Read on to learn about the crown jewel of our fleet, including her history and journey back to the skies, what it’s like to skydive from a jet plane, and how YOU can have a piece of the action. It is the closest you can come to skydiving out of a 747!

How It All Started 

First, a little back story on our magnificent DC-9.

Just 10 of these aircraft were built for Scandinavian Airlines for use at airports at high elevations with short runways. These “Series 21” models entered service in 1969 but, due to their highly specialized design, were discontinued for lack of additional orders. The Douglas Aircraft Company went on to focus on other variants of the DC-9 family that had broader market demand, leaving most of these perfect-for-Perris aircraft to aviation history.

In the case of our DC-9-21, it was destined to a scrapheap in Victorville, California after facing an expensive engine repair – a fate DZOs Ben and Diane Conatser couldn’t bear to accept. With the Perris Valley Airport located at an elevation of 1,420 feet and featuring a 5,100-foot runway, the aircraft had the potential to offer a novel experience of absolutely epic proportions.

Bennie purchased it in 2003, bought QEC engines, brought it to Perris, and began to work with the Douglas Aircraft Company and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prepare it for skydiving operations.

Unprecedented Modifications

To ready our DC-9 for human flight, Bennie implemented several modifications, including:

• Removal of Ventral Stair Steps
  The aircraft’s rear ventral airstair, originally designed for passenger boarding and deplaning, was removed to create a clear and unobstructed exit path for skydivers.

• Structural & Safety Enhancements
  The fuselage was reinforced around the exit area to withstand multiple jumpers exiting in quick succession. Additionally, safety features such as handrails and non-slip surfaces were installed near the exit to assist jumpers during egress.

Once modified, all that was left was FAA approval. As luck would have it, there was an FAA inspector in Windover, Illinois who had experience with flying a commercial jet with the rear staircase open! Approval in hand, we proudly flew jumpers at the 2006 World Freefall Convention in Rantoul, Illinois. 

And the rest, as they say, is history. 

The Specs

For those who can’t get enough of our jumping jet plane, check out these facts and stats about our Douglas Commercial Subvariant Series 21:

• Tail number N127NK (“November Kilo”)
  
• Birthday was April 15, 1969
  
• Holds up to 80 skydivers; maximum take-off weight of 100,000 lbs
  
• Shorter fuselage; larger, improved wings than earlier versions of the DC-9 body

• JT8D Pratt & Whitney improved engines

• Latest, heaviest landing gear produced by Douglas for the DC-9
  
• Similar plane to the one hijacker D.B. Cooper infamously jumped from with today’s equivalent of $1,500,000 in ransom money, never to be seen again!

Labor of Love

Owning a skydiving jet isn’t all fun and games. Despite the hefty investment required to save our DC-9 from the scrap yard and equip it for greatness, she’s had her ups and downs. After helping to deliver supplies and evacuate victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (while we were hosting the 2005 Nationals!), N127NK was put in storage, not to reemerge until 2024.

In the intervening years, the best-of-the-best airplane mechanics – including Bennie, his son Patrick, grandson Ryan, and the Skydive Perris maintenance crew – worked tirelessly to get our jet back in the air. This effort cannot be quantified as it involves hundreds of maintenance hours and a significant financial investment. 

What’s more, the parts needed for our specialty aircraft are nearly impossible to find in the US because of her age and country of origin. So, between the new engines, a radio, escape slides, tires, and the ADSB (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) technology mandated by the FAA, let’s just say that we operate our beloved jet more for love than money! 

But we think it’s worth it, and here’s why …

Jumping a Jet

Skydiving from a DC-9 Jet is unlike any experience on the planet! Everything from the ride up and the exit to the freefall is different from your typical skydive. In truth, our amazing pilots and happy-go-lucky skydivers have a mutual admiration society!  

First of all, sitting in an airplane with 79 other skydivers is incredible! All of that anticipation and excited energy swirling around the cabin before the door even opens sets the stage for the jump of a lifetime. Imagine being in a room with 80 people … now fly that room into the sky and start a skydiving party! 

