Hey all,
Just like to ask a few questions to all the Parachute Jump Pilots out there. What kind of flight hours & pay is normal for that kind of work? How hard is it to get into with low TT? Best places to apply with low time? I've got about 230hrs TT with Multi IFR.
Thanks for any PMs or Responses!
Happy Flying
Jump Pilots
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore
Dropzone flying is some of the best flying (in my opinion). I got hired with 240 hours at a dropzone in Didsbury (no longer in operation) to fly a 182 that was the titts.
The airplanes don't look like much from the outside but if things are done right, they have very respectable climb numbers at gross weight.
Pay will vary from nothing, (no names) to about $5.00 per load. Most dropzones seem to go at about $1.00 per person that exits the airplane.
The first month I worked there I flew 112 hours, pushed paper/promoted skydiving/answered phones and I made $698.00. I would have saved the cheque but I was pretty desperate for groceries and such. I made salary after that at $1200.00 per month.
There is an animosity that sometimes exists between skydivers and pilots. Don't think that you are better than the guys you fly and you shouldn't have any problems. Always try to learn something from them; spotting, altitude/heading control, flying with a 4-way on the wing, what makes a good formation. Learn a little bit about skydiving and show some interest in it. After all, it is there addiction that allows you to build that oh so precious PIC time.
*Remember boobies get an extra 1000' if the plane can do it and no drinking until the beer light comes on.
Probably the most fun I ever had flying. I'd go back again if the pay was right.
The airplanes don't look like much from the outside but if things are done right, they have very respectable climb numbers at gross weight.
Pay will vary from nothing, (no names) to about $5.00 per load. Most dropzones seem to go at about $1.00 per person that exits the airplane.
The first month I worked there I flew 112 hours, pushed paper/promoted skydiving/answered phones and I made $698.00. I would have saved the cheque but I was pretty desperate for groceries and such. I made salary after that at $1200.00 per month.
There is an animosity that sometimes exists between skydivers and pilots. Don't think that you are better than the guys you fly and you shouldn't have any problems. Always try to learn something from them; spotting, altitude/heading control, flying with a 4-way on the wing, what makes a good formation. Learn a little bit about skydiving and show some interest in it. After all, it is there addiction that allows you to build that oh so precious PIC time.
*Remember boobies get an extra 1000' if the plane can do it and no drinking until the beer light comes on.
Probably the most fun I ever had flying. I'd go back again if the pay was right.
JUGGS-A waypoint in Idaho too!
Pacific Skydivers in pitt meadows was asking for 300hrs last year, this will get you into the 182 for a season, $1500/month where you are expected to fly, pack chutes, answer phone, maintain the drop zone and be on call for the whole summer. In the end you'll probably get a couple hundered hours out of it, all PIC, and may get into the 206.
As far as jumpers go, be respectful, just as you would any other paying customer. Most of them are great people who lead professional lives elsewhere, and simply do this for fun. Biggest thing is get them over the drop zone and on the spot!!!
Just another note.. most drop zones hire a pilots with skydiving experience, so you may find yourself getting out once or twice to get the job. Well worth it though.
As far as jumpers go, be respectful, just as you would any other paying customer. Most of them are great people who lead professional lives elsewhere, and simply do this for fun. Biggest thing is get them over the drop zone and on the spot!!!
Just another note.. most drop zones hire a pilots with skydiving experience, so you may find yourself getting out once or twice to get the job. Well worth it though.
Diver Drivin'
Have to agree with what's already been said.
I've flown Skydivers for two seasons now and it's some of the most fun flying I've ever done. Shifting C of G's, up to five Skydivers hanging off the strut, min speeds, keeping the tail up so as not to be struck, all the while, putting the Skydiver exactly over the spot!
Pay varies depending on what kind of Drop Zone you are flying for. Most DZ's are just weekend operations and don't make money. In these cases, they prefer their pilots to fly for free. I know the "F" word isn't all that popular these days, but think of it this way. What would you pay to rent a 182 per hour?
