The DC-9 at Skydive Perris will take to the skies!

The DC-9 at Skydive Perris will take to the skies!

As reported by Airways Magazine

Perris, California is a small town just 71 miles from Los Angeles. Many residents of the metroplex move there for the additional space and the relaxed atmosphere.

However, it is well-known as a city famous for its skydiving operations. Skydive Perris is the main skydive company in the area, using their own airport, Perris Valley Airport (L65), for their jumps. With its proximity to Hollywood, Skydive Perris has had a number of celebrity clients, like Tom Cruise, James Corden, magician David Blaine, and Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace.

Skydive Perris has many aircraft in its fleet, including traditional jump planes, like the Cessna 182 and DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter. They also have the rare Shorts SC7 Skyvan (only 149 ever made) as well as a Douglas DC-3.

All of these aircraft are used throughout the world for skydiving operations, but there is one aircraft that is extremely unique to Skydive Perris: the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-21. The aircraft, N127NK, has been with Skydive Perris since 2003, but it has not flown since 2013. However, it is now being prepared to be returned to regular service.

A Historic Past

The DC-9-21 was initially requested by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) for use on short runways in Northern Europe. The -21 model combined the large wing and slats from the -30 with the small body of the -10. The order was only for 10 aircraft, but McDonnell Douglas obliged in its creation.

The final DC-9-21, line number 488, rolled out of the McDonnell Douglas factory in Long Beach, CA in April of 1969, registered as SE-DBO. It made its first flight on April 15th and flew east to Stockholm, Sweden on May 1 to begin its career with SAS with the name “Siger Viking” SAS had its first 3 DC-9-21s registered in Denmark with “OY” registration prefixes, its next 3 in Norway with “LN” registration prefixes, and its final 4 in Sweden with “SE” registration prefixes.

The aircraft spent 26 years flying throughout northern Europe. In October 1990, all of SAS’s DC-9-21s were re-registered as aircraft based in Denmark. The registration of SE-DBO was changed to OY-KIC. However, while the rest remained in Denmark, this aircraft was taken back to Sweden and re-registered back to SE-DBO in June of 1991.

This was in anticipation of it being wet-leased to the Swedish start-up charter airline, Nordic East Airlines, based in Stockholm. The aircraft flew with Nordic East from August of 1991 to May of 1992, when it was replaced with MD-82s, also wet-leased from SAS.

SE-DBO continued its journey with SAS until March of 1995, when it was retired from its fleet. Shortly after, it was acquired by Spirit Airlines in May of 1995, and flown to its new base in Detroit (DTW). Two other DC-9-21s from SAS also joined Spirit at the same time. Once the aircraft came to the US, it was re-registered as N127NK, the same one which it wears today. It flew passengers from Detroit to various destinations Florida and the northeast for just six months, when it was sold to ValuJet Airlines out of Atlanta (ATL) in December of 1995 along with Spirit’s other two DC-9-21s.

ValuJet connected ATL and Orlando (MCO) with the entire Eastern Coast of the USA. From 1995, ValuJet had been the focus of many FAA investigations into aircraft safety. Many accused the airline of not properly maintaining their aircraft, including the Atlanta FAA office, when they  sent an official report to their headquarters to force the airline to recertify themselves as an airline. They had 57 emergency landings in both 1995 and 1996, a scaled rate that was 14x more than legacy airlines of the time. This all built up to the famous ValuJet 592 crash on May 11, 1996. The investigation into the crash revealed many safety issues with the fleet that were not being addressed.

A month after the crash, the FAA grounded the entire airline. At this time, N127NK was stored in Lake City, FL and never flew again for ValuJet. The airline later merged with AirTran Airways, but ValuJet’s CEO, Maurice Gallagher, left to build a new airline, Allegiant Air, out of Las Vegas (LAS).

The airline only had two scheduled routes, from Fresno (FAT) and Colorado Springs (COS) to LAS, but was regularly doing casino charters to LAS and various other cities like Reno (RNO), South Lake Tahoe (TVL), and Laughlin (IFP). N127NK was the first aircraft in Allegiant’s fleet, and flew with them until the end of 2002, when it was stored in Victorville (VCV). It spent one year in VCV before Skydive Perris’ owner Ben Conaster had a wild idea. He wanted to use a commercial jetliner for skydiving.

Skydiving from an Airliner

Jumping from large aircraft isn’t necessarily a new idea. The military has been deploying paratroopers for many years. However, the most famous case of this happened on November 24, 1971, when a man going by the alias “D.B. Cooper” boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 727-100 from Portland (PDX) to Seattle (SEA). He demanded that he receive $200,000 upon landing in SEA, and that he would like to flee to Mexico City via Reno (RNO).

He also requested that the aircraft remain at 10,000 ft. with the landing gear down, the flaps set at 15°, and the cabin to remain unpressurized. D.B. Cooper jumped from the aircraft via the rear airstairs commonly found on large T-tail aircraft while the they flew over the Washington-Oregon border. The case was never solved, but not for a lack of trying. Now, Skydive Perris is giving the everyday person the opportunity to experience the same thrill that D.B. Cooper had, without the large payout.

