CSC eNews Update | 1-800-404-JUMP -

We have a busy weekend coming up. Starting off, we have another CSC Rhythm XP training camp starting Friday morning at 9:00am. We are offering $15 jumps all day long for any experienced jumpers who would like to come out and jump. Don't forget that Kirk Verner of Arizona Airspeed and Paraclete XP will be here all 3 days coaching. Take the day off of work and jump all day long! The weather is forecasted to be in the 60s with light winds.

With a perfect forecast for last weekend - 220 first-time students on the books, 20-ways with Rich Madsen, CSC Rhythm XP Scrambles, and 2 demo jumps scheduled. It was going to be a great late September weekend all the way around. As we shut down the Otter on Friday evening, we noticed an anomaly with the right engine. Thanks to Tom and other staff members, we worked for several hours and felt confident that we had the problem sorted out. First thing Saturday morning, Dean and I did some ground runs and then took the Otter on a test flight to make sure everything was 100%. Shortly after take-off, we found the right prop was not producing max power. We landed and changed out the prop governor (a relatively simple change) with a spare we had in-stock. The problem was fixed and our busy day was off and running just an hour and a half behind schedule. 7 loads into the day, Dean radioed down and said the engine was still not right. We immediately turned him around and landed with everyone on-board.

For the first time in 8 years, I had to send people home on an 80 degree day because of a mechanical problem and there were no options for other aircraft to help us out. The realization of a much more serious (and expensive) problem was setting in. Within 2 hours, I had Tom on an airplane from San Luis Obispo, CA for O'Hare and we had a spare engine lined up. We limped the aircraft over to our maintenance hangar at the Aurora Airport and began the time consuming project of removing all of the engine accessories. By the time Carolyn dropped Tom off at the hangar, it was 10:15pm. Dean, Matty, Tom, and I worked straight thru the night. We opened the hangar doors around 8:00am to do some test runs. I looked up and saw some clouds. I thought to myself, there is no way we could get weathered out today, the forecast was perfect! After successful ground runs and test flights, we did a fly-by at CSC by 9:30am. The courtyard was full of jumpers including over 100 tandem students and 30 jumpers who were anxious to compete in the CSC Rhythm XP Scrambles event, but the clouds were not cooperating. We were able to get a couple of loads up before sunset along with our demo jump into Lake Forest so the day wasn't a total loss! Overall, not our best weekend!

Monday was another busy day getting part of the engine crated up to ship to our turbine specialists in Massachusetts. I drove the engine up to Crystal Lake and worked with Nick Sclafani to design the crate and then to O'Hare to drop it off at the courier.

While these aircraft seemingly run non-stop and without any problems, there is a lot that happens behind the scenes to keep them running and none of it is inexpensive. The beauty of turbine powered aircraft is that they have a very high reliability rate, but the cost of repairing them is astronomical.

For now, we will operate with the loaner parts on the right engine until we get ours overhauled. Believe it or not, Tom is flying back into town this Sunday evening for scheduled Otter maintenance to get her ready for Mexico. The PAC will be flying all week at CSC.

I share this information with you to help clarify where your money goes when you buy a ride to altitude at CSC. The Super Otter is the largest investment I've ever made, but beyond that, this aircraft carries my friends, staff, customers, and many times, my wife. I will never cut corners or make a fiscally based decision that will jeopardize safety. Safety is the only thing that matters and is the last thing our customers should ever have to worry about.

CSC Rhythm XP has rescheduled their scrambles event for Sunday, November 9. Mark your calendars!

Thanks to all of you who came out Sunday for Scrambles. We had a great showing. Unfortunately, even after Doug, Tom, Dean and Matty's Herculean effort to get the plane ready in time, the weather just didn't cooperate.

Are we discouraged? No way! We're rescheduling the Scrambles for Sunday, November 9th. All the details are the same, as described below, with one addition. The Paraclete XP wind tunnel is donating 15 minutes of free tunnel time!!! The voucher will be good for anyone who signs up for one of our tunnel camps (the next one is scheduled for December 5-7).

Please send me an email if you would like to sign up for the new Scrambles date.

Thanks!
steve@CSCrhythm.com

Have you made a balloon jump yet? If not, contact us and we'll let you know the schedule. Keep in mind that balloon jumps are made at sunrise and sunset.

Don't forget that next weekend is the $250 All-You-Can-Jump Boogie. Our 5th Annual Chili Cook-Off will be held Saturday, October 11th. We are hoping for as many competitors as possible. Start cooking up your best recipe and bring it out next Saturday.

Douglas S. Smith

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Chicagoland Skydiving Center
1-800-404-JUMP (Freefall University Skydiving School)
815.286.9200 office
815.286.9902 fax
http://perfectlygoodairplane.com
customercare@skydivecsc.com