Even the weekend operations will allow for 150 - 200 hours of PIC.
The last mins I head for the 182 to meet insurance regs were:
CPL
15 Hrs on Type
25 Hrs Flying Jumpers
PS. You can get the 25 hrs flying jumpers in a 172 as the 172 doesn’t have the 25hr req. Don’t ask me why…
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Crispy
I've flown Skydivers for two seasons now and it's some of the most fun flying I've ever done. Shifting C of G's, up to five Skydivers hanging off the strut, min speeds, keeping the tail up so as not to be struck, all the while, putting the Skydiver exactly over the spot!
Pay varies depending on what kind of Drop Zone you are flying for. Most DZ's are just weekend operations and don't make money. In these cases, they prefer their pilots to fly for free. I know the "F" word isn't all that popular these days, but think of it this way. What would you pay to rent a 182 per hour?
Even the weekend operations will allow for 150 - 200 hours of PIC.
The last mins I head for the 182 to meet insurance regs were:
CPL
15 Hrs on Type
25 Hrs Flying Jumpers
PS. You can get the 25 hrs flying jumpers in a 172 as the 172 doesn’t have the 25hr req. Don’t ask me why…
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Crispy
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jumperdumper
- Rank 4
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:23 pm
Very fun to fly jumpers and a great way to spend your summer...did it for 5 summers. I flew King Air and C182 but in order to fly the turbine i needed to get my U S licence. (Which they paid for) and i got all the free jumps i could do...did over 100 that year.
Got paid $15 an hour on the 182 and $2500 a month plus benifits on the King Air In Dunnville, Ont. Had a great time but did all the other dropzone duties as well...which kinda sucked but...what can you do? I got free skydives!
I meet my fiancee flying in Simcoe, Ont (which moved to Dundas) too...she kept throwing herself outta my plane but would bring me drinks by the campfire at the end of the day. I had a great time on the dz.
Just don't be a dickhead pilot......skydivers will make sure you don't last long if you are!
Got paid $15 an hour on the 182 and $2500 a month plus benifits on the King Air In Dunnville, Ont. Had a great time but did all the other dropzone duties as well...which kinda sucked but...what can you do? I got free skydives!
I meet my fiancee flying in Simcoe, Ont (which moved to Dundas) too...she kept throwing herself outta my plane but would bring me drinks by the campfire at the end of the day. I had a great time on the dz.
Just don't be a dickhead pilot......skydivers will make sure you don't last long if you are!
Last edited by jumperdumper on Sat Feb 18, 2006 3:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
When your life flashes before your eyes, will it be interesting?
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flyguycanuk
- Rank 1
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:58 pm
Flying jumpers was some of the best flying I've ever done. The pay sucked... I worked for room and board, but I flew 200 hrs and it helped me get my next job.
Skydivers are great people and will treat you well if you are a good pilot. You work hard... and then you play hard. It's like a big family.
How I got my job. I went to this website http://www.cspa.ca/en/index.htm which had a list of every Drop Zone (DZ) in Canada and sent them all a resume. I only got one response, but thats the one that hired me. I had 230 TT with multi IFR at the time I was hired.
If you don't have any Cessna 182 time I recommend getting 15 to 25 hours. Pretty much all the DZ's use 182's and require some time on type.
It's a great way to spend a summer working hard, doing some fun flying, building hours, possibly getting and few jumps yourself and having a good time. Good luck!!
Skydivers are great people and will treat you well if you are a good pilot. You work hard... and then you play hard. It's like a big family.
How I got my job. I went to this website http://www.cspa.ca/en/index.htm which had a list of every Drop Zone (DZ) in Canada and sent them all a resume. I only got one response, but thats the one that hired me. I had 230 TT with multi IFR at the time I was hired.
If you don't have any Cessna 182 time I recommend getting 15 to 25 hours. Pretty much all the DZ's use 182's and require some time on type.
