Skydiving Accidents at Lodi, California

Tantalum said:
That's a bummer, must be "relatively" recent as it was still there when I last had lunch at CMA.. too bad.
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CAF has two Web pages that say it's not in Camarillo anymore, and one that says it is, so :dunno:.
 
Tantalum said:
Perhaps it's time for a visit!
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I found this in Wikipedia. Not sure whether the info is up-to-date:

China Doll (N53594) was airworthy and flown by the Commemorative Air Force Museum, however it is currently grounded due to Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding propeller time as well as having corrosion issues. She was originally scheduled to be restored back to airworthy status by 2019,[5][6] however the severity of the corrosion was more extensive than first thought and the funds to bring her back to serviceable condition are not currently available.​
 
Tantalum said:
My girlfriend got me a gift certificate to Sky Dive San Diego.. I haven't used it yet but it's on the agenda for this year..
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Enjoy your jump. (You probably don't have a choice!) Skydive Dan Diego is great. When I finished college in the 1990s, I gifted myself one jump at Perris. I had made two more by the time the weekend was over, and nearly 3,000 jumps by the time I decided spend more time in airplanes than out. When I fly in to L65, I smell the smells and feel the breezes. I immediately want to be in freefall again... I still have an old T-Shirt that says "If you want to fly, you have to get out of the airplane!" It tends to irritate pilots, but there's a lot of truth do it. (You're not swimming when you're steering a boat, are you?)

Anyway... Enjoy the endeavor. If you do more than one, you'll start to see that skydiving is quite technical, and there are many disciplines. Lots to learn!
 
Palmpilot said:
I found this in Wikipedia. Not sure whether the info is up-to-date:

China Doll (N53594) was airworthy and flown by the Commemorative Air Force Museum, however it is currently grounded due to Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding propeller time as well as having corrosion issues. She was originally scheduled to be restored back to airworthy status by 2019,[5][6] however the severity of the corrosion was more extensive than first thought and the funds to bring her back to serviceable condition are not currently available.​
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I find myself at CMA often. Last time I did the CAF walk around, I was told that China Doll wasn't going to fly again. If it's no longer on the ramp at CMA, it likely left on a truck.
 
GimpyPilot said:
I find myself at CMA often. Last time I did the CAF walk around, I was told that China Doll wasn't going to fly again. If it's no longer on the ramp at CMA, it likely left on a truck.
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Thanks for the update.
 
GimpyPilot said:
I was told that China Doll wasn't going to fly again. If it's no longer on the ramp at CMA, it likely left on a truck
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That's sad.. I'll have to make a stop up there this month and take a look myself
 
jbDC9 said:
Honestly, learn to read and comprehend. He clearly stated "with my CFI as a student pilot..."
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I asked by CFI for more simulated x-country flying. I appreciated the more flights beyond the minimum requirement really built knowledge. The more unknown places to me, the more situations were encountered and produced many additional good learning opportunities. It cost me extra, but encountering the jerk running the jump Biz with multiple planes in vicinity was fertile ground for a student together with the experienced hand.

A lot was learned in that flight:
  • Jump operations don’t always reliability report and are sometimes a little stretchy
  • Communicate & negotiate with other pilots in potentially hazardous situation
  • Communicating with ATC w/flight following about unreported jump activity
  • When we left the area CFI threw a scenario at me; primary airport is unable, divert to nearest without tangling with the Lodi airport area.
Later after getting my PPL, I was grateful for this additional simulated x-country and a couple of others we did to other diverse areas. Being in a position to afford the extra lesson time in the air was a plus and beneficial later when safely exercising my PPL.
 
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My mother in law lives in Lodi, so I've flown into there once or twice to pick her up to take her on a flight. The airport runway is pretty rough, and the communication in the air is pretty bad. One time, I stated I was going to do a standard tear drop entry, and got told off and told to avoid overflight. Not so bad that I wouldn't go back, but if you're flying around that airport, definitely keep your head about you and watch for NORDO traffic.

I've heard some folks say it's one of those privately owned airports that is "public use" in name, but in reality they'd prefer if you treated it like a private airport and mostly stayed away. I dunno about that myself, but I could see it being the case.
 
joycem137 said:
My mother in law lives in Lodi, so I've flown into there once or twice to pick her up to take her on a flight. The airport runway is pretty rough, and the communication in the air is pretty bad. One time, I stated I was going to do a standard tear drop entry, and got told off and told to avoid overflight. Not so bad that I wouldn't go back, but if you're flying around that airport, definitely keep your head about you and watch for NORDO traffic.

I've heard some folks say it's one of those privately owned airports that is "public use" in name, but in reality they'd prefer if you treated it like a private airport and mostly stayed away. I dunno about that myself, but I could see it being the case.
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I've heard similar rumors.
 
joycem137 said:
One time, I stated I was going to do a standard tear drop entry, and got told off and told to avoid overflight.
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Standard ops for airports with co-located LZs. Overflights/Teardrops can be very dangerous if dropzones and landing zones are proximate to runways. Keep in mind that skydivers don't have things like thrust available to make sure they're going to get a spot landing. One bad spot out of the airplane, errant wind, or loss of awareness for any number of reasons, and they may end up somewhere you don't expect them to be, with few options.

joycem137 said:
I've heard some folks say it's one of those privately owned airports that is "public use" in name, but in reality they'd prefer if you treated it like a private airport and mostly stayed away. I dunno about that myself, but I could see it being the case.
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This is generally true.
 
