Skydiving Airplanes 101: What You Fly In & Why It Matters
Table of Contents
- What makes skydiving aircraft unique?
- Common skydiving planes
- Why the skydiving airplane you use matters
- How much do skydiving plane pilots make?
- Come ride in our plane
Key Takeaways
Skydiving planes are specially modified aircraft. Commonly-used planes, like the Cessna-182, Caravan, Twin Otter, PAC 750XL and Skyvan, vary in capacity and climb rate. The choice of plane impacts group size, jump altitude, and the overall experience, so picking the right aircraft depends on your personal preferences for speed, height, and group jumps.
Skydiving airplanes come in all shapes and sizes! In fact, skydiving planes are just normal aircraft that have been modified to accommodate people jumping out of them. Skydiving aircraft can be large, small, fast, and slow … you name it! Let’s get into some specifics about what you fly in and why it matters.
What Makes Skydiving Aircraft Unique?
What plane do they use for skydiving? Well, a lot of different airplanes can be outfitted to be parachute planes! Here are some common changes made to airplanes in order to accommodate skydivers:
- Benches (or floors!). Traditional aircraft have seats with seatbelts that go over your lap, like in a school bus. Skydiving airplanes have these seats removed and the plane is either outfitted with benches, or the floor is made comfortable to sit on. Seatbelts are not worn over the lap of the jumper, but rather through the harness of the skydiving rig. Skydivers straddle the benches on the ride up to altitude!
- Hand rails. Skydiving planes have hand rails attached to the inside and/or outside of the door. These are in place to make jumping from a plane a bit easier with something to grab onto.
- Non-slip surfaces. The floors and benches of a jump plane often have grippy tape or some type of non-slip addition to ensure skydivers don’t slip while moving around the plane.
- Reinforced fuselage. A fuselage is like the spine of the airplane – the part where the pilot and jumpers are located. Jump planes have unique (and repeated) stresses from flying at low speeds (for jumpers to exit without an aggressive prop blast), flying with the door open, and jumpers moving around in the aircraft. Reinforcing the fuselage in strategic ways ensures structural integrity for the jump plane.
- Door modifications. Skydiving airplane doors have to allow for controlled exits from the aircraft, without compromising flight stability. Doors are often modified to open differently, accommodate wider openings, and have handles to easily open from inside the plane. Since skydiving aircraft are not pressurized, the doors don’t need high-pressure seals.
Common Skydiving Planes
There are multiple speciality aircraft – such as jets (like at Skydive Perris!) and helicopters – but here are the five most common skydiving airplanes:
Cessna 182 (C-182)
What Cessna is used for skydiving? The C-182 is the workhorse of the skydiving industry! It fits four jumpers plus the pilot. This single-engine, high-wing aircraft is a favorite among jumpers. It’s commonly modified with a door that swings up, allowing jumpers to climb out onto the step and hang on the strut before entering into freefall.
- Average jump altitude: 10,000 feet
- Average time to altitude: 20 minutes
Caravan
Hey, this is what we fly! The Caravan (also a Cessna aircraft) is a step up from the trusty 182, and is a total beast, despite having a single prop. The plane usually holds 10 to 15 jumpers and the door is much larger than that of the 182, allowing multiple people to climb out and hang on the side of the plane at once.
- Average jump altitude: 13,500 feet
- Average time to altitude: 12 minutes
What is the fastest skydiving plane? A Caravan with a snazzy engine – such as a Blackhawk – is one of the fastest of common jump planes!
Twin Otter
The Otter is a legend – it comfortably fits around 20 jumpers and is a twin-engine aircraft, hence the name! These planes climb incredibly fast for their size and often have extra large doors, making them great for larger skydives.
- Average jump altitude: 13,500 feet
- Average time to altitude: 15 minutes
PAC 750XL
The PAC 750XL carries 12 to 17 jumpers and has a low-wing, making it unique to the others we’ve mentioned. The PAC is a speedy aircraft and has great STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capabilities, which make it an ideal choice for slightly rougher grass runways.
- Average jump altitude: 13,000 feet
- Average time to altitude: 8-10 minutes
Skyvan
Have you ever seen people run out the back door of an airplane? This was probably in a Skyvan! These are popular ‘tailgate’ aircraft and are a common vessel for novelty jumps. There is a ramp in the rear of the aircraft that lowers hydraulically and allows jumpers to literally walk off the edge without climbing out, like they do in other jump planes.
- Average jump altitude: 13,000 feet
- Average time to altitude: 15-20 minutes
Why The Skydiving Airplane You Use Matters
What is the best skydiving plane? It just depends on personal preference. The skydiving plane affects the amount of jumpers allowed in the aircraft, the speed to altitude, and how high you jump from.
- Group skydiving. You can’t jump out of the plane with your friends as a tandem skydiver – you have to have your skydiving license to be in close proximity to other flyers. But you can ride up to altitude with your pals, which is half of the excitement! If skydiving with more than one friend is your priority, choose to jump somewhere that has an aircraft larger than a C-182.
- How fast does the plane climb? There are pros and cons to a quicker ride to altitude vs a slower ride up! A longer ride up can be special, giving you time to take in the views and chat with your instructor or friends. If you just want to get the anticipation over with, opt for an airplane that gets you up to exit altitude STAT.
- How high does the plane go? We think that a 13,500 foot skydive is the sweet spot, but anything 10,000 feet or above is pretty solid! Many larger aircraft (such as Caravans) can support HALO skydives, which take place above 15,000 feet.
How Much Do Skydiving Plane Pilots Make?
Skydiving pilots have different qualifications than regular or commercial pilots. Like skydiving instructors, their income is variable and based on many factors – such as their experience level, how often they are flying (pilots are often paid per load they fly), and where they’re located geographically.
Come Ride In Our Plane!
Is riding in a skydiving airplane (and jumping out!) in your future? We can’t wait to make your dreams come true – book your jump today!