Skydive Pilot: How to survive flying skydivers (and have fun doing it)

As the real action starts only a couple minutes in, here the index:
0:00 Engine Start / Dropping Skydivers
6:00 Introduction
7:15 Mindset
9:15 Take Your Time
10:28 Do Not Fall For The Routine
11:54 Spice Things Up
13:05 Be Kind To Others
15:15 Do Not Run Out Of Fuel
17:02 Join The Party
19:05 Landing
This video is another part in my "Skydive Pilot" series. If you are interested to learn more about the Pilatus Porter and flying skydivers, please check out the other videos as well:
• Skydive Pilot
Here I want to share some tips on how you as the skydive pilot can make the whole operation safer and more enjoyable for everyone at the same time. These tips are the result of to date close to 2000 skydive flights plus invaluable advice passed to me by some great mentors I met along the way.
All this was recorded in late 2019, towards the end of the skydive season in Germany. D-FROH needed to be ferried from Herrenteich (EDEH) to Calw, where she has a hangar and she was needed the next weekend. I used the relatively quiet ferry portion of the flight for my talk.
Please excuse the bad audio quality at times. I am recording straight off the audio panel and it is not easy to balance all the levels of the microphone and the two radios to get a consistent output to the recorder. Maybe I need to record my speech seperately in the future.
Now quickly what that giggle was all about at the beginning:
We keep two boxes always with the airplane: one that contains the paperwork, another that contains some equipment (covers, oil, ...). Normally they are not on board together with the skydivers, but, as this was followed by a ferry flight, they were secured in the back. Now one skydiver said: "Last one brings the boxes down". This would have been especially sad as there were two bottles of beer in there for me and the helper in Calw ;-).
Disclaimer:
This is not a training video, just some of my personal experiences and opinions. Always take your own decisions and consult the appropriate manuals and regulations.

[@crunchied8]

The PC6 plane is growing on me more and more because how good of an all rounder plane

[@tymark1]

lol. Bro. It’s such an amazing plane. I’ve loved it since watching “air America” with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. It’s ugly, but cool looking in its own way. It’s a work horse. It can handle just about anything you throw at it. Great airplane.

[@quackgarage9551]

Nice flying and I appreciate the tips, thanks a lot!

[@mcsvls]

Pilatus Porter is such a cool cockpit, looks like sitting at a desk.

[@LiberTY7416]

Indeed. For me that is one of the greatest features of this aircraft. Finally a place to put all your maps, phone, cameras etc.!

[@kiwidiesel]

I really enjoyed my time when I flew the drop plane. Some great times and got to meet and get involved with gliding by socialising with the other flying natives. I did the jump during my training just to experience what the other meatballs were going through in the doorway just before leaping. Mainly static line work with some tandems and singles to mix. Push out the statics at 3000ft and continue the climb up to desired alt. Training was mandatory at that time but the pilot didn't have to do actual jump, optional, static line. I thought what the hey. Amazing experience inside a small facet of aviation.

[@LiberTY7416]

Indeed. It`s fun to be involved in this side of aviation. Lots of great experiences to be had!

[@lucdemunster734]

...upmost good instruction

[@Novadean1]

Yes I love the Pilatus also for Skydiving - meine Zeit war von 1984 bis 1988 Dingolfing & Ampfing, es war schöne Zeit. 1990 dann weiter mit Hubschrauber in USA, jetzt in Rente, been there done this awesome 👍 take car boddy.

[@c3vs241]

Very good video and nice explanations of the tips. You mentioned you do this part-time, approximately how much can someone make flying this? Also, if you don't mind me asking, do you have another flying job in your full time? thank you!

[@LiberTY7416]

Thanks again. I always hope somebody can learn from the mistakes I made in the past ;-). I am not really at liberty to discuss numbers. But a few facts will give you the picture I guess. We, like most skydive operations in Europe, are just a non-profit club and only operate on weekends. With this kind of flying I can cover the rating, the travel involved and the recurrent training I need. Maybe a nice dinner and a beer at the end of the day. But that is about it. As I said: for me this is a fun gig because I love the Porter and the people of the club. Having said that: It is for sure possible to earn a living flying skydivers, but for that you need to go to a larger skydive center that operates all week/year. All my flying is on the side. Apart from this I am also a (chief) flight instructor in another club and train new instructors. But none of this is for real financial gain. My day job is in aviation, but in research and development, not flying.

