Top 9 Skydiving Aircraft

Skydiving planes have been a huge passion of mine ever since I can remember so it was a matter of time before a video came out about the topic! I'm sorry if any numbers are a bit inaccurate but this isn't a number analysis video, rather my personal top 9.

[@MrJkd2013]

love the smell of jet fuel in the morning

[@Frickflyers]

I'm going to pin this comment simply because I love this "Apocalipse Now" reference! Blue skies bro!

[@MrJkd2013]

@@Frickflyers did 5 hop n pops yesterday ,riding the door on all five ,fresh air and jet fuel .what else can a man want blue skies bro .

[@Frickflyers]

@@MrJkd2013 makes me happy to see loads turning all around the world! keep jumping on!

[@tuttt99]

Or woman! @@MrJkd2013 I kicked off 2021 with a full day of accuracy coaching. 7 hop and pops. My clothes reeked of Jet-A after the last jump. I didn't wash them for weeks. 😁

[@robertneven7563]

and I love the smell off fuel and swet in the airplane

[@neunundfuenfzigposition]

The Skyvan is just legendary

[@walterburger5281]

I'm nostalgic for the DC-3

[@georgerogero3185]

You can take a nap to 10,500

[@Pairaipan34]

Antonov AN2 the old school never too old plane wich is very popular in Eastern Europe...original soviet job from 70'

[@Dizzyswoops]

Yeah anyone who went through old school training jumped from AN-2 and MI-8. Problem is it’s junk though, not very powerful with the standard engine

[@randybaumery5090]

I loved that Twin Otter.

[@TheMedved123]

Another good one is L410 - imho most comfortable plane on the list!

[@Frickflyers]

its unfortunate that its quite rare in skydiving but a beast nonetheless

[@Dizzyswoops]

Agreed, business class of skydiving 👌

[@smg5420]

An 28 is more preferable for me as it has large exit in its back

[@skwigle3]

@@Frickflyers you should come to jump to Czech Republic, there are like 3 flying at the DZs

[@danielscheuch]

de Havilland Beaver was awesome to jump from too. Love the skyvan

[@brhbrh6326]

A shout out for the Britten-Norman Islander. Noisy, with a large cargo door to exit on the port side, it was a workhorse. The later turboprop improved time to altitude. Much preferred it to C172 and C182 jumps. On my first few static line jumps with the GQ aeroconical round 'chute was afraid of hitting the wheels on exit.

[@AnvilAirsoftTV]

For 4-way. My top was the Dornier G92. Mainly because of that door. I did jump at the Swallows home drop zone though so I may be biased.

[@commonsense5555]

Caravan is my favorite but I definitely want to try out the skyvan.

[@birdman007]

Me too, can’t wait to jump out of one

[@jkorshak]

DC3 If it's not on your list it's because you probably haven't jumped one. Not saying it's the best aircraft for most DZ operations, but it is the greatest. It's that rare jump plane you're almost sad to exit because the ride is so cool.

[@skyking9835]

Every weekend back in the 80's I jumped out of one with a third engine stuck in its nose.

[@waynehopkins5039]

I was jumping from that PC6 H4 two weeks ago in CERPS GAP. Its tight with 10, but great to jump from.

[@magcarb5489]

Thank you this is calming me down after the atrocity I just went through.

[@Frickflyers]

Glad to help! Cheers!

[@STolley317]

We get to 14,500 in 7.5 - 8 minutes in the Mullins Super King Air. West Tennessee Skydiving

[@Frickflyers]

The magic of upgraded engines!

[@300ddsrt3]

Love that plane, Mike is a great guy & pilot too. The best is getting out last and racing Mike for the first 500-1000 feet!

[@TacoMyrick]

@@300ddsrt3 First time I jumped that plane I was the last one out. I was tracking down to the formation and happened to look up between my feet and see Mike doing a split S. I was so stoked that I took an observer ride later that day just to ride that thing down.

[@christopherwood2796]

Jumped that plane at the boogie last year. Loved it!

[@STolley317]

@@christopherwood2796 which Boogie were you at?

[@hattemakern]

Love your videoes! 😊👍

[@christianrodriguez8696]

My favorites two skydive planes are Cessna 206 and Pilatus Porter PC-6.