It's a great way to spend a summer working hard, doing some fun flying, building hours, possibly getting and few jumps yourself and having a good time. Good luck!!
Have a look outside Canada as well. A friend of mine started flying skydivers in the caribbean. another friend went to california.
I'm doing skydive flying outside Canada as well. Great fun, you'll love it!
I get paid $18/load, and we can do 3 loads per hour.. so that's not too bad.
At a busy drop zone, you can do mega flying. My biggest day this year was 10h. During peak season, I would average 5-8h per day.
Cheers.
I'm doing skydive flying outside Canada as well. Great fun, you'll love it!
I get paid $18/load, and we can do 3 loads per hour.. so that's not too bad.
At a busy drop zone, you can do mega flying. My biggest day this year was 10h. During peak season, I would average 5-8h per day.
Cheers.
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HighBypass
- Rank 3
- Posts: 157
- Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2005 11:36 am
- Location: YZF
Skydive Toronto
For all you low timers thinking of going to Skydive Toronto in New Lowell (or Cookstown) Ont., Dont BOTHER! Thankfully I didn't go there but people who have say its the biggest scam ever.
THey want you to pay $950+GST for a "ground school" course, and a 182 checkout (3-5 hrs) and this also includes a jump. BAsically they get 20-25 people in there each year paying $950 so they can pay their inshurance for the year. To boot you also fly voluntarily, and have to do all kinds of other jobs around the DZ for free.
The way the industry is going theses days i would not reccomend this for CPL holders. Only for people with a PPL who are looking to build hrs up cheaply.
THey want you to pay $950+GST for a "ground school" course, and a 182 checkout (3-5 hrs) and this also includes a jump. BAsically they get 20-25 people in there each year paying $950 so they can pay their inshurance for the year. To boot you also fly voluntarily, and have to do all kinds of other jobs around the DZ for free.
The way the industry is going theses days i would not reccomend this for CPL holders. Only for people with a PPL who are looking to build hrs up cheaply.
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av8tor_assrope
- Rank 6
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:34 pm
hehehe......funny you mention that. i emailed them at the end of last year and i just got a reply the other day. i just thought it would be something cool to do on the weekend until i asked around and found out it was a concentration camp for pilot's. thanks for giving everyone the head's up on that
cheers
cheers
I want to die like my grandfather did, peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming in terror like his passengers...
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jumperdumper
- Rank 4
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:23 pm
I agree, Skydive Toronto has been running that jump pilot "check out" for years now, i know Joes Chow and he's a nice guy but i would never give him or anyone else $$$ to do a course like that. The problem is there is never a shortage of people who sign up for it.
When your life flashes before your eyes, will it be interesting?
I have done 2 seasons of skydive flying.
awsome flying and everybody you're working with is great. We were flying 182s and 206s and i worked at one site during the week and another site on the weekend.
I was paid 10$/load at on place and 15$/flying hour at the other. Ive heard that some company dont pay at all...bunch of cheap****s when you think that tandemmasters make 45$/jump.
with 2 jobs it came down to about 300 to 400 a week and about 400 hrs per summer. Busy month is end of july and august.
It was great and if they had bought a bigger plane i probably would have stayed for a couple of seasons.
awsome flying and everybody you're working with is great. We were flying 182s and 206s and i worked at one site during the week and another site on the weekend.
I was paid 10$/load at on place and 15$/flying hour at the other. Ive heard that some company dont pay at all...bunch of cheap****s when you think that tandemmasters make 45$/jump.
with 2 jobs it came down to about 300 to 400 a week and about 400 hrs per summer. Busy month is end of july and august.
It was great and if they had bought a bigger plane i probably would have stayed for a couple of seasons.
yup It's quite fun can't wait till this spring to do it again, good flying, for me every sunset load makes the whole day worthwhile...
made 15$an hour first year and 10$ a load the second (pretty much the same for 11000 but a better deal for 3500 and 5000 feet load, cuz the are very short)
same places as Jay-F worked, north of montreal
good hour building, good friends too.. would be much better if there were more turbine doing it.
