PA31 Jump planes
 

Hey guys and girls, Does anyone know of any drop zones around that use PA31's?
Cheers
Jenko

There was one in WA but is now a wreck in a paddock south of Perth. The only other one I knew of regularly operating as a jump ship was somewhere around FNQ.

Was one operating out of Tully.

Don't know if that is still the case.

Dr :8

There is a PA31 meat bomber in Redcliffe :)

There is a pa31 meat bomber in Cairns.

Skydive The Beach in Wollongong will soon be adding a Cessna Caravan to their fleet and I suspect the PA31 will become "surplus to requirements".

The redcliffe one had its gear collapse not long ago so im not sure what the go is there. Have also heard it is a POS from previous pilots.

Also don't know what happened to the one in the gong cause they have a caravan now. NMV.

Is the PA31 wreck in WA VH-ADI?

Yes I believe it is. Such a waste...:(

Tiger.

WOW, when did this happen? used to see him all the time at YRED while flying from RAC! (Been in europe for the last 3 months)

Its on all 3 legs now, but somehow I do not think its flying anytime soon, the blade tips are pointing at the windshield:eek: and that can't be good!

So I reckon there is someone pondering whether its worth the cost of 2 x complete rebuilds etc......or maybe the insurance company has wiped them:ooh:. Its hard to guess when you are not involved, but its been sitting there for quite a few months now and that is a bit odd. But maybe not, insurers are strange creatures!

J

Pauls Parachuting (owned by GAM) operate 2 PA31's. One in Cairns, the other in Tully.

Thanks for the info guys. I've got heaps of jump flying experience and a PA31 endo so though I might try and combine the two. Thanks for the help

Paul's Parachuting
 

Both grounded by CASA last I heard - but by now may have been combined into 1 serviceable machine. When will someone twig that this type of operation should not be classed 'private' as it is purely and soley about making money?

UTR

UTR,
Many have been pushing the PVT vs COMMERCIAL ops for a long time but CASA seem determined to allow the status quo to remain. The APF would also fight vigorously any move to have their sport (incl acft ops) regulated by CASA.
From my experience, a lot of DZs could do with a bit more oversight from the regulator in how they operate their aircraft.

Didnt it run out of juice?

now now O & O, You can't go around saying such things. :} Despite the fact that the operator had quite a track record for such occurrences :E

Refueller in Learmonth was once surprised when asked to fill said aircraft and found that he pumped in total useable fuel bar a couple of litres.:ugh:

Islander Jock

You can say that again, some of them give aviation a bad image:ugh:

There is a Chieftain doing the meat runs in Redcliffe for a while. One of the guys that used to fly the Navajo was observed on many occassions to take off without fuel checks or runups, dead cold engines.......with 8/9 on board. Umm

But if you're doing many loads per day, theres no reason to do fuel checks and runups before EVERY flight. Just do them when required...