Parajumper breaks legs???

videoguy wrote:
"Nick Funk" wrote in message
...

I have seen jump planes beat the sky diver down.


[snip]


Many times the plane is on the runway before the sky diver touches down.


OK, lets explain this a little more to this non pilot and non jumper. Seems
to me that logic dictates that if the divers are all trying to land at the
airport, why would the jump plane try to get there around that same time?

How long does it take for the divers to reach ground? 2 minutes? 4 minutes?
Surely not much more than that. Why would the plane not descend at a pace
to place them in the pattern after the jumpers had cleared the area? Does
the 3-5 minutes flying time the plane saves by trying to beat the jumpers
seem significant?

I would appreciate any responders remembering that I am not a pilot, nor a
jumper. Answers with some supporting details would be appreciated.

Thanks,
GWK


Hmmmm.... video guy, looking for some gory details?

"Jerry Springer" wrote in message
...

videoguy wrote:

OK, lets explain this a little more to this non pilot and non jumper.
Seems to me that logic dictates that if the divers are all trying to land
at the airport, why would the jump plane try to get there around that
same time?

How long does it take for the divers to reach ground? 2 minutes? 4
minutes? Surely not much more than that. Why would the plane not descend
at a pace to place them in the pattern after the jumpers had cleared the
area? Does the 3-5 minutes flying time the plane saves by trying to beat
the jumpers seem significant?

I would appreciate any responders remembering that I am not a pilot, nor
a jumper. Answers with some supporting details would be appreciated.

Thanks,
GWK
Hmmmm.... video guy, looking for some gory details?

I don't know you, Mr. Springer, and as far as I know, you don't know me
either. But, as this is the second time you have responded to one of my
posts with comments that are neither constructive or useful, but simply
criptic, snide and rude, I will consider you to be someone who has little of
value to add to any discussion.

I fail to see where any of my post indicates even the remotest interest in
gory details. As someone who was unfamiliar with the sport of skydiving, I
asked what I considered to be valid questions.

Mr. Springer, or whatever your name really is, there is no need for you to
respond. I have decided to give your posts the consideration they deserve.

Regards,
GWK

"videoguy" wrote

I fail to see where any of my post indicates even the remotest interest in
gory details. As someone who was unfamiliar with the sport of skydiving,
I
asked what I considered to be valid questions.

I'm with you, on this one. Springer flew off the handle, with no good
reason.

In answer to your question, the big skydiving venues have more jumpers
waiting on the ground, to get a ride up. The sooner the jump plane is on
the ground, the sooner he can get loaded, and up again. Time is money, so
they rush as quickly as possible. The skydivers and the landing plane are
not supposed to be in the same area. My guess is that wind conditions were
different than expected, and the skydiver got in the wrong place, and
perhaps the plane was in the wrong place, also. Time will tell, as the
investigations take place.

Some planes, have turboprop engines, that are very powerful, and can climb
to altitude quickly with a heavy load. Right plane, for the job. Some of
them also have a feature called beta thrust, which allows the pilot to
reverse the propeller, so it pushes, or tries to push, the plane backwards.
This allows the plane to point almost straight down, select beta (reverse),
and keep the plane from exceeding the top allowable speed for the airplane.
Many planes with beta are not allowed to do this while flying, and only do
this after landing to slow the plane more quickly, or parking.
--
Jim in NC

As an active jumper, jumpmaster, jump instructor, competitor, master
rigger, skydiver driver and drop zone employee at various times over
the last 30 years I can tell you that this was a tragic accident. For
one thing I have never seen a pilot spin a cessna 10,000 ft down and
pull out on downwind. Ever. I doubt it is even survivable in a Cessna.
I HAVE done as Stuart tells, a tight spiral that rolls out on downwind
to final that will beat a jumper to the ground. Every jump pilot
typically does a deadstick landing from the exit point to the ground.
Why? Time is money, ya gotta get the next load up. A jumper will
typically spend 30 sec to 1 minute in freefall and then spend 3 to 5
minutes under canopy, depending on his exit and pull altitudes. I have
also made many jumps at the Deland airport in the past. As I remember
it is about 2 miles to town, and presumably the hospital. Deland has a
big operation there. They have many jumpers going all the time. In
general gliders and jumpers like to approach any airport from upwind,
they drift into the field with the wind that way. That puts jumpers on
"approach" where we think of it as downwind or upwind near pattern
altitude. They turn and face the wind for an upwind landing during the
last few hundred feet of descent. Many times the jump pilots, jumpers
and local gliders are jockying in the same piece of the pattern.
Vigilence is required. This was a case of two people meeting by
accident, not by someone doing something erratic or out of the
ordinary. Uninformed and halfcocked statements and speculation about
jumpers are as big a disservice to them as the uninformed and
halfcocked statements about pilots that get us mad.
Justaguy

wrote in message
ups.com...

[Very informative reply snipped]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't have any knowledge regarding skydiving
operations. Your desciption made things much easier to understand. Think
I'll try to locate a group in my area and go watch them some weekend.
Sounds like one could learn quite a bit by just being there.

GWK