[@TheHapton]

Great content buddy! Our DZ just got the 206 up and running after being down for a year. Excited to see the difference between that and our 205

[@Frickflyers]

Awesome stuff! Blue skies bro!

[@robertwarner5963]

I prefer the 205 because it has a lighter empty weight, ergo climbs faster. The 205 that I have the most jumps from was up-engined with an IO-520 (?) for better climb. But I have to admit that the C 206 with the aft cargo door is my favorite piston-pounding Cessna. At Hemet, I consistently took the heaviest tandem students as long as they put us in the 206. On another note, I am not sure why the video includes a 182RG as I have never seen one working at a DZ??????

[@TheHapton]

@@robertwarner5963 yeah after running both a 206 and 205 I still have no clear favorite! Exits are fun in both, climb time is about the same or not enough difference for me to care. But that cargo door sure is nice to have

[@tomso9246]

I made a Cessna 182 DZ my home... I went on a long vacation and when i came back we had a big yellow Porter... i saw it leave on a Sunday sunset load with all my friends on it who jumped it like crazy for two weeks... I WAS SO EXCITED TO JUMP IT THE NEXT WEEKEND! But the owner wanted it back and... and... and i never saw it again. I spent 39 minutes in our 182 going to 9,853 ft. THAT NEXT WEEKEND.

[@divindave6117]

Great video. I was torn between the twin otter and the Caravan for the number 1 spot. For me, the Caravan gets the win because the prop blast of the twin otter is rough on climb out! Especially if you are the front float. I've had many 8 way jumps where I only had my big toe and 4 finger tips trying to hold on. The prop blast on the Caravan is much more manageable.

[@TacoMyrick]

My all time favorite is the Casa 212. The DC3 didn't make the list?!! The FrankenOtter was alot of fun. I jumped from an ultralight once that took forever to get to 2 grand. Also the Beech 18 has a special place in my heart.

[@tomso9246]

I jumped the FrankenOtter at crosskeys NJ.... LOTS OF FUN. Thanks for the memory flashback.

[@ryanpayne7707]

So as a pilot trying to figure out how the Hell I'm going to afford turbine time, I decided to watch this video after having an idea pop into my head. Normally, with just a private pilot's license, I can't charge to take skydivers to altitude. There is an exception: I can charge a "pro rata" share of a flight. So, the current idea is to start a flying/skydiving club, get some sort of jump plane, and simply split the cost with the skydivers insomuch as 14 CFR 61.113 allows. I mean, take something that costs around $750/hr, at three loads an hour that comes out to $250 per load. $250 split 18 ways (17 jumpers and one pilot) comes out to just shy of $14 per person per load, or $42/hour of turbine time for me. (That's a third of what I'm currently paying for a 172 rental.) The skydivers win, I win, my future employer wins when they hire me.

[@williammurray171]

I have to agree the twin otter is the best. You forget the DC-3, 30 plus jumpers. The Lodstar was fun but occasionally you had to run up hill to the door. But, that was long ago, I do have my picture on the cover of parachutist magazine, I sent a couple of copies to my mother.

[@abderbejaoui212]

I was born in a pc6, i will always love this plane. but it's a dying breed Pilatus canceled it in 2019 and maintenance costs are killing any will to operate it. In my home dz they already replaced it with an amazing caravan, but it somehow fails to enter in my heart. Nice job on the channel though, love your vidz! keep up bro!

[@Frickflyers]

Thank you for the kind words! I get how you feel, the legacy of jumping out of a porter is unbeatable!

[@hemppahemppanen5861]

Our club satakunnan laskuvarjourheilijat located in Pori Finland has the number nine classic cessna 182. This plane is a legend but ours is even better than the original one because we have fitted a 300hp engine on it and it climbs to 13000ft in about 20-25 min with 4 slots.

[@joejernigan4015]

Dc-3

[@JoeCosentino]

C206 station air was my first jump plane. Static line back in the day.

[@jonasghafur4940]

Great shit as alway, also twin otter 4 life

[@Frickflyers]

right on bro!

[@levluck1755]

Our Dropzone switched from a Pilatus Porter to a Cessna Caravan, it's awesome.

[@robertwarner5963]

The latest version of Caravan has a PT6A-140 producing 867 hp.

