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>skydiving You misspelled "elevator operator" I used to work at an airport that had a skydive operation, we jokingly called them elevator pilots (because they
by dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>skydiving
You misspelled "elevator operator"
I used to work at an airport that had a skydive operation, we jokingly called them elevator pilots (because they just go up and down all day). They used to only pump a the required amount of fuel to get the aircraft to altitude and idle back because carrying more fuel up and down is a waste of fuel. Occasionally they would run out of fuel and glide in. One time they ran out of fuel really short and landed in the pond.
- danaliv 8y agoI love them. Without exception they are absolutely nuts. :)
- bdamm 8y agoI used to fly out of an airport that had the same frequency as another airport that was a very popular skydiving destination (Lodi, Ca). One of the pilots for that outfit was on frequently; weekday, weekend, it didn't matter. Same radio calls, same slight drawl. Day in, day out. He sounded completely bored out of his mind. Even the announcement that he was dropping meat bombs ... "Skiy-diivers in the skieee over Low-die Airport, 18 thousand feeet.." like he'd said it ten thousand times. And I think he may have!
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoI find that if the airport is quiet you can hear the skydivers screaming, then opening their chutes, then more screaming.
- jschwartzi 8y agoI certainly yelled as loud as I could on the way down.
- nradov 8y agoWere they actually at 18000 feet? I'm not a skydiver myself but I thought they usually jumped from lower to avoid the need for supplemental oxygen.
- bdamm 8y agoI think you're right. 12 or 14,000 feet perhaps.
- jefftk 8y agoThis sounds like excellent practice compared to something where much more of your time is in level flight.