Do Jumpers scare you?

z987k

z987k

Well-Known Member
I'm curious. We have an interesting thing at our airport where a certain person is blaming us for scaring away transient traffic because there is a standing notam for weekends. I was doing it on a day by day basis, but decided to just put up something more permanent for the weekends since we will always be jumping. He was livid. Apparently he even tried to call and cancel my notam.

So is that legit at all? Is anyone afraid of jumpers or doesn't go somewhere because of the possibility of jumpers?
We're a small dz with just a 182 and put out 4 max at a time. So if we're there for 8 hours you're talking people in the air for 5-6 minutes a few times an hour.

OTOH, with fuel $.75 higher per gallon than another airport 12 miles away will drive away a lot of traffic. I mean is cheap enough there that it makes sense to tanker it a little bit and not by fuel at our own airport.
 
I know most airports ive been around, they try to run jumpers off. I dont agree with it, but its how it is. The rule of thumb is more jumpers = less traffic. A lot of weekend warriors and others would just rather not "deal with it."
 
Had one cross by me close enough to see him wave and smile at you. Gives me the heebee jeebee's.

Of course I've only jumped once in tandem (sp?) from 13 or 14k so I know just enough about jumpers and jumping to get in trouble.
 
I disagree, I think most of the people jumpers affect are transient traffic flying through the area not necessarily stopping. Before I got an airline gig I was flight instructing at MQY in Smyrna, TN. People who are based at MQY would fly there airplanes to SYI, an airport 30 miles south to buy gas. it was usually .60 to 1.00 cheaper than our fuel. Unless you are talking to ATC you usually don't know jumpers are in the area anyway. Keep up the notams man! HAPPY JUMPING.:rawk::beer:
 
They don't scare me personally (I learned to fly ((gliders)) at a 2700' grass strip, with twin otters dumping about 60 loads of meat missle overhead 7 days a week) but a lot of other pilots and students that I talk to completely avoid that airport because of the jumpers.

In that scenario though, if someone isn't familiar with their drop cone and how they operate, I can't say that I blame them. Though with only a 182 dropping 4 per load, it would seem like a pretty weak excuse.
 
z987k said:
I'm curious. We have an interesting thing at our airport where a certain person is blaming us for scaring away transient traffic because there is a standing notam for weekends. I was doing it on a day by day basis, but decided to just put up something more permanent for the weekends since we will always be jumping. He was livid. Apparently he even tried to call and cancel my notam.

So is that legit at all? Is anyone afraid of jumpers or doesn't go somewhere because of the possibility of jumpers?
We're a small dz with just a 182 and put out 4 max at a time. So if we're there for 8 hours you're talking people in the air for 5-6 minutes a few times an hour.

OTOH, with fuel $.75 higher per gallon than another airport 12 miles away will drive away a lot of traffic. I mean is cheap enough there that it makes sense to tanker it a little bit and not by fuel at our own airport.
Click to expand...

It's BS that just because there's a NOTAM, there will be less airport traffic.

The NOTAM is simply there to give a heads up to people arriving/ departing. Planes and jumpers can easily co-exist at the same GA airport, just with a little communication and some better visual lookout.
 
What does everyone think about the attempted cancellation of the notam?

I was all but furious when I heard that.
 
I trained and instructed at DAB, right next to Deland, which is probably one of the largest skydiving operation in the US if not the world !
They were clearly a concern in such a high volume of training traffic. I knew better than going there on week ends. It would just rain skydivers. A lot of them train too so they're not all that great at landing where they should !
I never heard of an accident between a plane and a diver when I was there, though...
 
I never understood the big fear of skydivers. When I flight instructed it was very near a popular skydive airport that we used for pattern work. When the jump plane would announce, the patter would clear out. Which I enjoyed because I no longer had to space myself or my students with the traffic. Watch the jumpers float down to the middle of the field, and continue doing touch and goes. Be smart, stay vigilant, no problems.
 
bLizZuE said:
I never understood the big fear of skydivers. When I flight instructed it was very near a popular skydive airport that we used for pattern work. When the jump plane would announce, the patter would clear out. Which I enjoyed because I no longer had to space myself or my students with the traffic. Watch the jumpers float down to the middle of the field, and continue doing touch and goes. Be smart, stay vigilant, no problems.
Click to expand...

Go to bed!
 
We are all assuming that the average weekend hamburger hunter even checks notams or even notices those funny ice cream cones on the chart. I really hate to say it, but I think were giving the majority of them too much credit.
 
I wouldn't say they scare me, but it pisses me off when I see videos online of them freefalling through cloud decks. That's just flat-out dangerous.
 
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