[@shitflyerz7561]

What DZ? SDB?

[@levluck1755]

@@shitflyerz7561 It's in Sendenhorst Germany

[@ericj1103801]

The beach craft king air is my favorite. 8 ish min to 18k. Can’t beat that. Just saw that you actually showed the plane I jump out of!

[@Frickflyers]

The king airs with upgraded engines are stupid fast! I've seen times as low as 8-9 minutes to 14k on a fully loaded beech 99 but I was a but more conservative with the timings since not all beechs are running upgraded engines and also theres a point where the plane is so fast the pilots endurance becomes the critical factor. But I have never seen a Beech on the hands of a beginner skydiver driver!

[@tplyons5459]

From my 50 years: C-64 Norseman 10 jumpers. Single engine Otter 9 jumpers. L-20 Beaver 4-6 jumpers. H-34 7 jumpers. C-60 23 jumpers, Islander 10 jumpers

[@osu895]

Fond memories of jumping from Cowboys Caravan in the 80s. sigh. RIP.

[@TacoMyrick]

Did you land off the DZ?

[@marmachul]

An-2 GANG where u at?

[@homeofcreation]

Mine would be the Pink Skyvan and any C-130 for big formations. But I did most of my jumps off a Pilatus Turbo Porter.

[@schuelersv]

very sweet. good reasoning. TwinOtter 4 Life. but the BEEST for me would be C130.

[@Frickflyers]

Indeed the C130 is a beast! but its not so commun unfortunantly so I couldnt include it

[@macrovigilance]

Great vid although The Twin Otter should have been no1 (always go twin engine for safety!!). I jumped a single otter a few times too.. spacey like the TO but much slower to climb. Cassa 212 a great jump ship too. And the BN2 islander was a very historic jumpship in the UK.. the piston version a bit slow.. but the Turbine version was pretty quick to altitude - always love dthat plane. Mi8 choppers are great for jumping from too.. quick climb rate, tail gate exit, very spacey and a novel experience.

[@CaffeineMark]

I’m sold! I’m a new sub! Cheers for the awesome videos!!!😜🪂

[@Frickflyers]

glad to have you in the community bro! cheers!

[@monarch8188]

The best one is An-2, man 😂

[@pepeg6721]

Yes, for people who have a lot of time and don't mind travelling up to 3km for almost an hour...

[@monarch8188]

@@pepeg6721 up to 3km in 15 minutes

[@BHPproductions1]

I've only ever jumped from the PAC @ the irish parachute club. It's pretty quick to get up to 13k ft.

[@Todd08131977]

I’ve jumped out of the King Air 200 at skydive Monterey bay roughly 2000 times. And I can tell you we get to 18k in 8-10 min depending on load size and temps.

[@pauleyplay]

Great plane Very dangerous in the wrong hands

[@flybeep1661]

18k in 8-10 min HAHAHA, nope.

[@ambushb0y]

My dad loved this video

[@sanfranciscobay]

2023. I think Lift Tickets are about $25-35 to 13,000 feet in California.

[@vtechk]

PAC750 is awesome, it easily goes to 20000ft/6000m. OK-OOO C182 from Klatovy crashed a few weeks ago in Germany :-(

[@connornicklaus5286]

At EAA I saw a modded super otter with the elusive pt6a-73 engines installed which turn 1700hp per engine. I wish I could jump that skyrocket

[@base615]

Not many Islanders around now so I wouldn't expect them on the list but they were pretty ubiquitous in the UK during the '90s and were a great plane to jump IMO. Definitely not one of the ones that suck.

[@Frickflyers]

I have heard of some Islanders being equipped with turbines and those things climb decently. However the piston powered ones are slowwwww, we used to joke about them doing 2 loads tops on a sunrise to sunset summer day. But Whatever gets you to altitude is the best plane!

[@andycopland3179]

I miss the sky. We had the 2nd Black Hawk off the line and it was fast.

[@moapqd1]

A classic Cessna 195 with a PT6A-21 turbine with a modified wing and slading door, fits 6 and climb to 14,000 ft in 12 minutes.

[@JoonaTammisto]

Soloy 206 is a great plane! Our DZ record is 34 loads in one day and there is still room for improvement!