SkyDie Lodi....

Downwind for 26, making the calls as I should, I see the twotter taxi out onto 30 and take off right into me. We were sub 500’ apart laterally when he passed under me. I think the fact that I said, “Departing twin. I am directly in front of you on downwind” as he was climbing out and his subsequent leveling off were directly correlated.

Mediocre cafe with a similar attitude to the jump ops, horrible runway with a few jumps on the last half.... no thank you.

Despite the fact that my office is four exits down from 1O3, I find Kingdon O20 a much friendlier, accommodating airport.

Dawes is a class A Ahole


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Palmpilot said:
I found this in Wikipedia. Not sure whether the info is up-to-date:

China Doll (N53594) was airworthy and flown by the Commemorative Air Force Museum, however it is currently grounded due to Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding propeller time as well as having corrosion issues. She was originally scheduled to be restored back to airworthy status by 2019,[5][6] however the severity of the corrosion was more extensive than first thought and the funds to bring her back to serviceable condition are not currently available.​
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GimpyPilot said:
I find myself at CMA often. Last time I did the CAF walk around, I was told that China Doll wasn't going to fly again. If it's no longer on the ramp at CMA, it likely left on a truck.
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Just landed here and there *is* a C46 here

PXL_20210515_201750401.jpg
 
When I was jumping in the mid-90s, the odds of death were around 1 in 70,000 jumps.

AADs were purely optional, and I’d say equipage was about 50/50.
 
dans2992 said:
When I was jumping in the mid-90s, the odds of death were around 1 in 70,000 jumps.

AADs were purely optional, and I’d say equipage was about 50/50.
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I started in '97 and I think USPA were calling it about one in 100,000 at the time. There are good years and bad of course, and lots of theories about AADs and safety. There are definitely some envelopes in the sport where AADs are not a great idea. (ie: Head Down/Freefly, for example.) ...and there are different kinds of AADs. I haven't follwed the sport in a couple of years, but it used to be that the Cypres AADs were the ones to have, but they are expensive, and some people have different risk/reward quotients. I certainly never jumped without one.
 
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Skydive-Lodi-Parachute-Center-arrest-lawsuits-16271366.php

A former instructor at the notorious Lodi skydiving center linked to at least 22 deaths since 1981 was arrested Tuesday in connection to serious allegations about his qualifications.

Robert Pooley, 46, allegedly continued to work at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center despite having his rating as a "tandem examiner" suspended by the U.S. Parachute Association in 2015. This means Pooley should no longer have been able to give skydiving lessons, but prosecutors claim he didn't stop, going so far as to allegedly use the "digital image of the signature" of another certified colleague to sign off on his training sessions. Prosecutors say Pooley hid his suspension from co-workers and clients.

Pooley has been charged with four counts of wire fraud for charging for lessons he was not certified to give and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted....​
 
Palmpilot said:
Robert Pooley, 46, allegedly continued to work at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center despite having his rating as a "tandem examiner" suspended by the U.S. Parachute Association in 2015.
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I didn't think any of the parachute ratings were based on the FARs, since they aren't airplanes.
 
steingar said:
I didn't think any of the parachute ratings were based on the FARs, since they aren't airplanes.
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That's probably why they're charging him with fraud and not violations of the FARs.
 
I was trained by Perry Stevens himself at the now long gone Antioch airport. We were told to avoid Lodi for future jumps.

There was no Byron airport then that I know of, so it's good there is a place to skydive in the area.
 
steingar said:
Sounds like a bit of stretch, since the "fraud" involves unofficial documents.
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Well, fraud generally means that you did not get what you paid for. In this case, clients paid for services from a certified instructor so it may be enough of a bargaining chip for a stiffer settlement even if there isn't a conviction.
 
Palmpilot said:
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Skydive-Lodi-Parachute-Center-arrest-lawsuits-16271366.php

A former instructor at the notorious Lodi skydiving center linked to at least 22 deaths since 1981 was arrested Tuesday in connection to serious allegations about his qualifications.

Robert Pooley, 46, allegedly continued to work at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center despite having his rating as a "tandem examiner" suspended by the U.S. Parachute Association in 2015. This means Pooley should no longer have been able to give skydiving lessons, but prosecutors claim he didn't stop, going so far as to allegedly use the "digital image of the signature" of another certified colleague to sign off on his training sessions. Prosecutors say Pooley hid his suspension from co-workers and clients.

Pooley has been charged with four counts of wire fraud for charging for lessons he was not certified to give and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted....​
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Hanging’s to good for this guy. Chair, injection and firing squad to. Death by streamer is the only appropriate sentence.:D
 
Keep in mind that "Tandem Examiner" is the guy certifying new "Tandem instructors" as in training the guys taking tandems for their jump.
 
pmanton said:
I'm in my 80's now. Hung around Elsinore when the lake was empty. Wish I was young again.View attachment 97650
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That picture is just glorious! Thanks for sharing. Might be best skydive pic in a long while.

paul-jump-jpg.97650
 
steingar said:
I didn't think any of the parachute ratings were based on the FARs, since they aren't airplanes.
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FAR part 105 controls skydiving.

But doesn't address ratings. Those are issued by USPA.

Tandem manufacturers also have a rating scheme which is a requirement per part 105.
 
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