From there, things only get better. The rear door of the jet opens and it’s all systems go! Whether you want to pretend you’re on a secret mission, pulling a heist like D.B. Cooper, or are just jonesing for a whole new perspective of our sport, this door is nothing short of a dream come true!

Even the transition into freefall is unlike any other skydive you can make. The extreme speed of the DC-9 means that you DECELERATE to terminal velocity! 

Jet-Setting Events

If you’re a member of our DZ family, you know full well that Skydive Perris knows how to throw a party. What planes do we use for skydiving? All of them! And now that our game-changing DC-9 is a permanent fixture, our events are the talk of the town. (Humble brag: by town, we actually mean globe.) 

We are proud to have recently hosted some phenomenal female skydivers from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s – giants in the sport, all three – who did tandems from the jet on the same pass: Kim Emmons Knor, Donna Wardean Dann, and Nancy Gruttman Tyler. In fact, International Skydiving Hall of Fame inductee, Kim Knor, is currently on a quest to make tandems all over the country as she strives for her 1,000th jump and her Gold Wings distinction! 

And that’s what having a skydiving jet will bring you: camaraderie, community, and heaping helpings of adrenaline and excitement. Every ounce of love we put into the DC-9 is our way ofpkeeping a legacy alive. 

So, if you’ve ever wondered if you can skydive from a jet plane, the answer is YES! And you don’t have to be a licensed skydiver to do it – you can join us for a Jet Tandem!! Our upcoming Holiday Boogie is a perfect opportunity to hitch a ride to altitude in the DC-9, and then we’ll start our cycle of jet-worthy boogies again in 2025. Blue skies, jet setters!

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I want to start by saying: DO NOT RUSH! DO NOT skip gear checks! BE SAFE!

However, please don’t make the plane wait for you. Even sitting idle, the planes incur significant costs in fuel, maintenance, personnel, and lost productivity. While there are unavoidable delays and situations, this article will address the avoidable ones.

First, let’s touch on the cost. We buy fuel in large quantities, and even when idling, a turbine engine burns a remarkable amount of fuel. Time on the engines is time on the engines, whether they’re flying or on the ground. Engine overhauls, inspections, life-limited parts, and general wear and tear all contribute to the cost.

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that most people won’t see. We are constantly planning the next few loads to avoid holding at altitude, which burns even more fuel and increases maintenance. Additionally, avoiding delays allows us to fit in another load at the end of the day. If we spend an extra two minutes per load with avoidable delays, we lose at least one to two loads by the end of a good weekend day.

Skydive Perris is a resort, and we all love the amenities we have, but that also means there are notable hourly costs for just existing. We have many people working extra time on the clock, waiting for you.

The most important part of any dropzone is the pilot (yes, I’m a pilot, so … duh), and keeping the pilot happy is crucial. You can keep your pilot happy by buying them a drink at the end of the day and by avoiding these things while we are in the loading area waiting to load:

• Getting your last dirt dive in.
• Asking Danifest what plane you’re on.
• Grabbing water.
• Chatting about how awesome the jump will be.
• Figuring out the exit order last minute.
• Going back to get your GoPro 360 to get the same “sick” video you got on your other three jumps today.
• Forgetting your chest strap.
• Getting on the wrong plane.

I joke, but I’ve seen all these things happen while I’ve been turning props waiting. Sometimes, more than one at the same time! We are here for you and want you to have a good, safe time. Part of that is keeping the costs from going crazy, and you can help because it all adds up!

Thanks for listening!

Boyd Willat

Skydive Perris Chief Pilot

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Skydive Perris takes pride in many things: providing our customers with unbeatable service and the experience of a lifetime, unrivaled facilities that create an atmosphere more on par with a skydiving resort than a dropzone, and last, but certainly not least, our incredible skydiving airplane fleet.

If you’re new to skydiving, you may not realize that your ride to altitude is more than just a means of transport. It is a defining portion of your skydiving experience. The skydiving airplane you ride in really sets the stage for the rest of your experience.

In the land of major motion pictures, most everyone can appreciate a good behind the scenes look. With a skydiving airplane collection like ours, we are happy to oblige. In our industry, not all planes are created equal. Here’s a behind the scenes look at the skydiving airplanes used right here at Skydive Perris.