[@Frickflyers]

Its a workhorse indeed! But I'm pretty sure that with a good ground team, fuel team and with 2 bad ass pilots you might be able to get 40 loads at 14k!

[@JoonaTammisto]

@@Frickflyers Yeah everything else was on point but start was a little late and there was a 1,5h lunch brake with no loads so 40 loads definetly doable!

[@AlexutzuDad]

Nobody mentioned the BEST plane for skydiving in the world. I am talking about C27J Spartan. A military plane of course . It takes 46 fully equiped military parajumpers to 1800o ft (5500m) in about 10 minutes.

[@dustoffmedic71]

My DZ upgraded to the 900 hp grand caravan. That thing gets to altitude QUICK!

[@genentropy]

what dz bro?

[@dustoffmedic71]

@@genentropy skydance skydiving in Davis California

[@Frickflyers]

Come to Skydive Portugal, we have two Supervans ;)

[@arthurcurvello]

I jumped that soloy in Portugal! S2

[@antonioenrique6290]

The second picture of the cessna 182 is in Córdoba, Spain, I started to jump in that plane.

[@deepprey2776]

King Air C90 beats them all. In the time it takes the 182 to drop 1 load the King Air can do 2.5 loads. The plane turns for a 1 mile final at 4000’ agl. Hard to beat a plane that can go up drop and be back on the ground in 15 min or less. It even beats the jumpers down

[@Michael-oy3pz]

Mate great list but have to say I think the twin otter should have been number 1…ahhhhhh all those jumps so long ago 😎🤪😁

[@liamnewman7197]

What was the Dash 7 Skyvan snippet taken from?

[@Frickflyers]

its a movie called "Cutaway" from 2001 I believe

[@moler8757]

The PAC-750 is definitely a decent plane, from experience I’ve only seen it used for tandems with only few fun jumpers on board. Trying to cramp 15 tandems with 2-3 fun jumpers is super uncomfortable especially if you’re trying to fit bigger built skydivers, I don’t hate the PAC, I just think it’s better for tandems than fun jumping.

[@ktuscany324]

My DZ puts 3-4 tandems and the rest fun jumpers in the pac 750 . Love that plane.

[@xBoddahhh]

We get 17 in a c208a TT900 no issues. I also am a big fan of turbine beavers

[@joaopires2757]

Atlas Angel a very rare south african plane uses a Walter M601D turbine and takes 9 Skydivers to 14000ft in under 15min very big door for a small plane i just love it!

[@MrAlexandre15nunes]

I used to fly Pac 750 XL in Poland, good plane but on hot days it's hard to reach 14000 ft in 17 min

[@Wawet76]

What I heard from pilots is that the PC6 can handle all power of from the A27 turbine. Icarius Aeronautics made it possible to put an A34 on it. With the A34, torque is too high at sea level, but all power is used after a given altitude.

[@Frickflyers]

Awww yes theres the misconception I had in my mind! I now remember being told exactly that in Gap about 6 years ago, I wanted to mention the possibility of flying with the PT6A-34 but I couldnt find any source to back me up! Thank you so much for the clarification!

[@Wawet76]

It’s my favorite plane, but maintenance cost of this air aircraft is high, and rising...

[@dwyaneaki8911]

There is a couple supervan 900 in australia with texas turbine slapped with a turbo that thing climbs to height under 11mins lol

[@jimday666]

Mi8 heli?

[@skydive1424]

I see the PC-6 in Arezzo!👍

[@lilianacruz9492]

I love c208B caravan

[@genentropy]

10:35 I fucking love that noise.

[@Frickflyers]

Dont we all? :)

[@magcarb5489]

I have jumped out of both the twin otter and grand caravan. My preference is as your the grand caravan.

[@Frickflyers]

If I get to choose, I'll go for the Otter but making the decision both as a fun jumper and putting myself in a DZOs place I'd always go for the caravan.

[@magcarb5489]

@@Frickflyers I jumped an otter on Saturday.

[@jamespetree4670]

You didn't even mention one of the great things I love about the porter... it can have two doors! This means everyone can go out at once...

[@JohnSmith-gs4lw]

He also didn’t mention that they have the feature of snapping main spars which will pin you to the ceiling as you spiral to your death.

