copterman Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Hi guys I have become really hooked on helis I am a skydiver and have a buddy skydiver and he has a heli pilots license, and i plan on taking one. We had this idea to buy a helicopter that can fly to about 15,000 feet and then take it in turns to fly to around 10-15,000 feet and make a skydiving jump. I have seen all over the internet how you can book a place on a heli to make a sky dive. But my buddy and i plan on buying our own heli to make these jumps, obviously not at the same time as one of us needs to maneuver the heli back down to land. Do you guys know any heli we can buy for this? We would like to have a heli that can do more than just take us skydiving. More like a heli that can take us around here and there on short trips within the mile range of the heli. I have read about how if you plan your trip carefully you can make cross country trips and stop off for refuelling. So maybe i will do a bit of that from time to time, that seems fun, but of course all this can come at a cost. It would be nice if you can also tell me some helis that could simply be used for making sky dive jumps and even bunjee jumps? Could you also list some commercial helis and non commercials, as i thought if i was to make jumps i could buy a helicopter kit that you build yourself or buy one complete, obviously these kits cannot be used for a business so i would end up using this for my own use for skydives and maybe bungee jumps with my buddy. But then if i got a comemrcial heli then i could make this into a business and take people on highly reduced ticket priced sky dives, but then i would be paying more money on a commercial heli for this. any thoughts? One thing i would really like to know, when it comes to air physics i am a bit lost. If i was to jump from a helicopter, would the blade suck me up and chop me, or is it because of gravity i would fall at such a rate because of my body weight and the speed of freefall? If you could please answer my question Much appreciated Many many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAGLE1 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 You can jump from any helicopter. If I had the cash it would be an AS350B2 A-Star. Plenty of power, lots of room and a great all round helicopter. They use them for all kinds of stunts on Fear Factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rookie101 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I know a highly experienced skydiver who has jumped out of many A-Stars. Sometimes by himself and sometimes with four guys. He's an interesting charecter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Up Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 What ever you do, stay away from bungie jumping out of one... That would be dumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownie Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I would recommend falling from one instead of jumping from one. "hey, Leroy, watch your head!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLSNightPilot Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I've made many jumps from UH-1s, back when I was young and stupid (oh, wait, that's redundant, isn't it?). The main rotor doesn't suck, it blows, so you don't have to worry about being sucked up into it. You just fall like you would from a fixed-wing. One thing you need to think about is the doors. You need either sliding doors that can be pinned open, or that can be removed entirely. Either way, your airspeed will be limited. Trying to jump from a small helicopter can be tricky, and I wouldn't try it. You need something larger and more stable, and obviously more expensive. If you have a few million lying around, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rookie101 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 What ever you do, stay away from bungie jumping out of one... That would be dumb! Ha, the guy I know who's done a lot of jumps did that very thing with a friend, except in a plane. When his friend jumped out the bunjee broke, hit him in the head and knocked him out. The guy I know was the camera man and got to him and pulled his secondary chutes cored and saved his life. The footage made it to some kind of show like MaxX or RealTV, can't remember which one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copterman Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Hey guys, Thanks for all the great replys I have seen on TV people bungee jumping from helicopters and it seems totally safe, the bungee cords elastic is just the right length so when you fly back up you don't bounce all the way to the end of the lentgh of the total cable, so you won't go flying back up into the copter blades. So it should be fine to do. But anyway, are there any helis that i can get brand new, ready and built, and commercial so i can use it as a business for skydiving and bungee jumping for under $300K? Or you guys know of a plane for under that price for what i want to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pokey Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 MY 1st choice for parachuting would be a CH-47 (boeing 234) never seen one for sale used tho,, new cost?