[@c3vs241]

@@LiberTY7416 thanks for the message. I understand what you are saying. Cool flying man, u make it look so easy. One of my plans for the near future, is to do FI(A) rating and instruct when I get the chance and the money of course. All the best!

[@migmindy]

this is a funky plane, never seen her before. count me a fan. is that twisty nob on the roof your flap control?

[@LiberTY7416]

Correct. The hand crank is for the flaps. Originally also the trim was up there. But over time first electric trim and then electric flaps became standard.

[@Slarti]

04:46 - I see you use the advanced pokey stick to close the door.

[@gattibandz2808]

Auf meiner Home DZ schließte der Pilot die Tür immer mit einen harten Dive also mit der Hilfe von Schwerkraft 😁 habe meine ersten Sprünge und meine AFF Ausbildung aus einer Porter gemacht (D FIPS)

[@LiberTY7416]

Wenn die Tür gut geschmiert ist geht das ganz gut. Ist mir aber zu viel gefummel. Man muss erstmal in Beta rein, dann andrücken, vielleicht nochmal wenn es nicht gereicht hat. Oder doch von Hand nachhelfen usw. Nach über 2000 Loads ist das mit dem Besenstiel in Sekunden erledigt und ab geht's nach unten. Nur weniger spektakulär ;-).

[@stef87fen]

Thanks for this great content. I live and fly nearby. I would like to start flying this kind of operations (and not kill myself 😉) in a SEP plane. Is it possible to get some advice from you where to go and who to contact? Thx

[@LiberTY7416]

Sure thing. In the region we have Walldorf and Lachen-Speyerdorf using SEPs (C182 and C206 respectively). There is also Mainbullau a bit further away (C182). They sometimes have pilot opportunities and are a decent place to start. For general advice/networking/training I am also available at Herrenteich. You can either visit us there (calendar is on the website of FSC Mannheim) or if you give me some form of contact method I will drop you a message (no DM on KZbin unfortunately).

[@mikemike2815]

Have respect for in-flight aircraft, guys.

[@rnzoli]

Hi, lots of good advice, thanks. I have a few odd questoins: did you ever jump yourself? Did you have to cancel / postpone flights on the ground sometime? Did you ever have to cancel drop and re-land from the air? Do you have instrument rating?

[@LiberTY7416]

Glad you enjoyed it! And no odd questions here :-). I did a tandem jump, but I am not a licensed skydiver. A lot of fun, but I prefer the flying. I canceled or postponed a lot of loads on the ground for a variety of reasons. Mostly weather (clouds, wind, rain) getting too close to limits. Same in the air. I just recenly landed with the full pack again when unexpectedly the wind gusts picked up considerably after takeoff. Can also be something more mundane, e.g. when clouds move in and cover the drop zone or the airspace is so busy that you don't get a clearance to climb to drop altitude. I do not have an instument rating, only some basic instrument training (e.g. rescue out of bad weather).

[@rnzoli]

@@LiberTY7416 many thanks! I recently got my (VFR only) CPL, and have been looking around for something to do with it for fun over the weekends (I have a reasonably good daytime job that I would preferably keep.) But I always considered skydiver operations very dangerous and boring. And then suddenly, your video got recommended to me by KZbin's "Mindreader" algorithm addressing all that and more... :D

[@LiberTY7416]

@@rnzoli Good to hear. I can assure you that flying skydivers is not boring and I hope that came across in the videos. I am basically in the same situation as you. I love my R&D daytime job as well as flying. Skydive flying and being a flight instructor allows me to combine both pretty well.

[@rnzoli]

@@LiberTY7416 ah, so you're instructing as well? :) Great! I would be interested to see a video on how to survive instructing LAPL/PPL students and the boredom of so many traffic circuits with them :) Now I subbed with the hope of seeing that in the future :D

[@LiberTY7416]

@@rnzoli Thanks. Lets see what I can do. Hopefully with flying calming down a bit going into fall/winter I can find time to cut together some more vids :-).

[@redbearrc6706]

I am not a skydive pilot but enjoyed your explanation. I was very interested in the startup and shutdown sequence. I fly the Thranda Pilatus Porter PC-6 virtually and like to see how you do the startup and shutdown sequence including good view on the involving instruments. Maybe you can do a short video on that. It will be very interesting for us virtual pilots. Thanks in advance.

