Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

This forum has been developed to discuss aviation related topics.

Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog

Post Reply
mixturerich
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 344
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:04 pm

Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by mixturerich »

Should every pilot try it? Someone recently told me they closed their eyes for the whole thing. Haven’t tried it (you never “try” at skydiving), but the whole thing thing just seems sketchy to me anyways.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
PilotDAR
Rank 11
Rank 11
Posts: 4053
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:46 pm
Location: Near CNJ4 Orillia, Ontario

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by PilotDAR »

In my opinion, no. If people want to skydive, then do that, but not as the basis of building piloting skills. To be honest, you'd learn more about flying standing around chatting with the jump pilots in between jumps. So if your goal is to learn about flying at a parachuting school, go to the school, and don't bother with the jumping part, you'll have more opportunity to talk to pilots, and less risk of a jump accident!
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
C-GGGQ
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2051
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 12:33 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by C-GGGQ »

What he said. I did it, eye's weren't closed but I did go solo not tandem and it was a static line (only 4000ft up and much like army paratroopers your chute is pulled by a line... or the instructor as you head out the door) so it was only 4-5 seconds of free fall but all I remember is tumbling. After the chute opens its quiet and calm and cool and I suppose SOME basics of flight as you are basically a small glider and do need to flare on landing to not snap a femur as one of our group did. Great fun, would love to try a wing suit but I do realize its an advanced technique and I would smear myself over a cliffside so I'll stick to youtube
---------- ADS -----------
 
Schooner69A
Rank 7
Rank 7
Posts: 639
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:17 pm
Location: The Okanagan

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by Schooner69A »

"...wingsuiting (make) a better pilot?"

I doubt it, but the reverse is true...
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
AirFrame
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2610
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:27 pm
Location: Sidney, BC
Contact:

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by AirFrame »

I have been skydiving (static line jumps up through 60 second freefalls) and consider myself a competent pilot. I wouldn't say skydiving helped.

I will say that skydiving is a hell of a lot of fun. If you're interested in it, give it a go. It's only money. :)
---------- ADS -----------
 
pelmet
Top Poster
Top Poster
Posts: 7138
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:48 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by pelmet »

I have 110 jumps. Started out as a jump pilot and got my first jump course for free. Liked it so much I kept on doing it. I suppose anything aviation related makes you more knowledgeable and skydiving bith in freefall and under canopy is a learning experience. But the biggest thing you will be more knowledgeable about will be knowing about skydiving ops which could be useful when flying in the vicinity of skydiving airports such as where they will likely be jumping out of the aircraft relative to the airport.

For example, if you are going to pass nearby the airport, it might be better to pass on the downwind side of the airport rather than the upwind side where the jumpers usually do their freefalling. Similar to glider ops. Just remember that this is usually the way it is not always. As for making you a better pilot, it is just one more experience that you have operating an airfoil. If that is considered making you a better pilot, then the answer is yes.
---------- ADS -----------
 
PostmasterGeneral
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 835
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:50 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by PostmasterGeneral »

Where’s the wingsuit wonder when you need him?
---------- ADS -----------
 
Liftdump
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2004 9:34 pm
Location: Earth

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by Liftdump »

China
---------- ADS -----------
 
The Tenth Man
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 345
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2018 1:12 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by The Tenth Man »

He's back.

I feel somewhat qualified to answer the question, as I have some 900+ wingsuit flights.

The answer is no.
---------- ADS -----------
 
PostmasterGeneral
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 835
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:50 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by PostmasterGeneral »

Isn’t that your 4th username now?
---------- ADS -----------
 
The Tenth Man
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 345
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2018 1:12 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by The Tenth Man »

I think it's the 7th. I started out life here on Avcanada as Jonny Dangerous. But he's dead to me now.

Today I identify as China_CAAC_Exam.
---------- ADS -----------
 
cncpc
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1632
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 10:17 am

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by cncpc »

Ha ha to China-CAAC_Exam

I was an awful skydiver before I completed my first pilot's license. I had two malfunctions in 63 jumps, on the 39th and 41st.

I do think that performance under stressful situations where life is at stake is critical for pilots when those situations arise. So arguably, skydiving might provide some benefit IF one has had emergency situations skydiving. However, a skydiving emergency is dealt with in one or two seconds and is a trained reaction with no decision making involved. Pilots may face stress and complex decision making for many minutes in emergencies. So it's a bit of a stretch to say that in the context of dealing with emergencies, skydiving makes you a better pilot. Implicit in that is that you must have actually had a skydiving emergency.

In a broader sense, any activity with risk that relies on a trained reaction to an emergency through procedures which resolve the emergency probably does make for a better pilot. If you have a belief in good outcomes from good decisions and actions, then you have a better chance of those things resulting when you are faced with difficulties in the air.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Good judgment comes from experience. Experience often comes from bad judgment.
mixturerich
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 344
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:04 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by mixturerich »

I was just thinking having been wingsuiting before and really tactfully felt the aerodynamic sounds, that that might translate into better feel in an airplane. But I’m grasping for straws here of course.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Outlaw58
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 440
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:49 pm

Re: Would having gone skydiving or even wingsuiting before make someone a better pilot?

Post by Outlaw58 »

mixturerich wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 11:47 pm I was just thinking having been wingsuiting before and really tactfully felt the aerodynamic sounds, that that might translate into better feel in an airplane. But I’m grasping for straws here of course.
In that sense, yes it would make you grasp some aerodynamic concepts, but no more or less than someone sticking his hand out of a car on the highway would.

I also have some skydiving, wing suiting and jump pilot experience, and like it was mentioned above, any and all time spent in, on and around aircraft and the sky will be beneficial to a point.

Skydive because that's something hou want to do.

58
---------- ADS -----------
 
Post Reply

Return to “General Comments”