Skyvan

Skyvans are a favorite skydiving plane for skydivers of all levels—hands (or rather tailgates) down. This tailgate aircraft (where the door opens down from the back of the plane like a tailgate on a truck) is the ultimate party plane. With room for 22 passengers, the Skyvan is perfect for getting a really dynamic start to your skydive. Want to feel like a movie star? How about taking a literal running leap from an aircraft? Or maybe go charging out down the tailgate linked arm in arm with your friends? What about grabbing a couple of buddies and chucking a large inflatable raft out of the back? The options for cool exits are nearly endless with a skydiving airplane like the Skyvan.

Want to know something else? There are only roughly 40 Skyvans in existence, and you can find five of them right here at Skydive Perris!

Twin Otter

Though the allure of the Skyvan is strong, it isn’t the speediest of skydiving airplanes. If you’re looking to maximize the number of jumps you can make in a day, your best bet is to hitch a ride with the next skydiving plane on our list: the Twin Otter. The Twin Otter has quite a bit going for it: a large door for comfortably launching complicated exits, a speedy ride to altitude, and a roomy interior. At Skydive Perris, we currently have 3 Twin Otters. Two of these skydiving airplanes are quite unique. You see, they’ve been painted to look like sharks!

If you want an epic skydiving airplane pic, Super Blue and Shark Air (pictured above) are happy to oblige.

Douglas DC9

As far as skydiving airplanes go, the Douglas DC9-21 is what dreams are made of. The Douglas DC9-21 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jetliner. If it doesn’t immediately strike you just how incredible that is, allow us to share that it is also ultra-rare. You won’t find another Douglas DC9-21 outfitted for jumpers anywhere else in the world. Yes, you read that right: our Douglas DC9 is the only privately owned commercial transport category Twin Jet skydiving aircraft in the entire world. The hype for this skydiving plane is well earned. The Douglas DC9 can comfortably seat 80 passengers and get them to a jump altitude of 13500AGL in a jaw-dropping four minutes. When time is money, the DC-9 just can’t be beaten!

As you can see, at Skydive Perris, we’ve got the skydiving airplanes covered. All we’re missing is you. So whaddya say? We’d love to introduce you personally to each of the incredible skydiving planes in our fleet!

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Recently on Facebook we posed a question: 10 Planes that ARE or HAVE BEEN in the Skydive Perris fleet. Which ONE is a lie? Can you guess which one it is?

1) Twin Beech
2) Twin Otter
3) Merlin
4) Cessna 180
5) Hot Air Balloon
6) DC9
7) Skyvan
8) DC3
9) Porter
10) MU2

This was partly a trick question because one suggestions listed isn’t a plane and some planes weren’t used for skydiving, although at one time, made up part of the fleet.

SO – the correct answer is: HOT AIR BALLOON!

Get to know the unique history of Skydive Perris HERE!

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What’s the coolest plane to skydive from? The Shark Air Super Otter at Perris, of course!

We have lots of planes, but our shark airplanes are skydiver favorites for lots of reasons–not just because of their dashing good looks, either. Here’s the story of our two gorgeous tiburones: Shark Air and Super Blue.

Our original Shark Air–N125SA–isn’t a California baby. This beautiful beast was purchased from a fella named Jim Perry up in Washington State. Jim’s company, called Shark Air Aviation, made sure that all onlookers could immediately tell where those planes originated: the nose of every one of them was painted with shark teeth and stripes down the sides. That Shark Air was the perfect choice for us, as Jim had already converted it into a skydiving jumpship a couple years prior to the purchase. In fact, it was already flying jumpers around the country, and its toothy grin already graced loads of gorgeous skydiving videos.

Shark Air made the move to Perris back in 1990. When it arrived at Perris, we immediately put it to work flying jumpers, full-time, and the skydiving community fell head-over-heels for its quick ride to altitude, comfortable interior and rakish grin.

By the mid-1990’s, Shark Air’s tireless service was starting to show, and it needed a new paint job. With the expert help of Reggie Eastaugh–a local skydiver, and very talented artist–we developed a fresh shark design and gave the airplane its signature look. Over the passing years, we’ve invested heavily into our beloved Shark Air, completing oodles of upgrades, including side seating and the larger engines that make it a “Super Otter.”  