[@LiberTY7416]

I can try once we come out of the Covid lockdown and can actually go fly again :-). In the meantime you can check one of my other videos out. Not the most detailed, but you can get the basics from there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3axmaNrib6af5Y

[@redbearrc6706]

@@LiberTY7416 I saw the video. I will use to complete my startup procedure. If you dont mind I have some questions but I will ask them on the other video. There are a few PC6 video's but not like yours explaining things during flight and including ATC communication. That's really nice study material also for virtual pilots. Danke!

[@LiberTY7416]

@@redbearrc6706 Glad to be of service. Just shoot out your questions and I will be happy to answer if I can :-).

[@redbearrc6706]

@@LiberTY7416 After I studied the manual I found most answers ;-) . But I have still 2. Its about the rudder trim. I know it has to be in the green zone during take-off so to the right. Do you center it during flight? How do you trim the plane when its fully loaded with para's. Do you trim up or down? Looks like 10 para's in the back CG also goes back and you trim it nose down? Thanks , Red

[@LiberTY7416]

@@redbearrc6706 For takeoff the rudder trim is always fully to the right to counteract the torque of the engine. In flight it is trimmed as required to maintain coordinated flight (slip ball centered). Basically the faster you go or the less power you use, the more the trim moves to the left. For a para takeoff the pitch trim is about 2° nose DOWN. During the jump run I move the trim aft with every group that exits the aircraft. For landing with an empty aircraft the pitch trim is then almost fully nose UP. The CG shift is quite substantial :-).

[@wolfman1325]

Apparently the pilot of PC-6 YL-YEA did not watch your video and your advice to not run out of fuel. Unfortunate outcome for the plane. Where mostly are straight lines on a PC-6 there are now some curves. The boxy shape suits her better…

[@redbearrc6706]

In the Netherlands government agrees opening gyms, theaters, zoo's etc in a few days. Do you already know when skydiving is allowed in Germany?

[@LiberTY7416]

Seems like we will be able to get going from June onwards with a test concept and some additional precautions. Looking forward to get back into the Porter again :-).

[@luisb696]

👍🏼

[@AGATC123]

Vermisse die Tage wo du in Walldorf geflogen bist

[@LiberTY7416]

Danke ;-). Allerdings bin ich mir nicht sicher ob du mich vielleicht verwechselst. Bis auf ein paar Mal mit der Porter wegen Hochwasser am Herrenteich war ich nie regelmäßig in Walldorf. Aber wenn war es immer sehr spaßig!

[@AGATC123]

Ja als du wegen Hochwasser da warst...

[@LiberTY7416]

@@AGATC123 Alles klar! Waren ein paar coole Tage. Würde gerne auch mehr Austausch zwischen den Plätzen/Vereinen sehen. Vielleicht kann man ja mal wieder auf einen Freundschaftsbesuch vorbeikommen! Ansonsten komme ich sicher mal mit meiner Cessna 140 (N4229N) rüber wenn sich die Lage entspannt.

[@fim5485]

Moin moin, darf ich fragen welche Lizenz du hast? Fliegst du mit der CPL + Porter Classrating?

[@LiberTY7416]

Moin :-). Wir setzen aktuell als Verein ausschließlich auf nichtkommerziellen Betrieb, entsprechend genügt ein PPL mit Classrating "Pilatus PC-6 SET". Unsere Piloten sind eine Mischung aus PPL- und CPL-Inhabern.

[@fim5485]

@@LiberTY7416 Danke für die Antwort! Bezüglich der PPL muss es ja dann so sein, dass der jeweilige Pilot keine Vergütung bekommt, falls ich das richtig verstanden habe. Oder geht es in dem Falle darum, ob der Verein auf Gewinn ausgelegt ist, oder nicht? Vielleicht kannst Du mir das ja kurz klarstellen? :)

[@LiberTY7416]

@@fim5485 Das spielt in gewisser Weise zusammen. Mit einem PPL darf man keine Vergütung für die Tätigkeit als Pilot erhalten (Ausnahme Fluglehrer). Und eine Organisation darf einen PPL-Inhaber auch nicht einsetzen sofern diese kommerziellen Betrieb durchführen möchte. Das ist jetzt sehr vereinfacht ausgedrückt, aber ich denke das Prinzip wird klar. Grundsätzlich erhalten die Piloten für den nichtkommerziellen Vereinsbetrieb keine Vergütung. Heißt natürlich nicht, dass es nicht mal was zu Essen, Fahrtkosten, etc. gibt. Und eine Menge Spaß ;-).

