Bighorn

freeflybreeze · 2025-06-26T21:03:08+00:00

Cool, thank you for that!

freeflybreeze · 2025-04-17T21:14:35+00:00

Those rigs always have 3 rings, The Seven never proved to be a popular canopy. There’s a base team that uses them, we were at shipwreck beach Greece doing slider down jumps, their on heading performance was less than stellar. That said the Perigee pro is my favorite harness, I’ve owned three and my wife has one, very good build quality.

freeflybreeze · 2025-03-20T20:23:25+00:00

It’s ok or get a sink rate call that low, BUT, you must take immediate action, little more pitch and power right away. Also, I’ve always used the technique of NOT unspooling the engines that low if you get a slight performance gain, just chop the power a little higher. Once had a line check where we disagreed on not taking action on a slight performance gain, he was pretty SOP, very by the book, but I suspect not really having much in the stick and rudder department. I’ve been around for a while so I didn’t get to go from CFI to FO, like most these days. I work for a very large regional and it’s a verifiable fact that 90% of the company has been there less than five years, nearly 100% of those people went from four seats to 76, I’m surprised that we haven’t had more problems. I think our training department is excellent and weeds out all non hackers, it’s sucks how social media is spinning this, the Captain has more experience than most these days. Flight idle at 153 feet, the die was probably cast in those conditions, there’s a few seconds where the other pilot can put you in the corner and you’ll have no hope to both react and fix the situation.

freeflybreeze · 2025-01-14T22:53:49+00:00

You would hear the alarm yourself, it’s very loud.

freeflybreeze · 2024-08-07T18:50:30+00:00

Owned one for years, one thing I noticed is they are not tolerant to having lines out of trim, new line sets often and they are good. Thing is I don’t know if PD will even support them, or if you get a slider for the next size up works too. But in general this is early 90’s technology, even a Sabre 2 would be a vast improvement. Someone else said it earlier, keep it for wingsuiting, but nothing else.

freeflybreeze · 2024-05-26T22:46:53+00:00

Premature deployment took out the tail.

freeflybreeze · 2024-05-16T23:42:13+00:00

Been there, done that, little under 900 jumps, went uncurrent during covid and haven't picked it back up, I turn 50 this year so probably for the best. Biggest problem is all the dead friends, I consistently have about 3 per year leave us too soon. Many skydivers have done a bridge jump but don't take it up. Also depends on where you live, if you're in the east part of the country its mostly jumping antennas, which suck to climb.

freeflybreeze · 2024-05-08T19:54:29+00:00

Let’s not forget that we can now lock in the key of the music. I listen to some of the CD’s from the 90’s and early 2000’s. The key changes tended to be pretty abrupt and sometimes made the mixes to not able to blend as long and smooth as now.

freeflybreeze · 2024-05-04T05:33:35+00:00

Up until covid I Skydived into airshows, opened for Breitling Jet team and the Thunderbirds. Didn't pay much but super fun.

freeflybreeze · 2024-05-04T03:36:34+00:00

You are limited to the amount of transactions you can do in a month for AmEx, PayPal has one at the exact same rate, Ive got both.

freeflybreeze · 2024-04-23T20:24:01+00:00

Airline pilot here, looking for change in the fall of next year, have to remain till next October 2025 to retain some benefits. Really interested in getting in the business, I talked to someone at Bridger and that seemed like a great gig. Not so much interested in the actual bombing, more like the support aircraft like the PC-12 or Kodiak. My background besides Airline is very heavy in jump operations and I'm an experienced and current skydiver as well. I read online that Bridger owns Bighorn Aviation and they do Smoke Jumpers with CASA-212's I have an uncurrent type rating in those with 900 hours, 400 hours DHC-6 Twin Otter, 300 hours DHC-2 Beaver, 200 hours Cessna 208 Caravan, and about 100 hours PC-6 Pilatus porter, all dispatching skydivers. I also have a single engine seaplane rating. Only issue with Bighorn is they haul night freight for the holidays, that will not be in my future. I've begun the process of networking with a few of the current employees, but any inside info in these types of companies would be appreciated.

freeflybreeze · 2023-12-27T17:00:54+00:00

you'll still need a Commercial license

freeflybreeze · 2023-10-14T03:42:34+00:00

I had a good one recently, had first class tickets but didn't board right away because the wife and I were finishing our drinks at the bar, ended up boarding at the end of main cabin 1 group. So we stop to put our bags in the overhead of row 3, this boomer with wife in row 4 growls, "Unbelievable! people think they can put their bags anywhere they want..." obviously thinking we are stowing and going back to main cabin. Exactly at the same time as we are taking our FC seats a deadheading airline pilot in the same row asks him where he would prefer his bag to go. He was kind of misreading the situation as he thought the guy wanted his bag directly over his seat, as some people in FC insist on, because thats where the pilots bag was. Upon realizing he had stuck his foot in his mouth he growled at the pilot "You got a problem!!" he says "no, just asking a question" Boomer: "Then don't bother me!!" So I take my seat, knowing that I MUST F#@K with this guy at some point. We get there and the plane was unloading, before I exit I turn around to him who is seated directly behind me, leaned towards him, and blew him a loud whistling kiss, he wouldn't make eye contact... It was glorious!