P.S. anything less than 10$ a load is getting ripped off BIG TIME.. especialy with so much tandem jumps nowadays.. a full load a 206 theres probably 700$ in the plane for a 37 minutes ride...
enjoy if you do it
DJi
made 15$an hour first year and 10$ a load the second (pretty much the same for 11000 but a better deal for 3500 and 5000 feet load, cuz the are very short)
same places as Jay-F worked, north of montreal
good hour building, good friends too.. would be much better if there were more turbine doing it.
P.S. anything less than 10$ a load is getting ripped off BIG TIME.. especialy with so much tandem jumps nowadays.. a full load a 206 theres probably 700$ in the plane for a 37 minutes ride...
enjoy if you do it
DJi
Out in the west $1.00/jumper or $5.00/high load seems to be the norm. At the dropzone I worked at a tandem was $220, first jump course was $180 for an IAD jump. What do each of these go for in Quebec. I can't remember the price for PFF, I think there was one person all summer that went this route that got charged the full price.
Jump tickets were....$27 for 9000'? Something around there. It's been too long.
Jump tickets were....$27 for 9000'? Something around there. It's been too long.
JUGGS-A waypoint in Idaho too!
Last year i think it was around 280 or something like that for the weekend and 250 during the week for tandem.
I always tought that 10$ a load was not that much ... i mean on a crazy day youll do maybe 18-20 load max and that makes like 13 hours maybe more...
a tandem dude will do 10 jumps average at 45 a jump... do the math hehe. the girl at the manifest was probably making more than me to.
I always tought that 10$ a load was not that much ... i mean on a crazy day youll do maybe 18-20 load max and that makes like 13 hours maybe more...
a tandem dude will do 10 jumps average at 45 a jump... do the math hehe. the girl at the manifest was probably making more than me to.
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jumperdumper
- Rank 4
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:23 pm
Ian Flanagan is the guy to talk too....i know ground school will be happening soon but don't know if they have everyone they need.
Good luck!
http://www.pacificskydivers.com
Good luck!
http://www.pacificskydivers.com
When your life flashes before your eyes, will it be interesting?
Paradrop is a cool summer job with wonderful bunch of guys & gals.
Ask Jumperdumper, he picked up his wife here eeeheehee...
Me too but she dumped me since!
In my opinion, you are trully ripped of if paid below 15$ an hour for 182/206's as I used to get 20$ for them (up to 25$)
You can also make a "weekly Pay" deal but they will laught at you if you ask something above 400$ and this kind of deal will put you at work even on weather days. Doing all kind of sh!t work beside flying.
Overall, great fun, great job. Just don't be to nasty with your poor engines as they are working hard.
Ask Jumperdumper, he picked up his wife here eeeheehee...
Me too but she dumped me since!
In my opinion, you are trully ripped of if paid below 15$ an hour for 182/206's as I used to get 20$ for them (up to 25$)
You can also make a "weekly Pay" deal but they will laught at you if you ask something above 400$ and this kind of deal will put you at work even on weather days. Doing all kind of sh!t work beside flying.
Overall, great fun, great job. Just don't be to nasty with your poor engines as they are working hard.
With Pac skydivers Ian prefers full time pilots, and generally assigns one pilot to the same plane for the season. As a rough guess he's got the drop zone in Pitt Meadows, a new one in Bieseker (took over from the previous operator) and had a plane +pilot out east last summer. the drop zone n YYJ is finished, and new owner is trying to get up and running. If you are new you'll be in a 182, though he does have a 205, 206 and a couple of king airs... = PIC turbine.. though no IFR.
contracts are generally for six months, and you will be more than just a pilot. Some good hours and fun times none the less.
best of luck
contracts are generally for six months, and you will be more than just a pilot. Some good hours and fun times none the less.
best of luck