[@jarar43]

Are you wearing a parachute yourself?? Are you planning to jump out of the airplane? :P Now seriously, when would you use it? Let's say you lose your engine after the climb at FL140, you run your checklist try to restart and is not working, you are now at 5.000 feet. Do you go for the power off landing or point it to a field and jump out of it? What if there is no airfield, do you try to land off field or jump? Like are you always expected to put the plane down even if it is dangerous for you? Seems safer to jump rather to try to land in a field somewhere.

[@LiberTY7416]

Yes, I am wearing a rescue parachute. For this operation it is also required by law. Not really planning on using it though as it is way more basic than your normal skydive rig (simple round parachute, but very fast opening). The use scenario is really only some severe damage to the airframe that renders it uncontrollable. The greatest risk I can think of here is a premature opening of a parachute in the door that flings a skydiver into the stabilizer/elevator. This would most likely rip the horizontal tail off and send the airplane into an uncontrollable dive/spin. Another scenario would be a mid air collision with another airplane. In such cases I would abandon ship as fast as I can. As long as the airplane is controllable, I would most likely try to land it after sending the skydivers out (given sufficient altitude). The climb rate is higher than the engine off descent rate, so for most of the time I am able to glide back to an airfield. Deadstick landings are routinely practiced plus I am also a glider pilot, so not afraid of executing a landing without engine power. Also the stall speed of the Porter is so low that you are not carrying that much energy into the landing, making survival with minimal injury very likely.

[@jamesmccasland887]

Many jump pilots wear parachutes. A jumper exiting could have his chute open accidentally, wrap around tail. Student on static line has problem. Murphys law.

[@tananam9782]

It's as big as an American School Bus (up to 72 passengers) and the pen and paper work is just as complicated! A school bus driver's life is much less glamorous, I have to say. Les fun I expect, too.

[@LiberTY7416]

But at least most school busses have airconditioning these days. I am boiling in this thing all day ;-).

[@tananam9782]

@@LiberTY7416 The busses I'm familiar with don't have air-con... extra heaters though.

[@nasigoreng553]

WE cant all be pilots only so many jobs to go round. Pooor meee I misssed out

[@claire4897]

What type of aircraft is that?

[@LiberTY7416]

It is a Pilatus PC-6 "Porter". A small turboprop aircraft able to carry up to 10 passengers.

[@sergeyvyatkin]

Is it legal to jump in Europe through broken clouds?

[@LiberTY7416]

In short: yes. As long as you can see the landing spot and can maintain cloud seperation (1.5km horizontally) on the way down, it's good to go. Does not matter if there are clouds in the area or moving over the dropzone in between jumps.

[@tangolima4148]

Paperwork and keep the engine running???

[@LiberTY7416]

To reduce thermal stress and hence increase engine life we let the engine stabilize at idle for about two minutes before shutting down. Idea is to let everything get to even temperature as much as possible. Normally one could use the taxi time at almost idle for this, but since here there is virtually zero taxi time I use the paperwork as a stop-gap for cooling.

[@tangolima4148]

Ah I see. Didn’t realize a stabilization is needed.

[@raduiosip7590]

Do they need a pilot who will drop for free just for buildup? :)

[@LiberTY7416]

Sorry mate. We already have enough pilots for the next season. But maybe I can point you somewhere else. Where are you based? What ratings do you have? By the way: Don't let yourself get pressured into flying for free. Those type/class ratings are expensive, so at least this should be compensated.

[@believeachieve2847]

why is he wearing a parachute, does he need to "eject" just in case🤣

[@LiberTY7416]

For these skydive flights it is indeed mandatory to wear a parachute even as a pilot. The reason for this is the increased risk that this type of operation entails. For example a premature deployment of a parachute in the open door could send a skydiver right into the horizontal tail of the aircraft, ripping it off in the process and rendering the plane uncontrollable. Granted these cases are very rare and I am not aware of any serious mishaps like this in the recent past. But if it happens I take a parachute over no parachute any day :-).

[@believeachieve2847]

@@LiberTY7416 very cool, thank you for telling me!!

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

another old timer with the trim on the roof.

[@LiberTY7416]

Actually in this case it is the flap handle. Trim is electric on the stick. This was however an option only and there are quite a few Porters with two cranks up top (big one for flaps and small one for trim).

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

@@LiberTY7416 Thanks for that Dude.

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

BORING round and round up and down all day.