[@robertwarner5963]

@@JohnSmith-gs4lw I dsagree. Snapped wing spars are caused by hot-dogging pilots doing aerobatics andexceeding the published limitations. Yes, a few Porters have cracked wing spars, but they did not fall out of the sky. The only way a Porter will suffer catastrophic crack sis if mechanics ignore the Service Bulletin about inspecting wing spars. The local Porter was inspected shortly after the SB was issued and promptly got repaired.

[@JohnSmith-gs4lw]

@@robertwarner5963 Fair enough. Accounting for pilot error is not something anyone can do anything about. But Beechcraft sure deserves some credit for things like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnWZXpmAmayHl8U

[@iloveaviation-burgerclub-a8145]

Woldn't it be more senseful to count slots per hour?

[@altimetrosencero8553]

Great list! Really don't think that I will see the Cessna 206! Here in the south we call it "la chancha" meaning "the pig" because is like a Cessna 182 but fat😂

[@20teamplayer]

Yep, Supervan FTW

[@RazgrizXVI]

King Air B90 at West TN Skydiving takes 12 jumpers to 14.5 in ***7*** minutes.

[@asgm88]

I’ve been jumping mi17 😢

[@Rundu1987]

Let 410. 12 mins to 12 000ft. Casa 212. 2 great planes I have jumped from.

[@Jeunescrazylife]

I jump a king air b200 13k 6 min seats 23 out of the blue colorado USA leave plane 160 amazing

[@pauleyplay]

HayGuys Dont forget the old Beaver. Guys ready ? Can we get the door shut ? Well maybe ! Who cares lets go !!! My favorite

[@Abc-vx2df]

PAC is a good plane but yeah that door is smalll

[@n9was]

Antonov AN-72. 6 minutes to 18000ft :)

[@zsoltmagyar720]

Mil MI-8, Antonov AN-2???

[@sergej23kv]

This list should be named "my favorite 9 skydiving planes" many good planes skipped and many blah planes made it to the list because you like them 😂

[@rotho282]

You missed the B-17

[@pabloescobar7802]

My god by the time that little Cesna got to 11k I was ready to jump out of it ...

[@ktuscany324]

The fact that you put some Cessnas above the pac 750 shows how off you are. The pac 750 is amazing and can hold more people than half the list . Like what are you thinking.

[@Frickflyers]

"How off I am" lmao XD tell me one thing the PAC does better than a modern C208B

[@Akegata42]

I don't like the grand caravans at all. Supervans (the black hawk modded regular Caravans) are a different story though, with faster climb to altitude than the Dornier. Still prefer Twin Otter by far though.

[@Frickflyers]

The caravan, blackhawk or not, will always have a place in my heart, I am very biased towards it but I have to agree with you! However *some people* do enjoy the extra sleep on the way up when they are hungover hehe

[@christopherkoekemoer6663]

Oh yeah, we jump a Pac750XL at Skydive Pretoria

[@bakhodir3270]

U could mention their prices

[@sanfranciscobay]

2023. I think it's about $25-35 to 13,000 feet in California.

[@iloveaviation-burgerclub-a8145]

D-FINA.

[@lubosmuknsnabl9214]

Klatovy !!!!!!

[@HopperBlueSkies]

You are kidding right? 😂 I actually booked my aff trail jump at paranodon this August. So D-FILL it is 😂 feel like I should start with a crappier one but that's too late now

[@Frickflyers]

its an awesome plane and the pilot is an awesome person too!

[@HopperBlueSkies]

@@Frickflyers Cant wait to find out myself :)

[@heythats_tim9619]

Jumped that Grand Caravan from Paranodon

[@2350Andrey]

An-2, L-140...

[@mikekammes9249]

There’s no chance you run 3loads an hour with a PAC750!! Jumped one for years. It’s more like 20 min to 12,500ft.

[@Dizzyswoops]

Depends on the engine. I jumped one in Moscow, pretty sure it was making 3 loads an hour easy

[@BobSaint]

I guess I have to be that guy... Walter engines are not German, they're Czech, through and through.

[@razbit]

I've spent most of my jump life in a 182, (small zones in the NW). every year I ask santa clause for a caravan, dickhead never delivers. maybe next year.

[@technojey]

You should try Ukrainian airplanes Antonov 28, Antonov 72, Antonov 26 before doing such a list.