Page 13 - Volume 15 Number 9

And unlike corporate flying, skydiving flights are not taken one or two a day. In 2020, only operating 32 days due to COVID and weather, Skydive KC flew 463 King Air loads. Each load averaged 12.8 jumpers and coupled with the drop zones’ other aircraft, took nearly 7,000 people (some more than once) on an unforgettable adventure.
As evidenced by Skydive KC’s years of flying King Airs, it is economically viable to operate a twin turboprop in support of skydiving. On a good day with full loads, operating a King Air is more than twice as economically beneficial compared to a Cessna 182.
For Skydive KC, jumping typically begins in April of each year and ends in late October. The down months are when most heavy maintenance is completed. Preventative maintenance and other needed tasks are a year-round affair, and mostly completed by Hall. He has had his A&P license since 2003 and estimates that the aircraft is on jacks every two or three weeks being inspected.
For larger tasks, such as hot section inspections and avionics upgrades, a trusted few have worked on the aircraft in the past decade. Among these companies are Higdon Aviation (Griffin, Georgia), Precision Avionics (Griffin, Georgia) and Clemens Aviation (Benton, Kansas), all of whom Hall gives positive reviews.
SEPTEMBER 2021
“As evidenced by Skydive KC’s years of flying King Airs, it is economically viable to operate a twin turboprop in support of skydiving.”
Flying a different mission profile than most King Airs, there are some maintenance differences between this aircraft and its more “straight and level” counterparts. Among these are the aircraft going through three to four pairs of tires a season, and heavy gear use, seeing 20 cycles (five hours) added during a good day of jumping.
And while many skydiving aircraft are not aesthetically pleasing or “updated,” this 44-year-old bird is up to 21st century standards. As Hall notes, he is “only the current caretaker of the aircraft; ensuring it’s well taken care of until it’s time to go to a new owner.” The aircraft previously had a basic King Air instrument panel and Garmin 500 PFD (TAS/WAAS), prior to the ADS-B mandate, that has since been updated with a new center stack, brand new Garmin GTN750XI and Garmin 345/355 dual ADS receivers, all installed by Precision Avionics in 2020.
Operationally, the aircraft is loaded with the left side engine idle and feathered, with the right still turning (commonly referred to as a “hot load”). The aircraft is normally shut down fully after four loads, or around one hour of flight time. From ground to jump altitude, it takes an average of eight to nine minutes.
As the King Air nears 14,000 feet MSL, Hall, who hand flies the airplane roughly 98% of the time, reduces power back to around 1,900 RPM. He will typically reduce the right engine to around 700 pounds of torque and the left to around 450, so that prop blast is reduced for jumpers exiting. Throughout the climb, he is monitoring CTAF and speaking with Kansas City Center, which is interested in knowing once jumpers are underway. As he gets closer to leveling out, the jumpers will open the retractable door when the light is red. Soon thereafter, the green light will turn on signaling jumpers they are free to proceed.
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 11