In 1994 the need for an additional airplane arose. After a careful search, we found N708PV in Hawaii. Despite its island home, N708PV wasn’t a shark plane yet. Instead, it was being used as an inter-island airline service by Aloha Airlines and wasn’t yet configured for skydiving. We knew it was going to take some work to bring N708PV to Perris, but we knew it’d be worth it. In order to become a skydiving jumpship, N708PV had to go into surgery. We built a jump door and configured the interior of the airplane with side seating for skydiving. Finally, it was almost ready–but not quite. She needed to be painted. We knew exactly what look we were going for, because N708PV was destined to become Shark Air’s sibling.

We wanted to make sure that, in adding the additional plane, we didn’t confuse the jumpers by presenting them with two gray sharks. To differentiate the shark planes, we gave the new N708PV a blue body with its shiny new teeth. We dubbed it “Super Blue.” Shark Air and Super Blue have been some of the world’s most beloved skydiving planes ever since, and are widely hailed as a couple of the coolest planes to jump from. We’re so proud of our sharks.

Guess what? Our shark planes aren’t the only aircraft going on at Skydive Perris. We’re currently operating three Twin Otters and four Skyvans (with two more in the works). We’re currently renovating a gorgeous DC9–and we have our beautiful, very lovingly updated DC3, which the dropzone’s original owners purchased back in 1978.

So: if you like to jump out of cool aircraft, don’t stop at our shark planes! Skydive Perris has a groaning smorgasbord of jumpships for your skydiving pleasure, and we just keep getting more. Come and snag a seat!

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A Brief History fo the SkyVan

In 2016, we had a special visitor at Perris: the original designer of The Short SC-7 Skyvan. Nicknamed the “Flying Shoebox” for its idiosyncratically rectangular airframe, this 22-seat, twin-turboprop aircraft was manufactured by Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Skyvan is seldom publicly seen, but we love them at Perris– we own five of the ~40 skyvans still in existence!

The first flight of the Skyvan–“Skyvan 1”–took place on the 17th of January, 1963. The pilots and crew instantly began referring to it as “the shed,” but the airplane’s boxiness was a good thing: compared to other aircraft of a similar size, the Skyvan has an enormous rear door, which makes loading and unloading freight (and, well, skydivers) a heck of a lot easier. In fact, the plane’s distinctly rectangular shape mimics that of a railroad boxcar, making its destiny as a freight hauler apparent upon the first glance.

The Skyvan story starts in the late 1950’s. In 1958, the Shorts brothers were approached by another aviation outfit–F.G. Miles Ltd.–which was strategizing the production of an airplane design based on the H.D.M.106 Caravan. The idea was to retain the Caravan’s freight capacity while introducing a high-aspect-ratio wing (much like the similarly boxy Hurel-Dubois HD.31). After taking a hard look at the data Miles presented them, the Shorts brothers chucked the Caravan idea entirely and went all-in on their own ideas. They cooked up a unique, original design–a utility aircraft, built entirely out of metal–and they called it the Short SC-7 Skyvan.

By 1960, they were ready to rivet. They built the first Skyvan out at Belfast’s Sydenham Airport. By 1963, it was flying. Before production ended in 1986, just over 150 of them flew off the assembly line, meeting a variety of interesting destinies in the process.

The noble (if portly) Skyvans served a number of purposes in both military and civilian aviation.  

Guyana and Oman have both used the Skyvan for military purposes, as has Argentina. In fact, two of them were used by the Argentine Naval Prefecture during the Falklands War in 1982. Both, unfortunately, died on the ground. One aircraft fell to naval gunfire as it sat on the Stanley racecourse, waiting for it to be put into service; the other actually saw some action at Pebble Island, but it ended up getting stuck in the soft ground and was therefore easy prey for the British assault that came after it.

Luckily, not all Skyvans have suffered inglorious fates.

