Louisiana Rainbow

I caught a picture of a nice rainbow over Louisiana after throwing out some skydivers in the Grand Caravan.  Constant beautiful views, yet another perk to my job!

The New Grand Caravan EX!

The new Grand Caravan EX has received FAA type certification. Its new Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140 has improved its rate of climb performance by 38%! That's almost twice as much as its projected 20% increase!

DC-3 sunset fly by!

A cool photo of a DC3 sunset fly by at Skydive Arizona.  The largest drop zone in the world and the only one that I'm aware of that flies the classic DC3.  You can also see their wind tunnel in the background. Taken at Eloy, Arizona USA

Clouds parting over the Grand Van

The strangest thing happened.  I rubbed her belly and the clouds parted!  I had been waiting for the clouds to clear up and decided to give "the girl" a little wash.  I happened to look up and see the pretty sun rays shining through the clouds and decided to take this nice pic!  Taken at Eagle Lake Airport, Eagle Lake Texas USA

Croft And Barrow 2-Pk. Airplane Woven Boxers (Google Affiliate Ad)

My corner office with a view!

My corner office with a view.  The new one after the last one... but not the last one :)  This almost 700 horse power C208B Grand Caravan will take up to 17 skydivers up to our normal drop altitude of 13,000 feet in about 12 minutes!  The Caravan is the most common turbine powered aircraft used to haul skydivers in the U.S. and it is the second most common jump plane in the U.S. overall, after the C182 Skylane.  Read more about ALL of the jump planes that are flown around the world in on our "Skydive Aircraft" page!

What would DB Cooper do?

I found this funny sign on the wall of a drop zone that I visited.  What would DB Cooper do?  Well... he would jump out of the plane of course!  The most infamous skydiver ever on November 24th 1971 hijacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727-100 (tail number N467US), extorted $200,000 and jumped out of the back of it never to be seen or heard from again.  Did you know that he actually gave the alias "Dan Cooper" not "DB Cooper"?  Somewhere during the initial media reports it was mis-reported as DB instead of Dan and it stuck.... and now you know ;)

Jump Pilot George Quick and Skydiver Bert White - May 1930

If you love history, aviation or skydiving you will appreciate this picture. This is a classic picture of Jump Pilot George Quick (left) and Skydiver Bert White before their altitude record breaking skydive of 24,800ft.

The record was made over the Mojave Desert (CA) May 25, 1930.

Keeping an eye on the kids!

Here's a photo of me at "work" at Skydive Houston awhile ago.  I have a small mirror that I use to keep an eye on those crazy guys behind me...lol  If you look carefully you will count 11 skydivers back there, a larger load for a "Mini Van" (smaller Caravan) during the Summer time.

Caravan Captain!

I made Captain of the beloved C208 Caravan, the most popular single engine turbo prop jump plane in the world!  To give you an idea of how large those blades are... I'm 6'3".  Thank you Richard and Eddie!

You're gonna have to drop out if you wanna graduate!

I had to share this funny Skydiving School cartoon that I found.

Mark dumpin' jumpers at the World Recod Skills Camp 2012

A nice pic of Mark dumpin' jumpers in his Skyvan at the World Record Skills Camp 2012 last week.

copyright kazu oyama

Mark in the Skyvan at the World Record Skills Camp 2012

Here's a cool pic of Mark "hard at work" flying his Skyvan at the World Record Skills Camp 2012 last week.

copyright kazu oyama

Red Bull Stratos - Felix Baumgartner's Test Jump

Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from 71,000 feet last week in preparation for a record breaking skydive from 120,000 which will take place this summer!

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.

Funny Skydiving cartoon

I found this funny skydiving cartoon...

Sun 'n Fun

If you have a little free time and you're in the Lakeland Florida area be sure and check out Sun 'n Fun March 27 - April 1  "Spring Break for Pilots!"

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!

As a Jump Pilot you should... watch their exit!

This is a cool shot of my buddy "voodoo" and a tandem passenger exiting our C206 Jump Aircraft at Skydive Taft a few years ago.  You can see me in the background watching the exit and is something you as a Skydive Pilot should always be doing.


TIP: It is very important to make sure that none of the skydivers lines or handles get snagged on a seat belt, a door frame or anything else.  Also, insure that they have indeed unbuckled their seat belt.  I've never seen it, but I've heard of skydivers forgetting to unbuckle and then attempt to jump.  That might sound funny but it can cause major problems for them and you as the pilot.  I always have a hook knife handy as well in case I need to cut their seat belt off. I encourage you to do the same.

Skydive toga party! Texas style!

A group picture with me at a skydive toga party at a drop zone that I use to fly for down in Texas back in 2008!  Super fun night as you can imagine. Great memories. What happens at drop zones... stays at drop zones ... lol  Except the part where someone in that picture woke up on the runway the next morning. Thank God it is a private airport... lol  No, it was not me. They're in the front row... that's all I will say... lol