distinctly
remembered the jump pilot reporting he was going to drop. Don't know if he
called jumpers away 'cause I was dangling off the strut by then,
but...yeesh... At the time, I was simply bummed that I didn't get to see
the planes in formation from 4,000 feet. Now that I know better, I'd kinda
like to kick one of 'em in the ass for it.

-c