Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!spool.mu.edu!uunet!lhdsy1!yzarn From: yzarn@lhdsy1.chevron.com (Philip Yzarn de Louraille) Newsgroups: rec.skydiving Subject: Re: Message-ID: <896@lhdsy1.chevron.com> Date: 14 May 91 01:35:52 GMT References: <1991May9.194510.3844@crl.dec.com> Organization: Chevron Oil Field Research, La Habra, CA. Lines: 31 In article <1991May9.194510.3844@crl.dec.com> geer@crl.dec.com (Dan Geer) writes: >someone just offered me a chance to jump out of their plane. >this is mucho premature for this novice, but i do have a >question then - who/where/when/how is this permitted? There is a lot of things to check for if you want to do this safely. First of all, is the pilot knowledgeable about dropping skydivers? If not, pass. If he is, the door of the airplane will have to be removed. Can the airplane be flown without it? Does the pilot own a chute (must be a reserve (certified and up-to-date))? Where would you be jumping? On top of a city, a field, a dropzone? If on top of a city, the FAA has to be notified. (Of, course, what I'm telling you are the things that should be done for a *legal* jump. If the jump is illegal, then make sure the pilot knows he could loose his/her license for life if caught...) Then come the safety factors: tape anything (with strong tape) that would interfer with your exit, rehearse on the ground with your equipment on, check for where you could get stuck, or where your equipment could get caught, ripped, etc.... Practice exit signals with the pilots: he won't be able to hear anything with the door off. Can he fly the airplane after a cut, the door off and maybe you hanging on a strut? Airplanes have a way of flying differently with these conditions, etc... In other words, there are a lot more variables, more than could (and will) go wrong when jumping off an airplane which is not a regular jump plane. USE EXTREME CAUTION. Good luck! -- Philip Yzarn de Louraille Internet: yzarn@chevron.com Research Support Division Unix & Open Systems Chevron Information & Technology Co. Tel: (213) 694-9232 P.O. Box 446, La Habra, CA 90633-0446 Fax: (213) 694-7709