----prolly coupla billion paying jumpers B4 can even think of breaking even,, next choice would be the "puppy-sized" version---the Ch-46,, coupla billion minus a few hundred paying jumpers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADRidge Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 you know, if you took ten minutes to look around the internet (google is a wonderful tool) you'd answer your own questions PDQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossman Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Hi guys I have become really hooked on helis I am a skydiver and have a buddy skydiver and he has a heli pilots license, and i plan on taking one. We had this idea to buy a helicopter that can fly to about 15,000 feet and then take it in turns to fly to around 10-15,000 feet and make a skydiving jump. I have seen all over the internet how you can book a place on a heli to make a sky dive. But my buddy and i plan on buying our own heli to make these jumps, obviously not at the same time as one of us needs to maneuver the heli back down to land. Do you guys know any heli we can buy for this? We would like to have a heli that can do more than just take us skydiving. More like a heli that can take us around here and there on short trips within the mile range of the heli. I have read about how if you plan your trip carefully you can make cross country trips and stop off for refuelling. So maybe i will do a bit of that from time to time, that seems fun, but of course all this can come at a cost. It would be nice if you can also tell me some helis that could simply be used for making sky dive jumps and even bunjee jumps? Could you also list some commercial helis and non commercials, as i thought if i was to make jumps i could buy a helicopter kit that you build yourself or buy one complete, obviously these kits cannot be used for a business so i would end up using this for my own use for skydives and maybe bungee jumps with my buddy. But then if i got a comemrcial heli then i could make this into a business and take people on highly reduced ticket priced sky dives, but then i would be paying more money on a commercial heli for this. any thoughts?One thing i would really like to know, when it comes to air physics i am a bit lost. If i was to jump from a helicopter, would the blade suck me up and chop me, or is it because of gravity i would fall at such a rate because of my body weight and the speed of freefall? If you could please answer my questionMuch appreciatedMany many thanksCopterman,We do skydiving from a Sikorsky S55-BT. We take 10 skydivers to about 11,000 feet. She doesn't want to go much higher. It is a great skydiving platform. We have doors on both sides. The divers like it because they can exit quickly. It can be bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH60Pilot Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I would say either the S-55T, the H-3 (S-61) or an H-60 (S-70). I've done plenty of drops for PJ's from the H-3 and the H-60 with the H-60 working the best (plenty of power). I've done drops with the H-60 from 13,000' in an OGE hover and the PJ's loved it. We did that at Moffett Field and the view of San Francisco bay was amazing (and of course I forgot to bring my camera...duhhhhh). Although, last time I handed a PJ in the back my camera to take some shots of the guys departing the bird, I wound up with photos of PJ's anatomy that I didn't particularly care to see. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattcob Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 i know where you can find two s55t for sale and both are under your price range and both perfectly good ships!!! if interested mail me!! cheers mattcob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propwasher Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Do a web search for Skydive Cross Keys in Jersey east of Philly. John (the owner) flies an Alouette dropping skydivers. That would be a good place to start your research. I've jumped out of Bell 206's (Jet Ranger) which seemed well suited for the task. Very pricey for what you have in mind, and it would be very hard for a low time pilot to find affordable insurance in this ship. And remember - if you jump from a helicopter you can't "push off" or impart lateral motion to the skid as you leave. You have to just fall away gently. Rather different feeling than jumping from a plane - you get the "dropping in an elevator" feeling in your stomach with low or no airspeed.Kevin G.D-12667 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheatbix Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 An AS350 B3 would be nice but that's a little out of you price range. You most likely already know but its an expensive area to enter, so make sure you budget everything out first before you jump in. Like what propwasher said make sure that rather than pushing off the helicopter, you just "drop" out of it...it will make it a hell of a lot easier for the pilot Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostHeliBoy Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 (edited) Heli- Bungee... in Bavaria... http://www.extremedreams.co.uk/bungy/heli/index.htm I worked in Queenstown,New Zealand for awhile and saw the AJ Hackett boys doing the same.. This one too,.,.. http://www.aerial.org/ Seems to be a crazyness thread here.. ...Cheers Edited January 28, 2007 by LostHeliBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james28 Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 if i read correctly you don't have your license yet? might want to work on that and your medical so you can fly this helicopter you're gonna buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking445 Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 I have jumped from an old school Sikorsky. i don't recall which model all i remember is it had a huge nose and the cockpit was waaaay up high. Plus i could see the driveshaft for the tail rotor turning form inside the cabin. lol I'v seen people jump from an A-Star, 412, even an R-44 with the doors off. Love skydiving its a great sport and you meet alot of very smart very cool people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHelicopterPilot Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 A company from Salinas, Ca called Showcopters used an R-44 several years back at the helicopter airshow in San Carlos, Ca. I have pictures of it if anyone is interested. Not sure how high he was, but he jumped out and parachuted with Red, White and Blue smoke and landed on the taxiway next to the crowd. it was interesting. I never new that could be done till I saw it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volition Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 There's was a guy selling Alouette's, I think Marpat Aviation for 140k, which would be a good ship for your needs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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