The DC-9-21 was destined for the scrapper when it was purchased in 2003 for just $50,000. It took three years to get the aircraft back to flying conditions and get it prepared for skydiving operations. The FAA made Skydive Perris go through many legal and safety-oriented hurdles to make sure that the aircraft would be fit for its new missions. While they were waiting for approval, the aircraft carried supplies to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and evacuated people to Houston as well.

Finally, on December 30, 2006, N127NK took to the skies to drop people from the rear air-stairs, thus becoming the only former commercial jet certified for skydiving operations in the world, a title it still holds today. It can carry divers up to 13,000 ft. in just four minutes, a quarter of the time needed for a Twin Otter to do it. To accommodate the large aircraft, Perris Valley Airport’s runway was lengthened from 3,000 ft. to 5,100 ft. Of all commercial jets, the DC-9-21 is likely to be the best possible one due to its short field performance and the ability to jump out of a pre-existing rear door on the back of the aircraft.

Skydive Perris operated the DC-9 from 2006 to 2013. However, they had issues with its reliability and the ability to find spare parts. This was especially trying with the largest DC-9 operator in the world, Delta Air Lines, retiring their fleet in early 2013. The DC-9 sat derelict with hope for it to take to the skies again, but without a clear-cut plan.

However, in September, after seven years, Skydive Perris announced that the aircraft was undergoing its final repairs, and would take to the skies once again. Engine checks have been completed, and the aircraft has even done taxing tests at L65. Earlier this week, Skydive Perris opened up a job opportunity for some lucky pilots to have the chance to fly the aircraft for them, truly marking the fact that the aircraft will soon take to the skies.

The DC-9 was a stalwart in the aviation industry for many years, but has now been almost completely removed from passenger operations. Only 35 of the 976 DC-9s that have been produced are currently flying, with just one aircraft still flying civilian passengers.

Enthusiasts have requested that Skydive Perris offer flights to aviation enthusiasts without requiring them to jump out of the aircraft. The company has not been accepting to such an idea in the past, but do seem to be a bit more open to the idea this time around. This would truly be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience a small part of history, whether you land on the DC-9 or you jump out of it during the flight. Either way, it will be great to see this old bird fly once again.

SkydiverDriver.com

History - Civil Jump Planes dropping more than Skydivers

Twenty years ago NASA teamed up with a Drop Zone near Mojave, California for their X-38 project. The Jump Aircraft that was utilized was a C206. Scaled Composites Inc. built the X-38 test airframes. A very interesting article about the project is found below. Author is unknown. Photos by Jim Ross.

A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. 

The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. 

Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. 

Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. 

The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. 

Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.

Laugh at the Calf..... on the taxiway! - Video

So here I am, about 5 years ago, on a peaceful Spring Day in Northern California taxiing in my Cessna 182 with a load of skydivers on what we thought would be an uneventful hop 'n pop (low altitude skydive) day.

Little did I know that we were about to come very close to a baby cow with our propeller and eating Veal, whether we wanted to or not! As I'm proceeding down the taxiway towards the runway to take off, I see in the distance what I thought was a large black dog on the taxiway. I focused more on the creature and realized that it was either the largest dog that I have ever seen in my life or indeed NOT a dog but something else. Something that was very curious about airplanes and was not removing itself from the taxiway. In fact it started running towards the spinning propeller!

That was when I started asking my skydivers, "What the bleep is on the taxiway?" At that point all four of us start leaning so far forward that our noses were almost touching the windshield! Also, at about that point everyone's cameras started rolling. Thank God that skydivers usually have a camera mounted to some part of their body! Because if we did not have this video and had to rely on explaining it to people with just words, it would not be nearly as funny. 

During the video I am obviously being a "smart ace" when I I state that I don't have reverse. Oh, and the strange noises that you hear.... that's Kyle making Raptor noises. Why you might ask, we're not sure. A mating call maybe? Enjoy!

Featured Jump Pilot - Shaun from Skydive Santa Barbara

Meet Shaun, a fellow Jump Pilot that I met a few years ago when I was hired to ferry a Caravan from Georgia to Illinois and then to Colorado. I am honored to have introduced him to the Caravan on that trip. He learned the airplane faster than anyone that I have ever taught. He now flies a Honeywell powered Grand Caravan for Skydive Santa Barbara. The perfect airplane for flying skydivers up to 13,000 and even 18,000 feet!

Age: 26

Total Time: 2600

Company: SkyDive Santa Barbara

Location: California

Years Flying the Caravan: 3 years

What do you like most about flying the Caravan?

I love the Caravan because it is a very well built airplane. It's durable, easy on the controls, and it's a work horse. The Garret TPE- 331 conversion makes it a fast and efficient aircraft, especially for skydiving operations. Even though it is a single engine it feels very safe and has an outstanding glide ratio in engine out operations. All in all the Caravan is one of my favorite aircraft to fly. 

What are your career goals? 