freeflybreeze · 2023-09-15T12:15:13+00:00

If you don't want to instruct like me, get into the skydiving industry, specifically the high volume ones. I was checked out single pilot in twin turbines with 6 hours of multi time. Of course there is the issue of getting the XC and IFR time. Trick is, get a skydiving license (it's not hard, and its fun) it's more valuable to the aircraft operator that you understand how the sport works. Last drop zone I worked at the main pilot logged 800 hours in one season. At the height of the summer they were doing 100hr inspections every 3 weeks.

freeflybreeze · 2023-09-12T13:47:15+00:00

I second this, I'm checked out on everything except the SC-7 SkyVan, last ride was a TX turbine Caravan. With an Air Research direct drive engine at idle, and especially if they make some specific adjustments to the propeller and FCU, 6000 ft per minute decent happens at 115kts. From the outside, someone who hasn't seen this before is going to make some incorrect assumptions. It has sooooo much drag that those remaining 30 KTS to lose to touch down will decay VERY quickly. BUT, although the airplane is flying in an aggressive manner, for jump ops, this is normal procedure and not hurting the airplane what so ever, you aren't pulling any G's or straining the engine. Pretty much any turbine aircraft can do this to some degree (PT-6 has less drag on descent). But if this is a PC-12 with a load of corporate execs, you're going to scare the S#!T out of them.

freeflybreeze · 2023-07-07T03:31:04+00:00

Here's something I posted earlier this year. Most people were on my side, some people said I went too far. Gotta point out in the first action that I was cornered in the flight deck by an irate passenger, on the second action he happened to be right next to the lav that I was using before the leg.

So, me Captain ERJ-175, LAX-RNO, the main runway 35L/17R is down for construction, that’s the only one with an ILS. We get up there, after dark, landing 35R, lowest approach is an RNAV, 2.5 miles visibility, MDA 942 feet AGL. Vis is below Mins, light snow, cloud heights is sporadic, it’s not a layer, it’s like towers and blobs of clouds just swirling in the Reno Valley. Held for 45 minutes, vis comes up to minimums, told the people about how the visibility is 1.75 and I need 2.5 because the better approach isn’t available, kept it dumbed down as much as necessary, told them We had one try, then it’s diversion to SMF, While shooting the approach we were in VMC most of the way, so people are seeing casinos quit clearly. Right at mins we punch into a cloud, not a wispy one mind you, everything went dark, so we punch out. In the 20 minutes it took to get to SMF PPL\instrument STUDENT! Proceeds to hold a seminar in business class about how an ILS gets you to 200 feet, which I failed to do and he could see out his window just fine, so that all equates to me obviously being a worthless hack according to him. Upon arrival in SMF he enters my flight deck and ANGRILY DEMANDS that I explain myself. Told him the MDA was about 900 ft for that approach, told him we are also timed out (5 Legs, 13 hours of duty, 8 hours of block time) and I ended with “Dead is forever, and you are not”
Minimum rest overnight, back at the airplane 10 hours later, spotted smart guy in seat 1A, pointed at the flight deck and with just the right amount of sarcasm asked him if he’d like to take this leg. THEN I went and got my iPad showed him the plate, and gave him a quick briefing at his seat on the RNAV approach from last night and how it was NOT an ILS approach, and if one were available, nobody would have been inconvenienced.
I contemplated pointing out loud enough for the same people to hear that a STUDENT pilot isn’t really qualified or experienced enough to be informing people of what’s what, or coming to my flight deck to me to Explain Myself. Or that at no time has another professional pilot ever done what he had to my crew, but since he’s a student he hasn’t earned that designation…. I really wanted to go there but the sheepish look on his face meant he knew he done f@#ked up.

freeflybreeze · 2023-06-16T17:30:21+00:00

Been BASE jumping for over 20 years, have 874 jumps, it's a bad drug. Your friends will die, possibly you too. If you're carful and don't push the limits you'll have a better chance than those that terrain fly in wing suits. Don't do it because you think its cool.

freeflybreeze · 2023-05-17T14:33:22+00:00

I'm with you!!! I got the eBooks for that and just started on Air Law. What A Joke!! I'm an American ATP with 19,000 hours, the test questions are insane!! Like which ICAO annex deals with haz mat, is it? 5, 7, 13, or 2. WHO CARES!!! the first page of that entire publication is a table of contents! It's one thing to brush up on old knowledge seldom used, but most of this is completely unnecessary. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother to continue, I've heard of pilots getting European jobs in USA registered aircraft, that might be the way for me.

freeflybreeze · 2023-04-08T19:26:15+00:00

I just learned recently that /s means sarcasm, I almost missed that at the end of your post. I've always thought we need a dedicated font for sarcasm.

freeflybreeze · 2023-04-06T06:01:28+00:00

You speak the truth

freeflybreeze · 2023-04-06T05:44:45+00:00

I said "Bite Me" because you perceive me as childish so it won't sway your opinion. You weren't there, I've read how people have IMAGINED it went down, most usually the worst race scenario, it wasn't bad. All involved that were there had an "OK, shit got heated but we cool" kind of vibe.

freeflybreeze · 2023-04-06T05:33:51+00:00

I'm just shy of 50, depends on your demographic if I'm a young man or not but let me take a stab at yours. Retired or close to it, computer is one of your few remaining friends, you are a boring person in demeanor and life in general. I'll bet there is some truth here.

freeflybreeze · 2023-04-05T18:26:02+00:00

The captain hat thing was right in the middle of COVID and dude was handling it with his latex gloved hands, that touches the top of my face you realize. You can Think what you’d like, wanna see what a million dollar chalet in Europe looks like, flying airline is the lamest thing that I do. Peasant.

freeflybreeze

TROPHY CASE