You’ll see them occasionally at air shows; they’re pressed into service to carry out aerial geological surveys; they end up flying air-to-air photography missions. Our favorite place to see the Skyvan, of course, is in the skydiving context. There, it truly is a van of the sky: a high-capacity aircraft that’s comfortable to sit in on the ride to altitude and loads of fun to run out the back. It’s one of our favorite ways to get up into the wild blue yonder–and we always wave back at it when we huck a gainer from the rear exit! 

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A plane is a plane is a plane, right?

If you’re a first-time tandem skydiver, you probably haven’t given much thought to the vehicle that carries you to your jump altitude. You’ll probably “meet” it just at the moment you’re geared up and heading nervously to its waiting steps.

We’re here to tell you that it’s a good thing to think about what kind of skydiving plane you’re going to be in, as it has a direct relationship to the general awesomeness of your jump. Here’s what every tandem skydiver should know about skydiving aircraft, in a nutshell, to be armed for good smart shopping.

The Good Old Cessna 182

The Cessna 182 has been the workhorse of the skydiving community since the early days of the sport of skydiving–and, incredibly, plenty of those first planes are still in the air! The 182 has been in production since Elvis Presley released his first hit (1956, if you’re curious).

This jump plane can carry a pilot, four jumpers and climbs to 10,000 feet, and putters along with the reliable O-470 engine. It doesn’t go very high, and it doesn’t go very fast. Usually, it takes about half an hour for a 182 to make its way to exit altitude–and the four-person seating situation on the floor in there is, um, cozy. Exit looks like a two-human version of a dog scruffling its posterior along a carpet, at the end of which the tandem pair kinda rolls out the door. It’s undignified, but it’s still fun.*

The raging popularity of Cessna aircraft remains unsurprising. The aircraft are relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain, compared to their bigger cousins, so the dropzone’s profit margins are better. That works well for the beloved mom-and-pop operations that form the backbone of America’s skydiving landscape, but the plane situation changes significantly when you get to a bigger dropzone (like ours).

SC-7 Skyvan Skydiving Aircraft

Ah, the mighty Skyvan.

The Skyvan has earned plenty of affectionate nicknames since its introduction to dropzone life: “the shed,” “the schoolbus” and “the beast” among them. This boxy brute was built rugged, meant to haul bulky loads out of short, unimproved airstrips deep in the bush–and now, it often hauls bulky loads of 22 skydivers plus a pilot up to 18,000’ (usually 12,500’) into the air. The Skyvan is significantly bigger than the 182–18’7” long, 6’6” high and 6’6” wide. Our favorite feature, however, is the exit door: a rear exit cargo door that cranks open so you can leap right out the back, just like in the movies.

It’s comfier than a Cessna, too: Skydivers sit on benches inside, like civilized people, to wait for the green light to go. (Pinkies out, everyone.) The Skyvan’s signature roar and slow-ish–but not Cessna-slow–ascent can sometimes annoy fussy lifer skydivers, but everyone generally agrees that the Skyvan’s appeal far outweighs those two little nitpicks.

At Perris, we love our Skyvans. When it goes up on the manifest list, you can see the tail wags starting up all over the place.

DeHavilland Twin Otter

Then, of course, there’s our daily driver, and what we consider to be the best skydiving aircraft of all time–the Twin Otter. This beauty of an airplane carries one pilot and up to 22 skydivers up to our standard 12,500’ exit altitude lickity-split.

Probably the most versatile skydiving plane in the turbine world, the Twin Otter, a fixed gear aircraft that boasts predictable flying characteristics and engine redundancy (i.e., if an engine goes out, there’s another engine to keep the plane flying), is one of the safest options in the air. Ours is kitted out to be extra-fast. Oh! And it’s also one of the comfiest, with interior benches, plenty of windows and a nice, big door for exit. (One that you don’t have to carpet-skootch up to, natch.)

The moral of the story, of course, is that everybody loves otters–so much–for excellent reason.

Ready for a world-class experience skydiving Los Angeles? Skydive Perris offers first-time and experienced skydivers a wide range of capabilities with our fleet of 7 twin aircraft (3 Twin Otters and 4 Skyvans). Learn more about our skydiving planes or come on out! We’ll introduce you.

*Because all skydiving is fun.

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