To be perfectly honest I don't have a set path in aviation. I've never had one ultimate goal. Instead, I focus on the enjoyment of flying and the realization of how blessed I am to be able to do what I love. I do know I am going to stay away from the airlines for the short term at least. I've always been attracted to the "odd ball" jobs in aviation, like being a Jump Pilot and Air Attack, all the non mainstream forms of flying. Some would say the "skill gigs". Really though, I just want to make sure I'm always having fun and continue to love flying.

What is your advice to younger pilots? 

My advice to younger newer pilots is to keep a positive attitude towards flying. There are times where it can seem overwhelming, sometimes you may feel under appreciated. But the key is to maintain a positive outlook. Stick up for yourself but always remember why we do this, why we fly. When you get down and frustrated, take a deep breath, relax every muscle in your body and take a look outside your cockpit. Look and see how beautiful flying is. Remind yourself of why you love to fly. 

Skydive Perris and its Skyvan featured in a Dodge Ram Trucks Commercial

A recently released Dodge Ram truck commercial features Skydive Perris' Shorts SC-7 Skyvan. It was filmed over the desert in Southern California a few months ago. 

During the commercial, a stuntman rides a motorcycle out of the back ramp of the jump plane, while the music track "Come with Me Now", from the South African band Kongos plays in the background.



I've watched the commercial a few times and can not figure out what the point of it is, other than selling trucks, but it's still cool none the less.

Fueling up the Twin Otter aka "Shark One"

A funny picture of Heather teasing me while I was refueling the Twin Otter aka "Shark One" in between flying loads of skydivers at Skydive Taft in Southern California.  The DHC-6 Twin Otter is the most common twin turbine jump airplane in North America. It holds up to 23 skydivers. They love it for its large exit door and high wings that make "spotting" easier. This aircraft was leased by us from Skydive Perris.

Opening Sequence from "One Six Right"

Waiting for my next load of skydivers ...

Here I am deep in thought (lol) waiting for my next load of skydivers at Skydive Taft.  By the way, this is one of the only Cessna 182s that I've ever seen that has speed brakes.  I love 'em!  They helped me to get down from 13,000 feet a lot quicker, almost 3,000 feet per minute!  This airplane started its jump plane life with Larry Hill of Skydive Arizona in Eloy AZ.  I believe that it has since been sold to a drop zone in Northern California.

Hypoxia and Aerospace Physiology Training

Hypoxia - a state of oxygen deficiency in the blood, tissues, and cells sufficient to cause an impairment of body functions.  It is one thing to read about Hypoxia in a book and quite another to experience it first hand.  Thanks to a program administered by the FAA, in conjunction with Beale Air Force Base, I was able to experience Hypoxia first hand in a safe environment, and I now know what my specific symptoms are.

First, I felt light-headed, followed soon there after by an inability to concentrate (some might say that I have that problem normally, but that's another story).  This made it extremely difficult to complete the basic math problems that were presented to me by an Air Force instructor.  The final symptom I experienced and the one that encouraged me to reach for the oxygen mask, was tunnel vision.  There is only one word to explain tunnel vision…. Yikes!  I would prefer to never "experience" tunnel vision again, but the experience did serve an important purpose, because now I am aware of my personal hypoxic symptoms.  If I ever experience those symptoms while flying at altitude, I will now know what is happening and I can take immediate corrective action.

The program that I enrolled in is called Aerospace Physiology Training and is available to most civil aviation pilots that hold a valid medical certificate.  The training is conducted at the FAA facility in Oklahoma City, OK and at various Air Force Bases around the country.  The nearest training location to Long Beach, CA (where I live) is Beale Air Force Base (40 miles north of Sacramento) and the cost is only $50.  That includes a full day of interesting instruction on various topics such as Aviation Oxygen Equipment, Respiration/Circulation, Spatial Disorientation and one hour in the altitude chamber.  As a bonus you will see a lot of neat aircraft in action at Beale, plus you could fly there and add to your cross-country time!

To learn more about this program or to register for it, go to FAA.gov and click "Training and Testing" on the upper right side, followed by "Pilot Training" , then click "Airman Education Programs", and finally "Aerospace Physiology Training".  Good luck and happy flying!

Harmon Rocket at Golden West Airshow Marysville California

Here is a photo of the Harmon Rocket airplane that I spoke of in the prior post.  This is obviously from my view inside the airplane before I dropped the skydiver with the huge American flag! We were in a holding pattern together south of the airshow waiting for our call to fly over the airshow when this photo was taken. You can see that we're in a slight right bank. I was flying a C182 ... with dirty windows ... lol

American flag demo jump over Golden West Airshow in Marysville, CA

I dropped this skydiver over the Golden West Airshow in Marysville CA in June 2010.  That flag is 20 feet tall, 40 feet long and weighs 50 pounds!  A Harmon Rocket airplane spiraled around him with smoke trailing while they played the Star Spangled Banner over loud speakers for the huge crowd.  I love flying Demo Jumps!  It was more fun than you can imagine.  They pay me to do this stuff?  Life is good!